It’s confirmed: we have ulcers!
Or rather, we, as in Foster, has one grade 3 ulcer and two grade 4 ulcers, the latter of which are bleeding they are so deep. Poor guy. (See photo here)
Still, even though no one wants their creature to be in pain, I am so relieved to be able to put a name finally to all the odd behavior of late. Now we can work on fixing it.
Homeboy is going to get his ulcer treatment and lots of sympathy from me for the next month or so. We’ll re-scope in 4 weeks to be sure they are gone.
Sleepy post-scoping Foster
In the world of nutrition, after hearing from many, including Emily from The Exquisite Equine, about the powers of Vitamin E supplement, Foster is also starting a new supplement program. We’re introducing him to Elevate W.S., a water-soluble version, for the first 40 days and then he gets transferred to a powder version that he will stay on indefinitely. It seems other horses have done really well and changed body condition when put on E, and I hope Foster will do the same. Here’s to more photos of my horse’s derriere!
Our spring season has had a bit of a kink thrown in it with yesterday’s confirmation, but it’s hard to be disappointed when I can look forward to my horse getting back to his normal, cheerful self. We’ll be foregoing the Combined Training show at MacNairs on April 12, and probably also a planned cross country schooling at the Horse Park.
Instead, it looks as though I may school the Training course in May followed by a CT the next day (if fitness allows) and proceed with Novice at the Virginia Horse Trials a couple weeks later. Then our official Training debut would be in July! When all is said and done, we’re just a little delayed.
Foster will be getting the rest of the week completely off to let the UlcerGard do its job, and I’ll be searching the web for a suitable Nibble Net to slow down his intake of hay and ideally help prevent any other ulcers. That among other options for keeping future out breaks at bay.
Expect annoying posts about my horse’s every mood swing for the next couple weeks. Looking forward to seeing positive changes!
Red on the Right 
So glad you’ve got answers! I mean…super not glad that he’s got ulcers poor thing…but at least that’s treatable! Hope his tummy feels better soon!
Yes- treatable is definitely the key word here! 🙂
I don’t know if I’ve commented this here before, but I do Vitamin E with Simon too and have been pleased with the results. Glad you have a name for the enemy and can work on improving it!
I didn’t know that! So far I’ve heard nothing but good things!
So glad you have some answers! Woo hoo!! And I hope you see the same improvement with the Elevate! I am thrilled with the improvement I have seen with Estella. Fingers crossed for speedy recovery :)!!
Yes fingers crossed! That booty needs to fill out! 😀
Be sure to take before pictures of his hips! 🙂
Poor guy! Glad you got the answers you needed. I am thinknig my mare has ulcers too.
Oh man- I wouldn’t wish it on any horse (or person) after seeing how much discomfort Foster has had. Sending good thoughts to you and your mare!
Ouch! But glad you have answers! Cheers to a speedy recovery!
Yes indeed! Ready to kick those ulcers to the curb!
I’m glad you have a game plan. Mr. Foster will be 100% in no time! 🙂
Fingers crossed!
Just curious, what is the omeprazole dosage your vet recommended? Pig is acting grumpy and ulcery (he always gets this way in the spring), and I was going to do a light dosage of UGuard through his time getting joint injections and all the show travel. I can’t remember what the full dosage is, though.
Full dosage is 1 tube/day. I was told that before shows to do .5 tube/day starting 3 days before the show and lasting until you get back as a preventative dose, even though the tube itself says 1/4 tube is a preventative dose. Hope that helps!
yay for answers. i will be curious to hear about your experiences with vit E. my mare is already on gastric supps after an ulcer treatment, but my trainer really doesn’t like the way her spine protrudes on her hind quarters (even tho the mare is a little chub everywhere else)… so i’m considering options haha
Oh, interesting- I will definitely be including updates with the Vitamin E on a monthly basis. The only thing that may skew the results is that his weight loss (or rather lack of weight gain on the new Ultium feed) could be related to his ulcers.
I’ve been away from blogging for a while, but knowing that it was Spring in the US meant I just had to come and see what you and Foster had planned for the season!
So sorry to hear he’s not feeling so flash, and I’m going to weigh in with something that worked on my OTTB with his ulcers – a bit of product diversity for you to select from ;)!
I used a liquid extract of the sea buckthorn plant that we have available in NZ when I got my gelding off the track – he had been ‘spelling’ for a while but was in terrible condition – skinny, lacking muscle tone, dull etc and full of ulcers!
Once we had initially treated the ulcers, a lady I knew put me onto ‘Seabuck’. It’s uuuuuber expensive here in NZ, but I checked they stock it in America and you guys get it way cheaper!! :O https://www.seabuck.com/SeaBuck_Sea_buckthorn_Natural_Equine_Supplement_p/seagalretail.htm
Within days my gelding had perked up, was glossy and shiny and with a big, healthy appetite. If I hadn’t seen the transformation myself I wouldn’t believe it, and now I feel like I would buy the product for the glossy coats alone (the product name over here literally translates to ‘shiny horse’). I have photos of the transformation if you’re curious.
Anyway, that’s another option amongst many if you ever feel the curiosity to try it!
Sending warm, feel better hugs to Foster!
* This comment was sponsored by Seabuck.
** Just kidding 🙂
Haha well thank you for checking in! Very interesting regarding the Seabuck- will have to look into it further if the Vitamin E and Ulcergard don’t do their business 🙂
Love those shiny glossy coats!
Yay for answers!! This sounds like you have a great plan going forward. I bet he’ll be feeling back to his usual soon 🙂
Answers lead to plans, so that’s good! I hope Foster starts feeling better soon.
It’s really fun to see and feel the difference between your horse pre and post ulcer treatment!!!! Gus became a new horse after after his month of UlcerGuard!
Don’t let it get you down- the important part is you figured out what is causing the problem and now you can work on fixing the ulcers and creating a ulcer free life for Foster 🙂 This is a great article on the importance of diet for ulcer prone horses. There is lots of research out there on ulcers and ways to prevent it besides using UlcerGuard all the time 🙂 http://kppusa.com/by-category/targeted-solutions-special-horses/hard-keepers/
Feel better soon Foster Pants so you can come back to Tryon and play!!!! 😀
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