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  Discussion on Moral support please!
Author Message
New Member:
Nancyw

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 11:52 am:

I am a newbie here, but I found this site largely due to the search I did on Ulcers. THere is some really great info here and some really great people. I read Dr. O's paper and have printed it out for personal reference. Is that OKAY?
Here is my story.
I have a 5 year old foundation bred Quarter horse mare. Very quiet nature. No health issues until now. I have had her since she was 2.5 years old. Her diet and routine are; 1/2 of a 1lb coffee can Ultium and turn out on grass a.m. I f I am going to ride her she comes in at 2:00 and gets a flake of ALfalfa. Otherwise she can stay out until dinner and then she gets 1/2 can Ultium and 1 flake Alfalfa for dinner. 9:00 p.m. she gets more hay. When I ride it is for 30 to 45 minutes. Not a hard workout at all. We trail ride sometimes for an hour. Her work is basic western riding.
A little over a month ago she had 3 mild colics in a 30 day period. 10cc banamine and she is on her feet and grazing within 15 minutes. IT just so happened that Merial was at a nearby vet clinic doing free scoping. So my vet gets me in. Oh the 2nd time she coliced he came out and oiled her just for peace of mind. MAnure never has indicated sand. So she goes to get scoped and she is diagnosed with Grade 1 hyperkeratosis. Not an ulcer but thinking about one. So one month of gastro guard. At the end to the month I consult with the vet who scoped her and she says lets scope again to see if its necessary to do another month at 1/2 dose. By the way, I was the one to mention the 2nd month treatment. It was never mentioned to me by Merial's rep, the vet who scoped nor my primary care vet. Today, before I could schedule an appt. she coliced. She got 10cc of banamine and is now grazing. Needless to say I have a call in to the vet asking for more Gastro guard.
I am just sick about this. I dearly love this horse. I would love feedback and moral support. I am so afraid for the future. Have I ruined the treatment by not jumping right on the second month? It has only been 5 days since the last dose. Could something else be happening?
Thank you
Member:
Kathleen

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 12:19 pm:

Hi Nancy,
If it is ulcers, you have not ruined anything. My mare had ulcers for 8 years before we finally figured out how to get rid of them for good. That was before Gastrogard. The secret to getting rid of hers was to keep treating and rescoping her until she showed no signs of ulcers and then scoping every couple of months for a while just to make sure. She has been ulcer free for years now. But that does not mean that that is what is wrong with your horse, but if it is ulcers, you have not ruined anything. Good luck.
Kathleen
Member:
Nancyw

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 12:37 pm:

Thank you Kathleen! WOW 8 years! Before gastro guard what did you do? How long after treatment should I rescope? I am on my way to the vet to pick up more gastro guard. 1/2 dose for 30 more days... right?
Member:
Mcbizz

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 12:38 pm:

Nancy, I had very similar symptoms with one of my geldings.He was very sick, colicking on and off for two weeks, appetite poor. My vet did bloodwork and diagnosed an infection and treated it with antibiotics (SMZ) for seven days. He has not colicked since, looks and feels great. I know there are negative issues with antibiotics, but lab work might be a good idea if it hasn't been done.
Member:
Canyon28

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 12:45 pm:

Have you also wormed her good with Equimax or Ivermectrin plus? I had a mare that kept acting colicy and after having the vet out two or three times, I used the Equimax and she has never had another colicy episode. I did use it twice, again a month or so later, and I also use it on her once a year now.
You can also try using probiotics on her to see if that will help her.
Member:
Nancyw

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 12:59 pm:

You guys are awesome!
Carolyn, I will look into that when I talk to the vet and see if he will draw blood. I dont have an issue with anibiotis. I would follow up with Probios.
Which by the way she gets every a.m.
And Christine good suggestion but she is on daily wormer and wormed with Equimax in august. I do ivermect 2x per year. plus probios
Member:
Nancyw

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 1:36 pm:

Just off the phone with my vet and he would like me to do equimax again followed by a Power pak. Also for peace of mind psyllium for 10 days. Even tho I do have nice pasture Florida is in a DrOught and he has seen more sand colic recently.
He is also going to run the whole thing past a specialist at U of Fl.
Member:
Scooter

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 4:20 pm:

Hi Nancy just to throw another idea at you. I have a horse that will gas colic if given too much alfalfa, he was colicing quite often and the vet suggested gastro guard also. I decided to play with his diet first and once the alfalfa was cut he immediately improved. He now gets grass hay with a little alfalfa in it and lite balance pellets. No colic since.
Member:
Nancyw

Posted on Monday, Dec 18, 2006 - 6:38 pm:

HMMM... that is a thought and I had a neighbor tell me the same thing! UGH! Whats a mother to do?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 - 11:44 am:

Hello Nancy,
Of course printing is OK.

I don't think a grade 1 hyperkeratosis is likely to be the cause of your horses colic and many horses with full blown ulcers are asymptomatic, this is described in the article on Ulcers. Merial should be ashamed they are perpetuating this on the public and I would be glad to talk to a representative about this. I can be reached through the Stokesdale Veterinary Hospital, Stokesdale NC.

Many horses go through transient periods of mild colics, that often remain undiagnosed, only to have them stop and not return, so relax...at least a bit. It does mean you need to carefully review your management, particularly deworming and consider some of the possibilities. It is important that your vet get a good rectal done while the horse is painful to rule out some of conditions however. For more on possible causes and their diagnosis see Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Colic in Horses » An Overview of Colic. You should note that long term use of daily pyrantel (Strongid) can be a problem, see Horse Care » Worms, Deworming & Parasite Control » Overview of Deworming (>> Products).
DrO
Member:
Nancyw

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006 - 12:32 pm:

Dr. O
THank you so much for your articles and of course your feedback. I have done the Equimax again and then the power pak, as stated earlier. I will also consider taking her off the daily wormer for the time being since there is a possibility of resistance. I have also read your suggested de-worming program. It is different than other programs I have read/learned in the past. Are there other management concerns you have for me or was that the primary concern? I have wondered about her diet.
Am I hearing you correctly that you would like to have the merial rep contact you? In retro-spect I have wondered if I got caught up in the moment and jumped on the Ulcer/gastro-guard bandwagon. I was so amazed that my horse was showing signs of potential ulcers Of course I wanted to treat her!
thank you again.
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