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  Discussion on SUCCEED digestive supplement as treatment for ulcers?
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Member:
sondra

Posted on Thursday, Mar 29, 2007 - 11:00 pm:

A racetrack vet I know has experienced good results using Succeed, the digestive supplement, for horses with ulcers. I have a 4 year old who is starting training who we suspect may have ulcers. My vet suspects his ulcers may be of the lower tract - and his experience with Succeed specifically for ulcers in this area were good (as opposed to ulcers of the upper tract, which he said respond well to GastroGard.)

In considering whether to try Succeed with my young horse I wanted to get feedback of any kind here. Thank you.


Ingredients:
Polar Lipids – components of oat oil, help transport nutrients into the blood stream and support a healthy gut lining. Soluble Oat Fiber – supports a healthy immune system while evening out the rate of digestion and nutrient absorption for even blood sugar levels and reliable energy. Yeast Extracts – support normal levels of digestive microbes in a healthy hindgut. Amino Acids – building blocks of proteins, support a healthy mucous lining throughout the digestive tract.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Mar 30, 2007 - 7:34 am:

Sondra, I do not know of any work that suggests this would cure ulcers. Why does your vet suspect lower ulcers in your horse?
DrO
Member:
sondra

Posted on Friday, Mar 30, 2007 - 10:53 pm:

Thanks Dr. O. I am aware of this yes and I'm not specifically sure why he said that... but basically, my horse was displaying ulcer-like behavior and gastrogard did not have a great effect. He has gas colicked in the past (colitis) at which time he also was grinding his teeth and has generally been reluctant or lazy under saddle (totally sound physically). Rolls a lot... gets cast a lot. Initially I chose to go ahead and try the gastrogard instead of scoping. It's possible he wasn't on long enough or the ulcers came back; but, my vet said many racehorses have ulcers of the lower intestine and usually are treated for that with Sucralfate which is supposed help by coating the ulcer (but not necessarily cure it). The vet has had similar success with Succeed (pardon pun) - not for a coating effect on ulcers in the lower tract but to help prevent them. However he did say he sees improvement in horses that go on Succeed.

As for suspecting ulcers in the lower tract, he said unless the colitis is badly ulcerated and bleeding there really isn't a decent diagnosis for it (scope doesn't go that far). Colitis can apparently stay in the inflamed and not ulcerated state for some time...causing lots of issues but not be diagnosable yet. And Gastroguard doesn't usually work on colitis (that is an expensive lesson to learn!)

By the way, on a related note, he sometimes will 'diagnose' a horse with ulcers (regular ulcers) without scoping but with via blood test - he says a horse with an ulcer often shows low RBC, low HGB, and low PCV pr HCT. Signs of blood loss or anemia. He did not say anything about specific values so I can't elaborate on that. Of course, low levels can indicate other things not just ulcers... my guess is track vets sometimes use it as one method of testing the likelihood of them without the invasiveness of scoping, or will just administer GastroGuard (as your article acknowledges Dr O) to see if certain symptoms disappear.

Getting back to SUCCEED, I checked and the (main) active ingredient is L-Glutamine 409 g

In any case I don't believe that SUCCEED can prevent or cure ulcers, and I'm pretty sure that they don't make that claim either. I think the premise is that it encourages an overall heathier digestive system which is a big factor overall.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Apr 1, 2007 - 8:41 am:

With the possible exception of race horses on excessive amounts of phenylbutazone or not dewormed properly I am unaware of a high prevalence of colonic ulcers found in race horses and would be interested in any evidence to the contrary.

I think you can see the problem with the above outlined logic: a speculative ailment then treating with a medication of unknown efficacy. Just randomly we would expect 80 to 90% of these to get well on their own in time if any management factors responsible are corrected (see article on colic and ulcers for more on this). Not a bad success rate for the Succeed until compared with double blinded placebo controlled experiments.

You can research the ingredients oil (fat) and yeast extract (probiotics) in the nutrition section. Amino acids are available much more economically through high protein supplements like alfalfa.
DrO
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