Has anyone had any experience with ulcers in horses?

My little 12 yr QH/Arab mare has suddenly gone off her feed.....she will eat her hay but very slowly, which is uncommon for her as she usually has a hearty appetite and is an easy keeper.  She is drinking water and passing manure and gas, she lays down a lot but is not rolling or turning in circles. It does not appear to be colic.....she has never had colic and she is an outside horse with plenty of room to move around and shelter from the weather.  She is very listless and quiet which is unsual for her and she has never been sick before.

She does not get much grain....about 3# a day total of oats.  She gets plenty of good grass hay, salt and water. She started this yesterday (Wed) and I am watching her closely....she is not getting any grain as of today.

At this point her symptoms are not that severe that I want to call out the vet....as she is eating and passing manure......but I am wondering if she may have developed an ulcer?       Any advice?  Thanks.

I've had experiences with ulcers also.  My yearling had similar symptoms.  Gastroguard was prescribed. ($$$$$,geesh) without a scope done.  I have a gelding that we're pretty sure has ulcers.  We give him U2 Guard (? not sure the name off hand) when he shows signs.  Which is when we trailer him over night. Haven't had to give him any in a long time, knock on wood.  It's like malox.  Works great.    We also had a new horse come to the farm and started showing signs of colic like behavior.  We gave him the U2Guard for about 2 weeks and all is well.  

A vet is always your best bet. But when I would call my vet for the gelding, he'd always treat him for colic.  I finally figured out that this horse would get colicky when we came back from an overnight camping trip. "Stress"..........so now we just give him a couple of doses of the "malox like stuff" when we return and he does great!  And the other horse that came to our farm had just lost it's pasture friend and was now in a new place.  The malox stuff did the trick.  That was 3 months ago and he's doing fine. 

Studies are showing that about 94% of racehorses have ulcers and about 80% of other horses (show, trail ride, camping, etc) have ulcers.  Trailering is hard on them and the acid builds up and just eats away.    Symptoms of ulcers can also be wood chewing. 

    I know of two treatments that have a high success rate (among fellow horse people) that are less expensive than Gastroguard and are a maintenance type program to keep the ulcers from recurring and to keep the horse comfortable and ulcer free.

    The one I use is a Dynamite product called Miracle Clay.  You mix it with water into a thick paste and give about 1/3 of a syringe full am & pm before grain for 30 days.  After that give just before trailering or on a show day, etc  stress situations.  It is a natural product of the earth and doesn't have any chemicals in it that would test.  It's also great to use in case of ant bites, wasp stings, etc and it can be taken by humans as well  for stomach issues.   A canister costs about $25 and lasts about a year or so.  Great value

   The other is aloe juice - 1/2 cup am & pm, but it must be kept refrigerated.  I have heard you can buy it by the gallon at Wal-mart.  I prefer the miracle clay as it doesn't go bad and in the long run is much less expensive.

    My TW started chewing wood after camping with him for a couple months and I put him on the monthly trial, he stopped chewing wood the next day and hasn't since.  It's been 2 years.  I only give it to him when I arrive at the barn on days I'm trailering somewhere or if we're riding in a big group as he gets nervous. 

Thanks for the list of symptoms and suggestions on treating ulcers.

Dunoir, where do you purchase the Miracle Clay from?  I have heard other good things about this product but have not had to ask where to get it from before this!!

My mare (Ruby) is still the same.....I only gave her warm, wet beet pulp with some corn oil on top and 1 flake of hay tonight.  She did receive a flake of hay this afternoon also.  She ate everything but very slowly.....which is just the opposite of her normal behavior.  She is not grinding her teeth or chewing on anything.  She is passing manure and it looks normal, although I have not seen her urinate today.  I am monitoring her very closely.  Also this is somewhat strange.....she has on several occasions stood with both of her rear legs stretched back.... very much like a Morgan or Saddlebred does when shown in halter class  (I forget the technical term for that).  She has never done that before. 

Otherwise, her eyes are bright and she nickers at me when I come in the barn.  I can hear distinct gut sounds on both sides of her stomach when I listen.  She is still laying down quite a bit but will get up when she is approached....but she doesn't shake herself off or stretch like all horses do when they get up. 

As far as the stress goes.... she hasn't been trailered in 4 months, she has not been left alone anywhere and has only had light to moderate exercise.  No more or less than any other horse we have.  Ruby is the alpha mare and is quite fearless, she has always trailered well and likes to be ridden.  I have not changed feed or hay or anything else for that matter.  I don't know of any stress she would be under either now or in the past that would cause this. 

My thanks to everyone.....does anyone think it could be something else?

I agree that it sounds like colic.  Every horse is different and each time they colic it can vary.  Please call and vet and get this treated ASAP.

Miracle Clay is sold through Dynamite distributors.  While I am one, I really only buy for myself and am not set up to sell.  Do an online search for Dynamite and you will find plenty of people that sell it.  It's a great product and has many uses, plus it lasts a long time and is very cost affective. 

If the vet determines she has an ulcer, use the gastroguard (or whatever he recomends) to cure it and then the MC as a way to buffer the tummy and keep it from occuring again.  Good luck and keep us posted

I agree, I suggest you take her to the vet before it get's out of hand. You might also check her temp.

Good Luck, hope it turns out ok. - Betty

She is having some ulcer symptoms.  I too have had experience w/them in my horses thru the years.  There is an EXCELLENT product made by Total Health - ck this out  http://www.totalhealthenhance.com/equine/GastroPLUS.htm  I also have used the Miracle Clay.  It is calcium bentonite.  Another way to use it is mix 1 TB in 1 cup of DISTILLED water & use a PLASTIC spoon to mix it.  (You have to use those in order to keep other minerals from messing w/it.)  Let it sit for at least 6 hrs & pour over their grain for 30 days.  It is very cost effective & has worked every time I've used it.

Another thing you might want to consider is dental problems.  Just because the "worst" of it started suddenly, if dental, it could have been progressively getting worse.  I would have a DENTIST ck her teeth - not a regular vet as they do NOT have the education they really should have for major dental problems.  I have seen all kinds of wierd things w/horses that have turned out to be dental related.

I had a gelding that had ulcers too (he was scoped and ulcers were confirmed).  He had never colicked before, but suddenly he had a three mild colic episodes in a month.  In addition, he would stand camped out a lot. 

He was given Rantinidine for about two months and when he was re-checked, the ulcers were almost completely gone.  

This episode with the ulcers was during a time when the horse was under some unusual stress.  He's a rope horse who was used to working, he had very badly strained both his ACL's, so he was laid up.  He was confined to his stall for 7 months, except for the 20 minutes each day when we hand walked him.  I think the stress of being so confined is what triggered the ulcers.  He's never had a problem with them since he's gone back to work and he is not on any medication. 

Edited to Add: I would call the vet and have a thorough checkup done.

UPDATE.....

I did call my vet and he suggested to take her off the grain and just feed hay, which I had already done.  He said if she got worse in the next day or two to call him back.

She went 5 days total without grain and she was inside the barn for the night.  On the 6th day in the morning I went out to feed and she grabbed the hay right out of my hand and appeared to have completely recovered.  She is back to her old self being the Alpha mare and bossing everybody around.  I now have her on 1/2 rations of grain, beet pulp, some veg. oil and hay.  She eats like there is no tomorrow. 

My vet suggested the beet pulp & oil might ease any ulcer problems (if she had them) and he said any stomach upset is usually caused by grain. He also said, and I agree, that horses are grazers and their body was built for large amounts of forage and grain should be thought of as a supplement, not the main course.

At any rate..... Thanks for all of your suggestions.  I am fortunate that my mare recovered on her own but also fortunate the my vet is my neighbor.

I'm very happy to hear that.  I'm a believer that grain should only be given as a very very small part of a horses diet. (ie; normal weighted horses with no issues of course and aren't worked or ridden daily.)  I only give my herd of 7 approx 3/4 of a coffee can of grain a day, just to get them in from the pasture at night.  I have friends that feed their horses alot of grain daily.  But they are all endurance riders so I guess their horses need it.........my herd would look like "hogs" instead of horses if I gave them anymore than what they get now. 

I'm sure your sleeping much better now.....