May 1, 2019

Ulcers: Timing, Dosage and Effectiveness of Treatment

For the first time ever (really), I was able to be at the barn for Connor's spring shots this year, which meant I got to pepper my vet with questions.  My vet is an eventer herself, so she's a great person to interrogate about the care and keeping of sporthorses.

One of my questions was about ulcers.  I told her how I had seen great results a couple of years ago when I treated him with Nexium, but that the symptoms had slowly crept back since then even though I've had him on a preventative this whole time - primarily head tossing and a worried look back while girthing, and unease under saddle.


I also told her about how a distant relative living the best life a horse could ask for had been asymptomatic for ulcers until it was too late - that's not at all to say Connor's relatives are predisposed to ulcers, just that the Welsh Cobs I know are generally very stoic compared to other breeds, so staying on top of things even when the symptoms seem minor is important to me.

I will take any excuse to repost this GIF.

My vet recommended doing 1/4 tube once a day of Ulcergard for 30 days and not scoping, partially because I had seen results with the Nexium.  I trust her so I didn't question that, but I did go online and do some more research into the quarter dose recommendation - would it treat the ulcers or just provide temporary relief?

That led me to a published study that compared the effectiveness of 3 different doses of omeprazole on 60 racehorses with clinically diagnosed ulcers.  (Yay legit science about horses!)  The conclusion was:

The results of this study suggest that, under the conditions studied, where omeprazole is administered before exercise and following a brief fast, doses of omeprazole as low as 1 mg/kg bwt per oss.i.d. may be as effective as higher doses. The proportion of glandular ulceration that heals with 28 days of omeprazole therapy is less than that of squamous ulceration.

TL;DR: If you give a quarter dose of omeprazole on an empty stomach, it may be just as effective as a full dose at treating non-glandular ulcers.
Success and failure rates of healing (as opposed to just improvement, which they measured separately) at various doses for the two different types of ulcers

To be sure, this is not enough of a study to draw definitive conclusions from, and there are some major differences between what I'm doing with Connor and what they did, the biggest of which being that they treated with enteric coated omaprazole (pop rocks) and I'm treating with a paste.  But he has to get his 1/4 tube at some point in his day, it may as well be first thing in the morning before he eats if there's even a shred of science behind that timing.



So far he's three weeks in and I've noticed a major reduction in attitude when I girth him up, and more relaxation under saddle, so we're doing good so far!  The true test will be whether or not symptoms return quickly after we taper off though.

14 comments:

  1. Everyone always gives such a big fuss over not using brand name omeprazole. That study is why I don't care if I use a cheaper compounded brand that may or may not contain the right amount of medication! We've seen results on many different horses. Glad Connor is feeling better :)

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    1. Completely agree with you. I could've done another round of Nexium, but I have some free cash flow right now and wanted to follow my vet's recommendation exactly for once, which is the only reason he's on actual Ulcergard. Being three weeks in, I definitely have seen the same amount of behavior changes with both Nexium and UG.

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  2. Gav has struggled with ulcers on and off (mostly off recently). I can always tell because his eyes look worried and he purses his lips like an angry mother of 5. When you say a distant relative of Connor's struggled silently with ulcers until it was too late - what does that mean?

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    1. It's not my story to tell which is why I wrote it the way I did, although I do want to be clear this horse didn't "struggle" with symptoms - best vet care, best owner and most stress-free situation possible for a horse, if the horse would have presented with any symptoms at all they would have treated it.

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  3. It's all so interesting. I've been down the rabbit hole of ulcers: treating and preventing. I have just starting giving Carmen a pre/pro biotic now that we're back at work and I do see a difference with her.

    When we start going to shows i think I will give her the ulcerguard as a preventative.

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    1. Yeah, I am definitely going to keep a tube or two on hand for travel and shows. I've been following your journey with it and I'm so glad you're seeing results!

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  4. I followed your Nexium regime with Bravo when I first got him- I think it did the trick! He's not cool with oral syringe meds yet and I could not possibly imagine trying to teach him that while he was losing his sh*t and overreacting to everything so I am grateful that there are workable options. Glad the UG is working well for Connor- did she give any advice about preventatives?

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    1. So glad to hear it worked! We need Bravo blogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      I haven't asked about preventatives yet, planning to shortly though.

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  5. Interesting! Niko has been a bit spooky lately, and ulcers has crossed my mind as a potential factor. I'm a little bit on the fence as to what to do though -- since I've never had him scoped nor tried any type of treatment with him before.

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    1. When in doubt, ask the vet! The rates of ulcer prevalence in sport horses is so high though, odds are more of them have them than don't.

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    2. If Niko is insured too if you scope and he has ulcers the treatment and scope will be covered by insurance. If he doesn't have ulcers then you just paid for the peace of mind.

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  6. I hope the quarter tube does the trick! I take omeprazole daily. Doc tried to get me off it without success, so I have to get scoped in a couple weeks. Boo. But I can attest personally to the effectiveness of the medication!

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  7. Glad that things are going well with ulcer treatment and I hope there is a way to keep them from coming back!

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  8. Good information to have :) Love the link to the study. I was always taught to give gastrogard/ulcergard on an empty stomach for max effect, but having the science to back it is extra cool!

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