Preventing Ulcers

[linda]

The November Equus just came out. They have a very interesting news note about using corn oil to prevent ulcers.

page 15, Equus 325. "New research from the University of Florida suggests that you can protect your horse from ulcers by simply adding a little corn oil to his feed each day.....acid ouput dropped while prostaglandin E2 levels rose when the ponies received corn oil daily. Essentially, there was a decrease in one thng that causes gastric ulcers, combined with an increase of something that prevents them.... The suggested dosage is 3/4 cup corn oil per day for the average-sized horse. This study focused only on the prevention of ulcers and did not address whether corn oil supplementation can help horses with existing lesions. They stated that the corn oil wouldn't hurt a horse with ulcers, but that they wouldn't count on it as a primary treatment."

So, go grab the latest Equus for the rest of the information. There is also a couple of great articles. There is one on heart size (X-factor) in racehorses that is excellent. There is another article on conditioning programs.
Linda

[Chrisnstar]

That IS interesting information. Thanks Linda! I'll look for an issue . I used to subscribe to Equus, but quit. I can usually find it on the newsstands or at tack shops around here...

chris

[linda]

Chris, You and I have been around long enough to be able to read between the lines. Quit pouring the grain to confined horses and give them some oil to make up the additional calories, if you can't get enough hay in them to meet their nutritional needs. Of course, the makers of Gastro Guard won't be pleased....

Back to basics time--the majority of the diet of the horse should be grass or hay and they should eating around the clock like nature intended. They should also be having to walk around to find that food and have other horses as part of their herd for social interaction. Horses were not created to live in isolation in a stall, even if that does keep them from getting dirty.
Linda

[spots]

Interesting! I wonder if it would help with preventing gastric upset if you are having to use bute temporarily? I have a mare with a hoof abcess and it's a nasty one and she's sore. Is is just corn oil? (My Equus is still in the po box 10 miles down the road....will try to pick it up this weekend)

I know another person on a health (support) websight who really advocates using certain oils on (or rather, in) yourself at bedtime to help prevent intestinal lesions if you have gut damage from NSAIDS. He says to take olive oil or flaxseed oil or borage oil, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon, and can back it up that it works. I like olive oil, but the thought of taking it at bedtime as a chaser to the calcium supplement is not particularly appealing...but maybe I should try.

[spots]

What is going on here?! I typed table SPOON and it comes out " table thingy" !?

Ack!

[spots]

T . A. B. L. E. S. P. O. O. N

15 milliliters...Oh Chris, something is really odd here!

[spots]

Okay, you whacky board, a t.e.a.s.p.o.o.n. to a t.a.b.l.e.s.p.o.o.n. of olive oil for a human , or 5 to 15 milliliters. Roflamao!

[Chrisnstar]

LOL SPOTS, ;D

Yes, Linda.. agreed. Corn oil, however good it might be for a horse, is not a substitute for the life and eating patterns they ought to have!

Susan Garlinghouse is a proponent of oils and fats in the diet, BUT she says to not use them on endurance day, and eliminate them a few days before the ride. Her reason, that same coating action that helps protect the stomach and intestines, also keeps the intestines from absorbing H2O, and dehydration is a horse's worst enemy on the trail and in hard work.

chris

[linda]

Ah, one of those automatic changes--word subsitutions. Chris must be laughing I would think that a little bit of oil would help coat the intestinal tract and minimize damage from the bute. It sure couldn't hurt.

Yep, just plain corn oil. It is the horse's favorite in most taste-tests anyway. It is cheap--no one is getting rich.

For your mare, try this old remedy. I have had super luck with it. Grind up about 3 potatoes--no need to peel them. Put them in a plastic sack--I used a gallon-sized zip lock baggie. Put the hoof of the horse in the sack with the potatoes. Now figure out how to keep this all together. I used an Old Mac's boot--and since it fit well, I only needed one potato. You can also use a chunk of old inner tube. Tie the ends up around the pastern with the ever-popular duct tape. Let the foot soak overnight. The potato mash will mold to the foot. When you take it off, the foot will be clean and soft and (with a little luck) the infection will be all drained out. The potato will be black and molded to the bottom of the foot. Throw the potato mash away. With the foot being clean and soft, it becomes very easy to open the abcess, if necessary. Then soak--or whatever--and put the foot back in a new, clean ground-up potato sack and let the potato draw out the rest of the abcess. It works great. My vet was so impressed that he stopped on his way home to buy potatoes. We use this trick to trim horses in the summer when their feet are so hard--it is like trimming a horse who has been walking around in snow--just like butter. You may not even have to open an abcess, the ground-up potato may draw the infection out and the horse can go right back to work.
Linda

[linda]

Chris, It makes sense to me that the protective coating action you get from fats and oils would be counter-productive during endurance competition. It never ceases to amaze me what people do in order not to keep grass hay or pasture grass in front of horses around the clock. You can make them work for it--double-net the hay, scatter it, whatever--but the digestive system of the horse was not designed to get by on two low-fiber meals a day.

I'd best quit on this--you have asked us all to be civil! I wouldn't want to offend anyone.
Linda

[Chrisnstar]

LOL, Linda, you are fine!

I don't expect or want this board to be sugar coated, or plain as baby pablum! But I've been on boards that degenerate into name calling and nya nya nya stuff and I think we can have spirited discussions and still play nice!

And my guess is on this board, you won't find many people arguing your point about feeding horses more forage and less grain!

chris

[linda]

I was down in southern Arizona in the high desert a couple of weeks ago. There were a bunch of horses in a huge pasture walking around looking for grass. They had to do a lot of walking--great pasture with rocks and cactus and sand and just about everything but lots of grass. The horses were fed hay, as needed--the horses looked great. I just couldn't help but wish that I could have some pasture just like that up here in North Idaho. My Paso Fino mare is an easy keeper. I use grazing muzzles, cross fences, lots of exercise, and other techniques to try to keep her from gaining too much weight. It would be wonderful to have some Arizona pasture for her where they measure in acres per cow instead of cows per acre! I suppose I could spray my pasture with Round-up, but that seems sort of counter-productive LOL. Linda

[Mary Ann]

I am in total agreement here. You'd be surprised how many people think that I feed mountains of grain because my horses are big. Mozette is 16hh, Forrest is 16.2, baby Andy at not quite 29 months is 16.2 and growing, and McEachan is 6 months is 13.3, and should finish out 16.1-16.3. Each adult gets a pound of complete feed pellets (mostly forage) to hold up their supplements, and generous high quality hay; the pony and McEachan get a sprinkling. I feed hay three times a day here, as at the barn where I work. Forage should be the cornerstone of the diet. I have no problems with my babies gaining and growing, as the forage is very tender and young, I start them on probiotics right away, and use probiotics intermittently through the first two years as a matter of course.

I knew a couple that bought an exquisite youngster as a two year old. Had one problem after another with the filly; she wouldn't hold weight. After tons of $$$ in vet bills, it was found that since she had been haltered heavily as a weaner and yearling, and fed the typical high grain/low forage diet, her gut never developed properly. She didn't have the alimentary canal to support an adult horse; it was stunted. What a freaking mess, and what a waste of a good horse.

Very interesting about the corn oil, Linda. We have a guy at the barn on full pasture that is pretty high strung, and he has to get some Gastro-Gard here and there. I'll tell his owners to check out the article. And yes, even our pasture boarders are given supplements daily.

[gypsy]

Chloe is huge as well and people think I pour the food in her. She is just a big built horse. In fact, sometimes I feel that I am starving her. I use Healthy Coat and have been very pleased with it. This and my grain mix seems to work for all of my horses even though they are all of different builds.