Hello Dr. Gettys,

I have a 7yr old Holsteiner/TB gelding that I (try to) compete in dressage. Earlier this year he was scoped and we found a healing ulcer, healing because of the Gastrogard I had started him on prior to being scoped. So far I have been able to maintain his health problem thru feed, pasture and drugs, which I would like to get him off of so I am looking into a natural alternative. My questions I pose to you are on both diet and supplements.

He is on 2 flakes of orchard grass hay 4x daily, 3c of beet pulp pellets (before adding water) 2x daily, 2# alfalfa pellets 3x daily, 1/2 c Canola oil 2x daily, heartgard, recovery EQ, 1 tsp Probios daily, 2 scoops Neighlox 2x daily, and lastly, 1-1/2# Empower 3x daily (just switched from 12# of Ultium/day due to the higher fat content in Empower). He is on pasture 4-6 hrs per day on top of all this. He is a picky hay eater and would prefer to stand in his run vs. eat his very good quality hay, which does not help with his ulcer. He has a fair degree of spookiness both under saddle and on the ground and I am just now happy with his weight.

I do not feel the Neighlox is doing a thing for him, however the Probios has helped alleviate the mild colic symptoms during temperature/weather swings. I was looking at your Amiquell vs. another liquid product that is just Aloe and Slippery Elm Bark and am not sure which would be more beneficial for him. I have also heard papaya is great for digestion and I was wondering if a) should I add that to his diet and b) pills vs. liquid which needs to be refrigerated. In addition, after doing some reading on your site, would you recommend a magnesium supplement for the spooking issue?

I am moving him to another barn next month and unfortunetly his pasture time will be reduced to about 3-4 hrs per day due to the rainy season here. The new barn feeds timothy hay instead of orchard grass 3x per day so my thought was to add one flake of alfalfa to two of the feedings to encourage him to eat his hay and because I heard it's a good buffer for the tummy. Also, what are your thoughts on rice bran to help keep weigh on? I have heard you can cause a calcium-phosphorus imbalance with too much and that can cause splints.

He is a big sweetie and I hate to see him in pain and grumpy when his tummy is acting up so any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!!

Where are you from? Newberg, OR

How did you locate this forum? My Friend LaNora

Hi Liz,

Looks like you're doing a good job with him. I do recommend Amiquell -- it is a comprehensive approach to stomach health and I've had excellent results with it.

Ration Plus is worth considering to help him gain weight. It boosts the health of the bacterial flora by feeding them (rather than adding more, as with a probiotic). This makes forage digestion more efficient, and hence, he obtains more calories from his hay.

Rice bran is fine, only if given consistently on a daily basis and you choose one that has added calcium to correct the high phosphorus levels. ADM Alliance makes a good stabilized rice bran product.

Finally, yes, additional magnesium from Quiessence is worth adding since most horses do not get enough of this mineral and even borderline deficiencies can produce behavioral changes.

I hope this is helpful. Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Thank you for your response Dr. Getty! On the Amiquell, I noticed that it has some of the same ingredients as the Probios. Will it hurt to give him both or should I discontinue the Probios? And on the Quiessence, I noticed some of the feedback has to do with weight loss, should I be concerned about that since he is difficult to keep weight on? Lastly, I have to prepackage his grain and his supplements for the new barn, will it hurt to combine the Quiessence, Amiquell, Probios and his Recovery EQ in the same bag or is there a better combination for AM and PM?

Thank you so much all your help! Your website is a wonderful source of information for people trying to better educate themselves on the care of our equine partners!!

Liz

Hi Liz,

You can discontinue the ProBios when feeding Amiquell, since Amiquell already contains live microbes.

Quiessence is useful for behavior when given at a dose of 1 ounce per 500 lbs of body weight. For weight loss, I double this dosage.

Yes, you can bag all the ingredients together, divided between meals or all in one meal -- either way is fine.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO