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Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition

   Welcome to my forum. 

Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information. 

Currently, I am discontinuing new questions. This may change in the future, but in the meantime, please know that It has been a true pleasure serving you. 

Take a look at my Nutrition Library and Tips of the Month for a variety of answers on selected topics. Be sure to sign up for my monthly e-newsletter, Forage for Thought

I also have a growing number of recordings on "Teleseminars on Nutrition Topics that Concern You" as well as the new, Spotlight on Equine Nutrition Series -- printed versions of favorite teleseminars.

And finally, look for my articles in a variety of local publications and online newsletters, as well as the Horse Journal, where I am the Contributing Nutrition Editor.  

 

All the best,

 Dr. Getty 

 



Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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Diet for sensitive/ulcer prone gelding

Hello Dr. Getty,

I am always on your website as I'm a big fan and hope you have time to answer my question.

I have a 10 year old Irish Sport horse gelding who is extremely sensitive and nervous. I had moved to a new barn in June, 2009 and he was not being fed properly to make a long story short. He lost over 300lbs and his gastric ulcer came back. He was also very depressed. He had stopped eating his hay which, in my opinion, was very poor quality. I had the vet out 4 times in 6 weeks. He was on Gastrogard for 4 weeks and was still not right. She then thought that he had a colonic ulcer due to his not eating the hay. She put him on Sucralfate. He usually had bouts with ulcers in the beginning of each winter but recovered after only 2 weeks of Gastrogard. He had never stopped eating hay until this barn.

I have since moved him to a new barn this week and he seems to be settling in quite nicely and even eating his hay. The care there is excellent! He gets four quarts of Ultium per day along with hay and several buckets of hay stretcher. He will be on this until he gains another 175lbs.

He will be on grass in the spring and I would like to decrease his grain once his weight comes back. I would like to ask your opinion what supplements should he be on? I have him on Ration Plus per reading your recommendations to other people. He is on Source, Quiessence, Omega Horsehine, and Vit. E. I am taking him off the Omega Horsehine as I read in your column that it is not good for horses with ulcers due to the oats in in. What would you suggest for supplements?

Thank you very much!

Where are you from? New York

How did you locate this forum? Friend

Re: Diet for sensitive/ulcer prone gelding

Greetings Caroline,

I am so sorry for the delay in getting to your question. I normally respond within 7 days, but I've been out of town for the holidays and just returned.

You mentioned avoiding OmegaHorseshine because of the oats, and that theme should be throughout his diet. In other words, Omelene is a high starch feed and is not appropriate for him. Feeds made from oats, corn, barley, and other cereal grains actually increase stomach acid formation and should be avoided for horses that are prone toward ulcers. Instead, switch to a low starch feed. Purina Ultium is a good choice because it is high in fat and relatively low in non-structural carbohydrates. Or you can go with Triple Crown Low Starch and use Nutra Flax to provide additional fat from omega-3 fatty acids.

Be sure to give him all the hay he wants -- free choice -- 24/7. His stomach releases acid all the time and he must have forage in his digestive tract to allow for consistent chewing, intestinal motility, and reduction of acid. Add alfalfa -- alfalfa hay is an excellent buffer and horses kept in confinement with alfalfa hay have been shown to suffer significantly less from ulcers than those that get grass hay. Provide 1 flake of alfalfa for every two flakes of grass hay.

So, bottom line. Replace Omega Horseshine with Nutra Flax and give him 3 scoops per day. Or, once you reduce his commercial feed to less than the recommended amounts, you can go with a comprehensive vitamin/mineral supplement that is made from Nutra Flax, to fill in the gaps. I recommend Glanzen Complete.
Ration Plus (1 tablespoon per meal) will help him derive more calories from forage. And, finally, consider giving him LiveCell Yeast 20X to help the bacterial flora in his hind gut replenish to healthy levels.

Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Caroline
Hello Dr. Getty,

I am always on your website as I'm a big fan and hope you have time to answer my question.

I have a 10 year old Irish Sport horse gelding who is extremely sensitive and nervous. I had moved to a new barn in June, 2009 and he was not being fed properly to make a long story short. He lost over 300lbs and his gastric ulcer came back. He was also very depressed. He had stopped eating his hay which, in my opinion, was very poor quality. I had the vet out 4 times in 6 weeks. He was on Gastrogard for 4 weeks and was still not right. She then thought that he had a colonic ulcer due to his not eating the hay. She put him on Sucralfate. He usually had bouts with ulcers in the beginning of each winter but recovered after only 2 weeks of Gastrogard. He had never stopped eating hay until this barn.

I have since moved him to a new barn this week and he seems to be settling in quite nicely and even eating his hay. The care there is excellent! He gets four quarts of Ultium per day along with hay and several buckets of hay stretcher. He will be on this until he gains another 175lbs.

He will be on grass in the spring and I would like to decrease his grain once his weight comes back. I would like to ask your opinion what supplements should he be on? I have him on Ration Plus per reading your recommendations to other people. He is on Source, Quiessence, Omega Horsehine, and Vit. E. I am taking him off the Omega Horsehine as I read in your column that it is not good for horses with ulcers due to the oats in in. What would you suggest for supplements?

Thank you very much!

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO