As I was said in my last post, some 85 percent of domesticated horses, will at some point, suffer from an ulcer. That means the chances that YOUR horse will have an ulcer, are staggering.
The only way to know for sure whether your horse has an ulcer is to have it scoped by a veterinarian. This procedure costs an average of $800. That said, there are some common symptoms to look for in your horse that I will list here. If you find yourself checking off quite a few of these, I strongly suggest you put your horse on an affordable ulcer-care program that will help to naturally heal your horse and/or prevent ulcers from occurring in the first place.
First, some of the common signs/symptoms of ulcers:
- Unexplained teeth grinding
- Wood chewing
- Tummy aches directly after eating
- Reluctance to eat pelleted foods and grains
- Grumpiness over being touched/groomed, especially in stomach area
- Lethargy
- Clear communication from the horse that he does not want to be exercised (he/she runs away from you as opposed to being willingly haltered). Obviously, you will need to know your horse on this one, as it would be easy to mistake bad behavior for a physical problem.
- Wood chewing
- Unexplained performance problems
- Girthiness
A nutritional supplement plan that can help to heal the ulcers:
- 3 to 5 ounces Aloe Vera juice 2 X per day over feed
- 1 Tablespoon Marshmallow Powder 2 X per day over feed
- 1 litre cold Chamomile tea, broken into two parts 2 X per day (so 1/2 litre each time)
- Access to pasture grazing at least 30 minutes per day
The above program is extremely effective and costs me approximately $1.64 a day. That's less than $50 a month, which is less than one or two days of conventional anti-ulcer chemicals. Here is how the natural program works:
- The Aloe soothes and heals as it reduces inflammation in the intestinal tract (it is also a great anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral).
- The Marshmallow powder creates a demulcent as well as aids the body in reducing excess fluids(acids). The herb Slippery Elm Balk is often suggested in powder form and will work like the Marhsmellow powder does. However the Slippery Elm is much more expensive and has no advantages in terms of helping the ulcer to heal. So you might as well save the money and use the Marshmallow.
- The Chamomile tea, also an anti-inflammatory, also soothes the stomach as well as helps to calm the horse emotionally.
- The access to pasture reduces stress because it allows your horse to relax and to continually digest live food enzymes -- which is what his/her body is designed to do. This, in turn, lowers cortisol levels (stress levels) which when high, are what create excess stomach acid in the first place. If your horse is Insulin Resistant, talk to your veterinarian about your horse's risk factors for laminitis and then judge for yourself whether your horse can handle the risk. Since my horse is sound and in a regular exercise program, I give him 30 minutes a day 2 X per day in a pasture.
Here is where you can find the herbs in this program:
- 99% pure Aloe Juice -- Walmart (costs about $8 per gallon and a gallon lasts about a week)
- Certified Organic Marshmallow Root powder -- www.herbalcom.com
- Chamomile flower buds -- www.herbalcom.com
I have been told that some horses who have severe ulcer pain need a more conventional, expensive route. However I have interviewed several experienced horse care providers who say that even horses with severe ulcer symptoms were able to transition quickly to the purely herbal route.
When faced with the decision of conventional versus non-conventional, I put my horse, Vashka, on the herbal route. He was displaying all the symptoms listed in this article but I simply could not afford the "official" ulcer medications. Within twp days -- all of the ulcer symptoms Vashka had been displaying were gone. As far as I'm concerned, he will remain on the program for the foreseeable future.
SKODE
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