Ulcers in foal

[Jean]

Have a foal with ulcers, vet recommended gastro guard but suggests we use ranitidine first to see if that will cure the problem without the expense of gastrogard. We'll follow his suggestion but how do others feel about this approach and has anyone had success with it and also how about using gastrogard on a foal?

[Inyureye]

wow, how do you get ulcers in a foal?

[Intrinsic Worth]

We used ranitidine with carafate at Pin Oak Stud with a lot of success. For a time, we replaced those with gastrogard and I didn't notice any faster improvement.

They have to be given ranitidine and carafate twice a day, while gastrogard is given once daily.

How old is your foal and how much ranitidine does your vet want it to have?

[WarHorse]

We used Gastroguard and Carafate at Calumet.

Inyureye, ulcers in foals are not that uncommon. Most are undiagnosed. When they are grinding their teeth and foaming at the mouth, you can get a pretty good idea.

[Inyureye]

OK, sorry to hear about them in the tykes. Rock on. Making my stomach hurt in sympathy.

[Jean]

The foal is 3 monthes old and we are to give him 2x300mg tabs twice daily. What is carafate?

[WarHorse]

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Sucralfate is only minimally absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. The small amounts of the sulfated disaccharide that are absorbed are excreted primarily in the urine.

Although the mechanism of sucralfate's ability to accelerate healing of duodenal ulcers remains to be fully defined, it is known that it exerts its effect through a local, rather than systemic, action.

The following observations also appear pertinent:

1. Studies in human subjects and with animal models of ulcer disease have shown that sucralfate forms an ulcer-adherent complex with proteinaceous exudate at the ulcer site.
2. In vitro, a sucralfate-albumin film provides a barrier to diffusion of hydrogen ions.
3. In human subjects, sucralfate given in doses recommended for ulcer therapy inhibits pepsin activity in gastric juice by 32%.
4. In vitro, sucralfate adsorbs bile salts.

These observations suggest that sucralfate's antiulcer activity is the result of formation of an ulcer-adherent complex that covers the ulcer site and protects it against further attack by acid, pepsin, and bile salts. There are approximately 14 to 16 mEq of acid-neutralizing capacity per 1-g dose of sucralfate.

[Jean]

Our vet tells us we will be dealing with treating this foal to cure him 2-3 monthes. Anyone out ther with experience on a general time line. Also he has changed the Ranitidine to 3 times a day. The gastroguad cost fo this amount of time would be astronomical. Any natural remedies we should be using in conjunction with the meds?

[louis finochio]

This old time remedy always works for ulcers. You can feed your TB raw cabbage or juice it in a juicer, and give the cabbage juice in a syringe 3 times a day. When your TB stops grinding his teeth you will know hes well.

[Jean]

Louis, I have been wondering about cabbage juice as I fed it to my husband to cure the ulcers which no doctor deemed to be able to. How much cabbage juice would you give a foal?

[louis finochio]

A TB dosage is 7to 1 over humans, so a foal should be about the same as humans. Try feeding your foal leaves of the cabbage and give him 2 syringe's daily of cbbage juice.

Ulcers are caused by stress and anxiety so tell your husband to close his eyes and meditate.

[WarHorse]

Re: meditation

Sounds funny, I know, but it is good for folks. People that receive regular massages have a much lower stress rate than those who don't.

For relieving the stress on foals, just spend time with them, loving on them, scratching their itchy places. Do not make demands of them, so that having a person in their space becomes normal, even enjoyable. Being handled should be a pleasure, not a burden. On the other hand, most of the TB foals I handled didn't race well (although many of them were royally bred), so being calm probably doesn't enhance their running ability.

[pembroke]

Louis...I am all for natural remedies, but cabbage scares me. It can cause gas. Oldtimers I have talked to say you must use caroway seed and boil with cabbage to prevent gas in the juice. Most people use caroway in cabbage when cooking.

[louis finochio]

You can use fennel to take away the gas from the cabbage.

You can use flax oil and olive oil to coat the lining of the ulcer, as these two oils will take the pain out of the ulcer which is a raw inflamed sore.

[TBHorseNut]

Try SUCCEED!!! Ever hear of it? My colt LOVED it, and he looks FANTASTIC. I gave it to the mare as well.

Inyureye, they're finding that the little guys and girls can be BORN with them.

TBHorseNut