Asking for help

[Charlotte]

We are treating Skipper for ulcers. He is getting Ulcerguard as per instructions, however, he is foaming at the mouth. a lot! I don't know if the cause is the Ulcerguard or if there is something else going on. It seems this foaming, excess salivation, started about the same time as we started the Ulcerguard. Also, he doesn't seem to be responding to treatment. Has been on Ulcerguard for 5 days now and still not wanting to eat. He has lost a lot of weight.

My question is, has anyone ever experienced such as this? I have seen the excess salivation with horses eating certain clovers and maybe fescue also, but he hasn't been exposed to either.

Vet was out yesterday and did a full exam including bloodwork. everything came back normal. Does anyone have any experience with this foaming? have you had a horse do this for some reason besides clover or fescue? I am getting very concerned....trying not to panic.

thank you,

Charlotte

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Oh my.

No, I haven't had excess salivation with Ulcergard but I've also only used it on one horse. They do say you'll only start to see results after about five days, I was told it usually takes more like seven if the horse has a bad case. Hang in there!

Leia

 

[albahurst]

Oh, no....do you think you need to switch over to Gastro Gard?

Peggy

 

[madmax]

In my humble opinion and past experience, to me foaming suggests that he cannot swallow properly. If he is not choking, perhaps the medication has affected his esophagus and it has swelled because he is allergic (?) to it. The fact that he is not eating.....it hurts to swallow, or he just cannot.

I hope this is resolved soon for him, and for you as well. Was he foaming when the vet was there? Did he check the back of his mouth for anything lodged in his teeth?

Best to you.

 

[~Lisa~]

Oh, no....do you think you need to switch over to Gastro Gard?Peggy

Arent they are the exact same product the only difference is the dosage for treating and prevention?

 

[Shari]

Having something stuck on the roof of his mouth between his teeth can cause that.

Don't ask me how I know.... sigh ~~~

 

[Charlotte]

Yes, Ulcerguard and Gastroguard are the same product.

I am going to skip his dose tomorrow morning and instead give him 2 ranitidine 3 x day. He isn't foaming tonight and just does it in the morning till about 3 in the afternoon. He gets the morning dose of Ulcerguard around 6 a.m.

perhaps the medication has affected his esophagus and it has swelled because he is allergic (?) to it. The fact that he is not eating.....it hurts to swallow, or he just cannot.

Madmax, look what I found when I Googled Omeprazole...

Omeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Omeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate:

Diarrhea; headache.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Omeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; [SIZE=24pt]swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue[/SIZE]; unusual hoarseness); chest

Dr Danielson performed a thorough examination of Skipper with special emphasis on the mouth and throat. At that time he didn't see anything unusual....(yesterday around 1 p.m.)

Charlotte

 

[cindydog12]

We are treating Skipper for ulcers. He is getting Ulcerguard as per instructions, however, he is foaming at the mouth. a lot! I don't know if the cause is the Ulcerguard or if there is something else going on. It seems this foaming, excess salivation, started about the same time as we started the Ulcerguard. Also, he doesn't seem to be responding to treatment. Has been on Ulcerguard for 5 days now and still not wanting to eat. He has lost a lot of weight.
My question is, has anyone ever experienced such as this? I have seen the excess salivation with horses eating certain clovers and maybe fescue also, but he hasn't been exposed to either.

Vet was out yesterday and did a full exam including bloodwork. everything came back normal. Does anyone have any experience with this foaming? have you had a horse do this for some reason besides clover or fescue? I am getting very concerned....trying not to panic.

thank you,

Charlotte

Hi Charolette

I have a stallion that has done the exact same thing every year since I bought him. always in december, he acts lethargic, not eating well, he chews constantly till he starts foaming at the mouth, very listless, and lays down alot. The first year this happened I spent alot of money and used two different vets, and they still did not find a cause. They did scope him to check his esophgus (In which case they found nothing wrong.) What we ended up doing was treating him for ulcers that year with a full regime of gastro guard, and kept him on a maintenance program of u-guard.

If you want you can give me a call, I would love to follow this, and maybe we can figure out what is wrong????????? My number is 503 630-7417...

 

[wildoak]

Charlotte,

Any change today? I haven't used much Ulcerguard but have used plenty of Gastroguard and not had a problem with it. If it persists you might call the manufacturer and run it past them, surely they have vets on staff. I'd probably put him on Fastrack or Probios just for the heck of it since you don't know what's going on. At the very least it shouldn't hurt anything, and might do some good. Wish I had some answers for you.

Jan

 

[Shari]

Those super sized Tums work, I use them on my grey mare. I buy them at Costco. Two of them in the Morning and two at night. Surprised this works as well at it does and no side effects.

Good luck!

 

[Charlotte]

I really appreciate everyone's help and suggestions. Frank called Merial this morning and they said they'd never had an adverse reaction of this type reported. Said it would be reported to FDA. I'm wondering if we got a bad tube of Ulcerguard.....maybe not stored correctly before we bought it or something like that.

Skipper wasn't salivating excessively this morning. He is picking at hay. We are offering him ANYTHING we can think of to eat. He has alfalfa hay, brome hay, bermuda hay, orchard grass hay, beet pulp, alfalfa pellets and cubes broken up and some soaked. there is hardly room for him in the stall with all that stuff in there. The only thing he really wants to eat is his alfalfa balancer but he can only have a set amount of that....it's not a feed. If it wasn't so #%*! cold I would take him out to see if he would graze a bit. Seems green grass is what a sick horse will usually eat first.

At 9a.m. we gave him a dose of Ulcerguard from a new tube. So far no foaming and he would have been running like a faucet by now in the days past.

He is getting a liquid B-12, Fasttrack paste, electrolyte paste. He is drinking some...I've been worrying about impaction from his reduced water consumption.

Cindydog, Is your stallion related to Skipper?

Actually, I'm not really joking. So he still does this in the winter? How old is he? What is his living situation? Stalled? Turned out? pasture? What is he fed? You know, I've heard a couple of long time breeders talk about a particular horse that got ulcers when the weather turned cold.....like the stress of the cold caused them to ulcer. What do you think? Does this sound likely?

Have to go clean stalls. Back later

C

 

[Ellen]

Charlotte,

My main concern is choke. That is the only time I have seen foaming at the mouth, but he isn't coughing, right? Another big sign of choke.

I have a stallion who got impacted and was diagnosed with ulcers all at the same time. We know the ulcers were bleeding, because of his bloodwork. They were bleeding. Oh so painful to watch. Do you think he is sore in the throat from the tube? If he has been tubed? Sucralifate will help with that.

How is his hydration? We ran lactated ringers once a day and it did resolve the impaction. Then 15 days of Gastro Gaurd and Sucralifate.

I wish you the best. He is in my prayers.

 

[albahurst]

I really appreciate everyone's help and suggestions. Frank called Merial this morning and they said they'd never had an adverse reaction of this type reported. Said it would be reported to FDA. I'm wondering if we got a bad tube of Ulcerguard.....maybe not stored correctly before we bought it or something like that.
Skipper wasn't salivating excessively this morning. He is picking at hay. We are offering him ANYTHING we can think of to eat. He has alfalfa hay, brome hay, bermuda hay, orchard grass hay, beet pulp, alfalfa pellets and cubes broken up and some soaked. there is hardly room for him in the stall with all that stuff in there. The only thing he really wants to eat is his alfalfa balancer but he can only have a set amount of that....it's not a feed. If it wasn't so #%*! cold I would take him out to see if he would graze a bit. Seems green grass is what a sick horse will usually eat first.

At 9a.m. we gave him a dose of Ulcerguard from a new tube. So far no foaming and he would have been running like a faucet by now in the days past.

He is getting a liquid B-12, Fasttrack paste, electrolyte paste. He is drinking some...I've been worrying about impaction from his reduced water consumption.

Cindydog, Is your stallion related to Skipper?

Actually, I'm not really joking. So he still does this in the winter? How old is he? What is his living situation? Stalled? Turned out? pasture? What is he fed? You know, I've heard a couple of long time breeders talk about a particular horse that got ulcers when the weather turned cold.....like the stress of the cold caused them to ulcer. What do you think? Does this sound likely?

Have to go clean stalls. Back later

C

We did have one show horse develop ulcers from cold stress- vet confirmed. After Worlds this year, it became horribly cold. Instant ulcers.

Hope your boy is doing better today.

 

[cindydog12]

[

Cindydog, Is your stallion related to Skipper?

Actually, I'm not really joking. So he still does this in the winter? How old is he? What is his living situation? Stalled? Turned out? pasture? What is he fed? You know, I've heard a couple of long time breeders talk about a particular horse that got ulcers when the weather turned cold.....like the stress of the cold caused them to ulcer. What do you think? Does this sound likely?

Have to go clean stalls. Back later

C

charlotte,

I not sure about skipper's pedigree, but zorba is out of boones little buckeroo, and cross autumns shavone. He was foaled in 2003, and I bought him in 2006, and this is the third time he has done this to me. Always in December, and it seems to last about 6 weeks to 2 months. He is stalled in the winter, but does get out during the day for a few hours. It really doesnt matter what I feed him as the first year I was feeding local hay, and this year it has been an orchard/timothy mix. I kind of hate to admit it, but I was so frustrated the first year with all the vet expenses and no results, that I had Bonnie Fogg read him. according to her, she said he felt pressure in his sinus's, and she felt he had some sharp points on the outside of some upper teeth that were bothering him. we did have the vet look at the teeth, and there were some problems there. He also checked his sinus's, and said he did'nt see anything, but could be getting over a problem with that.

Acutally a friend of mine came to look at some weanlings last weekend, and we were brainstorming about him. She did ask if it could possibly be the time of year and weather. To me it's the only thing that makes any sense, as he only does this in the winter, when the weather gets colder!!!!!!!!

I also feed soaked beet pulp, and a grain supplement. I did read somewhere that the grain could possibly cause an upset with ulcers, so I changed him about a week ago to soaked beet pulp, and rice bran, with plenty of warm water, which he seems to be eating much better.

please keep us posted on his condition, I'm very interested to see how he does!

Teri

 

[srpwildrose]

Hi Charlotte,

I've been reading your posts. And wanted to know how he is doing today?

I read the part about possibly being impacted....

My best mare is just getting over being impacted. There is always water available, but that doesnt mean

the horse will drink it.

She didnt have the foaming at the mouth tho. I could hardly get to eat anything either. Just picked at her grain, beet pulp or soaked alfalfa cubes. Sunday I finally had to take her to the vet. His diagonosis was impaction. 4 bags of IV fluids and some Rx got her over the edge.

She now has made a full recovery.

I am feeding everyone soaked beet pulp and also adding gatorade per dr's orders.

So maybe a trip to the vet to get some IV fluids will help him feel better too.

Please keep us posted.

This cold weather is really challenging us!

 

[jegray21]

I hope he feels better...I always say the more diagnostics the better as long as they are not unnecessarily invasive...good luck...this weather has us on our toes for sure

 

[WeeOkie]

Charlotte,

I'm sorry to read about Skipper. Guess he was already having problems when I was there the other day. You needed another "project" in this weather. LOL

Do hope he is getting much better now.

Rita

 

[georgiegirl]

I just want to throw in my two cents worth on the U-Guard powder.

After a severe bout of ulcers, I put my gelding on U-Guard powder last August. He has a good apetite now and is doing very well. I am convinced that it is a good product.

I did the 21 days of Gastrogard prior to putting him on U-Guard. It isnt expensive and a 4 pound bucket lasts a long time for a mini. I purchased it from the Smart Pak people, who helped me figure out the dosage. I mix it in his soaked beet pulp and alfalfa cubes.

I do not know anything about the drooling. I had a big horse that did drool everytime we gave him bute. I am sure that he was probably allergic to bute or at one time he had ulcers ???

 

[trickhorses]

Is Skipper running a temperature?

I had several pick up a flu virus this winter - most of them were foals and they had a fever and stopped eating - the vet put them on gastroguard and antibiotics and within 5 days they were fine and back to eating and drinking. But my older mare came down sick just a few weeks ago - she has only been sick once in 10 years. None of the other adult horses in the barn got sick, it was just her. She ran a low grade fever of 101.4 and while she was still eating it was very slowly and she had excessive saliva - so much she looked like she had rabies! The vet said when horses get a sore throat, they will continue to chew there food over and over before swallowing causing excessive saliva. I gave her some banamine and that helped with the fever, but she has the excessive saliva symptom for almost a week. She is fine now. But I contribute her excessive saliva to her being sick.

I have given mine gastroguard for years and never had any adverse side affects.

I hope Skipper gets well soon!

 

[Charlotte]

Skipper seems to be grrraaaaddduuuuaaally improving. Yesterday there was no foaming except for a little bit at the evening feeding time. He was eating a bit more willingly so did not get any banamine. this morning he's eating some but sure not like a horse should. even though it's 16 outside I put him in a dry lot with a shed open to the south where the sun can shine in. I keep a variety of hays and feeds in front of him all the time. He picks at some and some he ignores completely.

thank you to everyone who took the time to write a response. I appreciate you.

Charlotte

p.s. Teri (cindydog12) Your Mr Zorba and Skipper are not related at all...I checked pedigrees on the studbook. Is Zorba having trouble right now?