KEEPING ULCERS IN CHECK

Harper is a nine year old warmblood mare, much loved by her proud riding partner Emily, Emily’s wee brother Baxter, and mum Jo Bremner. She has, however, presented them with some pretty big problems too. Jo tells us, “When Harper arrived with us in November 2020 she was out of work and had some quirky issues that we initially put down to the move and being brought back into work. After a couple of months of slowly bringing her back into work we began to think there was something that needed investigating. We got her worm burden under control, her teeth done, her tack checked and got the physio and vet involved. Her behaviour gradually became more and more unpredictable and dangerous when being ridden and in June we asked for a referral to the equine hospital to have her back checked and her tummy scoped for ulcers.”

Harper was diagnosed with severe gastric ulcers, resulting in extreme tension and pain over her lower back. Her scope had revealed extensive grade 4 ulceration of the squamous mucosa (the top half of the stomach, above the “acid line”) and mild ulceration of the glandular mucosa (the bottom half). She was prescribed Gastrogard - omeprazole given orally by syringe - for six weeks with a follow-up scope to check the treatment was working. Her re-scope showed the squamous ulcers had almost gone but the glandular ulcers had actually got worse so the treatment was changed to omeprazole injections for four weeks with a re-scope scheduled in five weeks.

Halfway through her second lot of treatment Jo contacted Rhoni at Horseward for some advice about what more she could be doing to help Harper’s stomach and stress levels. Harper was already on a clean, minimally processed forage-based diet so we recommended starting her on GGGutPlus to be added twice daily to her simple daily ration of Thunderbrook chaff and linseed oil.

We also suggested GGGoldenPowerPlus as we felt that its anti-inflammatory action would help with her muscular tension. Now, Golden Power Plus contains certified biodynamic organic turmeric as one of its primary active ingredients. It seems to be a pretty widely held belief in horsy circles that turmeric can aggravate gastric issues – perhaps because it’s thought to be “spicy” as in hot and burny like chilli peppers, which of course it isn’t. Turmeric has actually been found in multiple mammalian studies to have a protective and therapeutic effect on the gastric mucosa. This, along with the exceptional anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant performance we expect from GGGoldenPowerPlus, makes it a great pairing with GGGutPlus for horses who are experiencing pain secondary to ulcers as well as ulcers secondary to pain.

Jo takes up the story: “Two weeks of adding the above supplements to her regular feed along with the remaining omeprazole treatment she was back at the hospital for a third scope and the results were amazing!! All her ulcers were completely gone!! Not only were they gone, the vet said she had the healthiest stomach she had seen in a very long time.”

Jo adds, “The vet and nurses couldn't believe the difference in her whole nature, she had gone from a horse that was completely stressed out to one that was relaxed and let her beautiful personality shine. She has now started to put on some weight, starting to work in an outline and just more relaxed and happy in general. All thanks to the supplements from Horseward!! We can't thank Rhoni enough.”

You are most welcome, Jo – it’s such a pleasure to see Harper’s relationship with your whole family truly starting to bloom!