Talking Ulcers Head On & the All Important Gut Microbiome

We now avoid all Facebook pages to do with Ulcers as we cannot stand to see the horrific advice that is handed out. We have decided to write this blog for those of you who will take 5 minutes to read this and have a think about what we are saying.

Ulcers are usually a combination of or one of three things, stress, pain and food. These three things are often interlinked and coupled together.

We go on and on about the fact that a horse’s stomach has not changed in 2 million years yet in the last 50 or 60 years it has become acceptable to feed ingredients that we would say are unfit for the equine species that result in far reaching issues.

We find it difficult to comprehend that switching the labels of the manufacturers is going to help, after all if you look at the composition they are all using very similar by-products be it GM Soya husks and hulls, distillers grains, wheatfeed, beet pulp, field beans, colourings etc.

Albert Einstein: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

The Ulcer industry is thriving, there is a lot of money involved in it. It is the call we hear the most of. Whether to scope or not? Big Pharma and the veterinary products to assist. Feed companies with their many bags with the word Ulcer written in as many ways as they can without it being correct – they aren’t allowed – ask the VMD.

If we feed our horse’s as nature intended and as they have evolved to eat, we are already in a far better place. Personally, we prefer alfalfa, it is coarse and promotes chewing key and critical to the creation of saliva to coat the upper part of the stomach as well as to masticate feed correctly in the 2 or so hours it is in the stomach before its long journey through the hindgut. It is rich in protein and fibre – what more do you want?

We hear so much about why alfalfa is bad that it leaves us scratching our heads. It will puncture stomachs? Really? Come on that is why our horses have teeth. In our humble opinion alfalfa is the best acid buffer there is.

Hi Form has a bunch of highly qualified nutritionists, clinical nutritionists and naturopaths who question much of what is advised to customers in the UK even by “independent” nutritionists.

Add some linseed oil and some whole oats and you have it. A simple balance of protein, fibre, energy, fats and carbohydrates. All correct for the species (oats are a herb as well as a cereal), remember our horses are strict herbivores – plants, grasses and herbs. Not vegetarians or omnivores.

So that is food bit taken care of.

Stress – often brought on by an imbalance in diet and lack of essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The second biggest discussion we have with prospective customers, their horses are sharp, internally stress, can’t focus, have a total lack of concentration, so they are told to reach for the calmer. We say “NO!!!”

We say back to food and then balance your horses nutritional intake. The microbiome is responsible for the gut/brain axis and in the large majority of cases by correcting these imbalances a lot of the stress element disappears. It is true, there are some horses that need extra help but we would saying dumbing a horse down isn’t it, we say working at the nervous system level is the way to go but I am getting ahead of myself here, back to step 1. Reach for the Oxydane.

Why Oxydane? It was developed with the absolute knowledge that are horses no longer have the capability to roam the 30 or so miles a day they would naturally, using their master forager skills to get everything they need to be healthy. So Oxydane does just that in a mere 15 grams for a horse.

It is all human grade, micro-milled and contains absolutely no fillers. Bagged Balancers are full of GM Soya in various forms, wheatfeed etc etc and for us not enough quality of or quantity of the essential nutrients required – vitamins, minerals and amino acids – to sustain a healthy horse on a daily basis. Oh and Oxydane also contains base electrolytes.

So that would pretty much do it to get the head right and banish much of the stress for the majority of horses.

Pain, well that all depends where it is coming from. There are a variety of reasons as to why pain would contribute to the formation of ulcers. For this case, we are going to assume that it is coming from somewhere in the fore gut or the hind gut. The horse’s gastrointestinal tract consists of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine (fore gut) and the highly developed large intestine composed of the caecum, large colon, small colon and rectum (hind gut). The hind gut is a mystical place that doesn’t give up its secrets easily as any vet will tell you.

We don’t believe in putting sugar laden potions into our horses, or those with copious amounts of fillers – think alfalfa meal, linseed meal.

Dependent on your explanation of the situation or that of your vet, we would be looking at BioEquus or BioEquus Gold. A remarkable fact that even on strong course, the maximum feed rate is 24 grams per day and that is only usually for about 14 days before we start reducing the supplement.

In many cases we will be working alongside your vet who has prescribed Omneprazole or Gastroguard to assist the healing process of the ulcers, these products effectively put a seal over the ulcer to allow it to heal.

We are all about getting the underlying issues resolved but more importantly in our book it is about future prevention rather than cure.

Chris Hayward – took our advice contrary to what she was being told this is what she had to say: “I put my faith in Hi Form and their advice by putting my horse, who’d had ulcers, on their feed and supplement recommendations, although sceptically and against much “expert” advice. 6 months in, said horse looks great and has won the last 2 of his competitions. He’s on Oxydane and ProflamAid Plus now.”