#ulcergard

I’ve been getting this question a lot lately from people I know offline, and I have been seeing it brought up incorrectly in several posts on my dash, so I thought I would reiterate the information here even though I think I’ve discussed it before.

GastroGard is the TREATMENT dose for horses who have established ulcers and typically requires a prescription.

UlcerGard is the PREVENTION dose and intended to be given as a means to keep a horse from developing ulcers during stressful events such as showing and is available over the counter.

From Irongate Equine Clinic:

GastroGard is the FDA approved omeprazole product manufactured by Merial for the treatment of gastric ulcer syndrome in horses.  The drug is stable in the paste form and guaranteed to deliver the labeled strength of drug if handled properly until the expiration date is reached.  It is packaged as a paste in a tube that is dosed at 1.8 milligram per pound (4mg/kg) of body weight so 1 tube will treat 1250 lbs of body weight at the treatment dosage of the drug.  GastroGard is a prescription drug.

UlcerGard is the FDA approved omeprazole product manufactured by Merial for the prevention of gastric ulcer formation in horses.  It is also packaged as a paste in a tube for oral administration.  It is dosed at 0.45 milligrams/lb or 1 mg/kg of body weight (a quarter of the per pound treatment dose for Gastrogard).  The tube is marked to deliver 4 preventative doses per tube for a 1000lb horse.  Ulcergard is a non-prescription drug and is available over the counter.

The concentration and amount of omeprazole is exactly the same in Gastrogard as it is in Ulcergard. The difference is how those tubes of omeprazole are dosed.

So, what this means to the horse owner is, if your horse is being treated for a stomach ulcer, your veterinarian will prescribe GastroGard.  If your horse has been treated for an ulcer and recovered, or if we are concerned about your horse developing an ulcer as the result of a change in stress level, we would recommend using UlcerGard starting 2-3 days prior to the anticipated stressful event, throughout the event and possibly for a few days afterward to prevent the development of an ulcer.

While, yes, you can buy UlcerGard to treat ulcers, it would be most effective to dose it the same way as you would GastroGard--administering a whole tube. Unfortunately, that means your cost savings by choosing UlcerGard over GastroGard is fairly minimal.

Remember, before you start treating your horse for stomach ulcers, be sure to talk to your veterinarian!

Lennox has been out of commission this week :( His ulcers seem to be flaring up. He was so sensitive when I got on him mid last week that I got right back off. I've been giving him UlcerGard, he's been getting aloe juice in his grain once a day, and I got him a Jolly Ball and an Uncle Jimmy's Licky Thing. He's also been eating his SmartCalm. I'm hoping all that helps! I'll probably try to ride him tomorrow and see how he feels.

Last dose of UlcerGard for Lennox tonight! He seems like he's doing a lot better. Don came with me to the barn and we turned him out for a little bit then loved on him and fed him his beet pulp/peppermint tea/aloe.

Third single dose of UlcerGard for Lennox tonight. It was a really nice day out and he played a lot in turnout. Another lady at the barn even said she really enjoyed watching him run in the pasture because he was so handsome :)

I tacked him up and took him into the arena to lunge then ride him. But there was a girl in there cantering jump courses, which got Lennox really hyped up. I lunged him a little at the ends of the arena and then just made him stand in the corner with me and watch the girl jump her courses. I think it was really helpful for him because he hasn't been around other horses jumping much. He did pretty well, but still got so hyped up that I didn't feel like riding him. Not only because I didn't feel like dealing with bucking fits, but also because I'm trying to keep his stress level to a minimum.

I've had a really rough day today and I got all the way to the barn tonight and realized I had forgotten to bring Lennox's UlcerGard! :( It was too late to go back home and get it, the barn closes at 10 and I wouldn't have had enough time. So I just turned him out for a little bit then gave him his beet pulp with peppermint and aloe.