Omeprazole

[griff]

I'm a big fan of using omeprazole to prevent ulcers in young horses in training but am concerned that it works by blockig the secretion of gastric acid and I question if i want to completely block all gastric acid forever.


I use a full does for the first 30 days which cost around $6.00 a day and then cut back to a half dose after that which cost around $3.00 a day. I reduce the Omeprazole because I read a study that this reduction did not result in a return of ulcers and wonder if it also allows some beneficial [???] gastric acid to be excreted


griff

[Laurierace]

You definitely do not want to block the acid forever. Ideally you could get them in an environment and feed them in such a way that would make them unlikely to return but that is easier said than done with race horses.

[griff]

Yep, I read a paper that said 80% of the horses in ace training have ulcers..

Never did like taking a horse out of a pasture and putting hi in a stall 23/7.

griff

[Laurierace]

It's probably closer to 100%. What I do is treat with gastrogard then switch to a preventative that does not block acid like U-7.

[griff]

Thanks, i'll look at U2.. Has anyone ever heard of using safeguard or Panacure as for a ulcer maintenance drug?/

by the way gastroguard is nothing but omeprazole with a high price tag

griff

[kimberley mine]

Kentucky Equine Research makes a product called RiteTrac that is a combined short-duration stomach antacid and time-release hindgut antacid. I use the time-release bicarbonate only (Equishure) for my gelding. It shouldn't test positive for normal use but is not recommended on race day.

http://www.horsesuppliesdirect.com.au/prod190.htm

Otherwise...turnout on pasture, feeding hay in nets or slow feeders, feeding long stem fibre before grain, and mixing grain with corn oil will all help keep the acid levels somewhat in balance.

[griff]

Where do you buy your Rite Trac and what's the dosage and cost per day?

griff

[Shammy Davis]

It also looks like alfalfa helps to buffer stomach acid.

It is amazing how expensive the Omeprazole is for equine uses and how cheap it is for human use. The patent terminated some time ago and it is produced as generic and compounded form. Once again the veterinary side of the major drug producers are taking the animal owning public to the cleaners. From what I've read Gastroguard is more effective. I've been told that with racehorses that have raced more than 6 years, the prognosis is not so good.

http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/extension/doc ... es-web.pdf

http://www.vet.ksu.edu/depts/vmth/equin ... ulcers.pdf

http://www.ker.com/library/advances/246.pdf

[kimberley mine]

Where do you buy your Rite Trac and what's the dosage and cost per day?

griff

Here you go:

http://shop.ker.com/ker/index.php?main_ ... f8j6pb1o26

1 60-gram scoop twice a day, so roughly $4/day. If you buy the 6kg bucket, cost goes down to $3.60/day. This is the same or cheaper than using Neigh-lox, with the added bonus of it deals with the hindgut.

Shammy, the expense for omeprazole isn't the drug, per se, but getting the proper coating on it. The drug itself will break down in acid. If you just get some made at a compounding pharmacy and it doesn't have the proper coating, you're throwing huge amounts of money away and still not dealing with the problem.

[Shammy Davis]

KM wrote:

Shammy, the expense for omeprazole isn't the drug, per se, but getting the proper coating on it. The drug itself will break down in acid. If you just get some made at a compounding pharmacy and it doesn't have the proper coating, you're throwing huge amounts of money away and still not dealing with the problem

Thanks for this information. I had no idea.

[Laurierace]

Yep, it's all about the coating which is why it tells you repeatedly not to crush or chew Nexium. The compounded stuff is useless for a horse that truly has active ulcers. There is a company out there called omperazole direct that sells it with an enteric coating that has been nicknamed pop rocks due to their appearance. They will even send you a free sample but it takes a couple weeks to get to you. I haven't tried it for that reason but know many who have.

[kimberley mine]

Yep, it's all about the coating which is why it tells you repeatedly not to crush or chew Nexium. The compounded stuff is useless for a horse that truly has active ulcers. There is a company out there called omperazole direct that sells it with an enteric coating that has been nicknamed pop rocks due to their appearance. They will even send you a free sample but it takes a couple weeks to get to you. I haven't tried it for that reason but know many who have.

FWIW it takes so long for them to ship because the compounding pharmacy that makes the drug is based in India. This isn't a slam against their quality--compounded drugs made in India saved my life once, and for the most part their QC is excellent--but going literally around the world takes time.

[Laurierace]

I understand. I just can't spend the two weeks or whatever it takes when I have a horse with a suspected problem. If I had a horse that needed it long term it's a no brainer.

[kimberley mine]

Laurie, do you have to have a prescription to buy it from the Indian pharmacy? Or could you buy a therapeutic dose in advance?

It seems strange that you would need a prescription for a horse, when theoretically (and expensively) you could just buy human omaprazole aka prilosec over the counter.

[griff]

Google Abba Vet Supply

They will sell you [1] Gastroguard,,, [2] UlcerGuard and/or [3] Omeprazole. w/o a prescription

griff