What Kinda Stress Could They Possibly be Suffering From??!?

So Jack's back on ulcer medicine - Ranitidine 11 tabs twice a day. He was treated about half a year ago when he started showing signs of gastric ulcers i.e. grinding his teeth, weight loss, dull coat, picking at feed. One month of Ranitidine and he improved tremendously. Lately though, his mood has been awful (down right grumpy!! Way out of character for him!), coat very dull and he's getting very thin. So back on Ranitidine two days ago and already I see a difference in his coat and attitude!

Max is also on Ranitidine twice a day since his episode with what appeared to have been gastric ulcers, although we never made it as far to get the endoscopy. The Gastrogard we gave him for a week and a half seemed to cure him of what ever it was he was suffering from.

To get the horses to take the eleven pills twice a day is not that easy. You can't just ram them down their throat like you might do with a dog. Twice each day I have to:

• Grind the pills in a mortar and pestle
• Soak the grinds in hot water to dissolve
• mix in 1/4 cup molasses, grated carrots and apples
• the above mixture is then added to soaked beet pulp & alfalfa pellets
• then add Biotin Plus (for coat & hooves)
• and Probiotics

Phew!! And all I had to do to get my kids to take their medicine was have the pharmacist add bubblegum flavor!!!

Max - Almost All Better

The GastroGard appears to have done the trick!! Good thing, too, because the next step was to take him to San Luis Rey Equine Hospital for a fiber-optic endoscope (Gastroscope). Wow!! And I thought the GastroGard was expensive!!!!

I did have a few offers of psychic readings - and I was honestly thinking seriously about that!! I was desperate to help Max!

Luckily, Max seems to have responded (slowly) to the GastroGard. He's eating his own food now, and he prefers the tender, green leaves of the alfalfa - I'll give him just about anything as long as he eats!! He probably lost 50 -75 lbs! Everything seems to be coming out the other end just fine, too!

Phew!!