A few months ago I wrote about seabuckthorn and its use as an equine supplement to treat gastric ulcers and promote general health. I tested SeaBuck Complete (SBC) on Riley (see my blog post on SBC). While I was happy with the way Riley's coat looked on SBC, he didn't have a digestive, feeding, or ulcer problem so the main benefit of SBC was kind of lost on him.
A new research report on on gastric ulcers highlights the effectiveness of seabuckthorn. The study was led by Dr. Frank Andrews, Head of the Equine veterinary program at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Science (pictured right). He describes seabuckthorn as a promising area for future research in treating gastric ulcers, and plans are under way for a new study on the use of SBC to treat ulcers. Dr. Andrews states, "We expect seabuckthorn-treated horses will have significantly fewer and less severe gastric ulcers on endoscopic examination than untreated controls." SBC is less expensive that the gold standard treatment, Gastroguard.
Here's your chance to get a free gallon of Seabuck Complete to try on your horse. Just leave a comment describing your horse's problem, how it affects your horse, how it affects you, and anything else you'd like to add. A photo of your horse, if you know how to upload to photo Web sites, is helpful. A winner will be selected one week to ten days from the date of this posting. Below are some details on the research -- and of course you can consult the Web site for SBC.
clipped from veterinarymedicine.dvm360.comNutrition and dietary management of equine gastric ulcer syndrome
Reprinted with permission from the Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice, Vol. 25, Issue 1.
Seabuckthorn Berry Extract
"...this preparation prevented an increase in gastric ulcer scores following
an alternating feed deprivation, ulcer induction model, compared with untreated control horses, which had a significant increase in gastric ulcer scores. Also, gastric ulcer scores in seven of the eight seabuckthorn-treated horses either stayed the same or decreased compared with just two of the eight untreated controls. Although this preparation of seabuckthorn berry did not
heal ulcers in these horses, it may prevent nonglandular ulcers from getting worse during times of stress or feed deprivation.
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OTHER RESOURCES
Seabuck Complete Web site
Herb shows promise in gastric ulcer treatment in horses from NZ Horsetalk.com
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome from LSU's La Veterinaire (see page 10)
Still it does not seem to heal the ulcers. The idea of Gastrogard is to inhibit the production of stomach acid allowing the ulcers to heal. The drug works for 24 hours at a time which is longer than other antacids.
ReplyDeleteBut this does maainly seem like a possible option for maintaining a healthy horse once the initial cure is completed.
Be thankful all the stress and medications of Riley's hoof problems didn't result in digestive trouble!
ReplyDeleteStacey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for a very interesting, knowledgeable post!You do such thorough research that many of us benefit from- thank you for your hard work.
Also, I want to thank you for the Behind the Bit logo items you sent me recently. I love the pen, have the magnet on my refrigerator, so yours will be the first blog I'll always read, thanks also for the calling cards (haven't decided where to put them yet) and the darling post-it note that says "After work, comes riding!" which I will take to work of course. They are wonderful items and thank you for sharing them! Also, it would be an honor to have you visit my blog sometime. Thanks again!
athousandpoundsoffragilehorse.blogspot.com
Jan
Jan, Thanks! If you get a chance, consider joining our group HorseBloggers at http://groups.google.com/group/horsebloggers
ReplyDeleteI'll send BTB SWAG on request, just fill out a form (right side of blog)
My horse is just on the edge of needing testing for ulcers, he looses weight and seems overly stressed when traveling. He is a nervous eater bolting and tossing any feed that is not SUPER SOAKED (like floating in water.) What interested me was that it might help my LGL horse. He get obvious stress lines in his feet after any digestive 'upset' they never cause true lameness but trying to micro manage his sugar intake even with other helpful supp. is hard in a board sit. Perhaps this supp might help with that?
ReplyDelete