I had the chance to try Equine 74 Gastric, a horse ulcer treatment, and wanted to share the details in hopes to help other horse owners with this unfortunately common horse condition. A special thanks to Sarah from Horse Gear Canada for sending me the free sample. Although she sent me the first sample for free and asked for nothing in return, I decided to write a review for Equine 74 Gastric, a product that has changed my horse’s story for the better and have continued to purchase from Sarah since.
Alice's ulcer story
Alice, my 18-year-old warmblood mare, developed ulcers three years ago when we were training to compete in eventing. Her ulcer story is typical: she was grinding her teeth and lashing out. Brushing and blanketing were unpleasant for both of us. My sweet mare had become a nightmare to ride and groom. At the time, my trainer thought she was sassy and opinionated: I felt there was something deeper at work.
After an awful jumping lesson, during which my girth needed to be tightened to which my mare objected (and nearly kicked the person who went to tighten the girth), I knew I had to do something about it.
It was time to call the vet. I provided the symptoms above. Then the vet commented that my mare was in a lot of pain. My heart sank. We had two options: scope her for ulcers or treat her with omeprazole and see if it worked. We decided to treat her and change her feed regiment by adding alfalfa cubes and spreading out what grain she did receive. It was a lot of work, and the small barn where I boarded her could not viably accommodate all the changes, so I brought Alice home to care for her.
The initial treatment
That spring, Alice and I went on easy trail rides and just concentrated on getting her tummy better. By the end of two omeprazole treatments, I started her on a double dose of Madbarn’s Visceral+ under a Madbarn equine nutritionist’s advice. For the next six months, Alice was religiously fed Visceral+, much to her dismay. She didn’t care for the taste. When I felt she had fully recovered a full year after her diagnosis, I weaned her off the Visceral+.
Unfortunately, she again showed signs of ulcers six months later, and she wasn’t being ridden consistently. Thankfully, I met virtually this wonderful horsewoman named Sarah Chambers, Horse Gear Canada owner, who had a product that could help my horse. She sent me a 6-week sample of Equine 74 Gastric for me to try with Alice. In exchange, I would document Alice’s journey towards ulcer recovery.
The trial
When I first received the small box, I was surprised at the weight. It was heavy! Once I had opened it, there were a few sprinkles of white powder that had loosened during shipping. The consistency of the powder is like flour, so don’t sneeze! You’ll find some everywhere after! It has a mild vanilla smell as well. (AN: The powdered form has since been discontinued; however, the pellet form is just as effective and easier to work with.)
I prepared Alice’s beet pulp mash that night and sprinkled a partial scoop of Equine 74 Gastric into it. I slowly brought her to the full dose over a few days, just so that she could get used to the taste. Unlike the Visceral, she never had an issue with the taste of Gastric. It’s important to mention that at this point, my mare was a picky eater, typical of ulcery horses. She didn’t eat anything that was out of the usual. For her to eat it without a second thought was a massive win for Gastric.
Here are the videos I recorded for my Facebook page at the start of the 6-week trial, three weeks in and at the end. You’ll notice a considerable difference in Alice’s reaction at the 3-week mark and a completely different horse at six weeks.
- Start of trial
- 3-weeks in
- End of trial – 6 weeks later
I continued to use the products for several months as it helped Alice so much. Here is my review of Equine 74 Gastric.
Pros of Equine 74 Gastric
- It actually works and it works quickly! It only took six weeks to see a difference.
- Palatable and easy to feed, thanks to the vanilla flavour.
- Easily integrated into a wet mash! It is now only available in pellet form.
- Natural ingredients.
- Free of FEI banned substances.
Cons of Equine 74 Gastric
- More expensive at $3.85/day compared to other non-prescription horse ulcer treatments, but definitely less expensive than several rounds of omeprazole!
- The powder is very fine, like flour, so it could quickly make a mess.
- The long narrow bottle combined with the scoop makes it hard to get to the product when you start hitting the bottom.
Overall Impression
My official review of Equine 74 Gastric is that it has my vote as a treatment for ulcers. The natural formula combined with the palatability made this product ideal for Alice. For it to work so quickly was a welcome surprise! Despite the price, this product is now my first recourse when treating or preventing ulcers in horses.
If you are struggling to help your horse with ulcers, this product can help! Purchase Equine 74 Gastric from Horse Gear Canada today.
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