Madalyn Ward, DVM shares her answers to specific holistic horse care questions from clients. To see more questions and answers on real holistic horse care situations check out our Holistic Horsekeeping and Horse Harmony Facebook pages.

Q – I have a horse with ulcers that I just got scoped. I have the Gastroguard to heal the ulcers because it has worked once before, but I cannot continue to give these treatments. His signs are biting and kicking when cinching the saddle. Also he will not transition to a lope and is nervous when not with stall mates or when he cannot see them. I have been researching which supplements to maintain him. and bought the 98% aloe vera juice and a package of organic slippery elm powder that I was going to give him at the same time as the Gastroguard. So I would ask how do I proceed after giving the 16 days of Gastroguard that I already purchased? I do not know if it is okay to give at the same time. Also I know from personal experience that omneprozale if given in any length of time can cause bone loss in people so maybe it would be the same for horses? Thank you for any information that you can give me.

A – You can give aloe and slippery elm at the same time as Gastrogard and then continue the Aloe/Slippery elm. There is a huge difference between different types of aloe. Most store brands are not very effective. I suggest Pharm Aloe. Giving 2 capfuls a day of the 4X concentrate works well.

Q – I just read your article on papaya and was wondering if you could tell me about dosages? I would be most interested in having the information handy for horses of different weights (including foals, and seniors). I am using American health Papaya Enzyme Original Chewable. I have 15.2 Arab (maybe 1000 #) that I was told 10 tabs a day 2 x daily.

A – I usually suggest twice the human dose but you would have no concerns about overdosing so giving 10 twice a day is fine.