Blue Pop Rocks 101: How to Get Your Horse to Eat Omeprazole Granules

If you own a horse who has gastric ulcers and if you frequent the Chronicle of the Horse forums, you are probably familiar with the Abler enteric coated omeprazole granules, affectionately renamed “blue pop rocks” by a forum contributor.

Many horses eat the harmless, flavorless granules with no problem if they are sprinkled on a serving of grain. But sometimes, there are horses like Wizard, who object to the texture and decide that the pop rocks are poisonous.

For a while, I added a blob of molasses to his feed and dumped the pop rocks on the molasses blob, but then my friend Christie came up with a brilliant, less messy idea:

1) Buy a bucket of Stud Muffins, or similarly delicious, large, and SOFT horse treat.

2) You will need one muffin per sachet of granules. Put the first muffin in a small Dixie cup- the little bathroom ones work great.

3) For added softness, microwave the treat for a few seconds or add a few drops of water.

4) Make a hollow pocket in the muffin with your fingers, pressing the edges of the treat onto the walls of the cup. The deeper a pocket you can make, the better.

5) Pour one sachet of omeprazole granules into the hollowed-out treat.

6) Using the walls of the cup, mold the treat back into its original shape. This will conceal the omeprazole granules and make the treat look normal.

7) Remove the treat from the cup and feed to your horse. Yum!

Wizard Ride 291: Blue

Wednesday, 10/5/11

I left work pretty late, and met up with Kris at the barn. She longed Sunny while I rode Wizard in the outdoor arena. While we were grooming, Wizard was very grouchy about currying- this is the second or third time I’ve noticed him recently being so unhappy with grooming. It’s a good thing I ordered the magic “blue Pop Rocks”, aka Omeprazole granules. I’ve long suspected ulcers in Wizard, and did some treatment with Ulcergard until I ran out of funds.

Through the wonders of the Chronicle of the Horse forums, I’ve discovered a MUCH cheaper Omeprazole treatment, with the enteric coating that is designed to handle stomach acid. Wizard got his first three sachets tonight, mixed with molasses and a little grain as a treat. He did not have any problem with the taste. Hooray!

Wizard was also goosey under saddle- he flattened his ears a few times when I put leg on him. It will be very interesting to see if the Omeprazole helps.

The arena was holding some moisture, but there was only one really wet section. Wizard did not handle it quite as nicely as he handles drier footing, and I never really got that schwung that he sometimes gives in better footing. We walked and then did a few halts, followed by the trot. I let him trot loosely for a few laps, then asked for a little stretching, and then asked for transitions from walk to trot to walk to engage the hind end. As we continued with the transitions, he started to use himself a little better and maintain more contact. The contact was not as good as it was a few days ago, though. We trotted a few times over teeny, tiny cross rails and verticals, which woke him up and got him moving better. He cantered out a few times, and I let him. Once we had done a few of the little jumps, Wizard was able to open his stride a little and give me a nicer trot. When we were done, we cooled out at a walk, and I put him to bed with some hay. Let the blue Pop Rocks begin their magic…

The Hooligans Get Baths

Thursday, 2/12/09

Today was sunny and temperatures were mild, but the winds gusted over 50mph. It was the last warm day before temperatures begin to drop again, so I decided to give Wizard and JR baths. Whenever I see Wizard and JR playing, the word “hooligans” always comes to mind. They wrestle, they buck, they rear, they bite, they kick, and at the end of the day, they snooze in their shed. Today, the hooligans got baths. They have not been bathed in a very long time so I was not sure what to expect. As a racehorse, Wizard would have been accustomed to frequent baths, but that was a long time ago.

JR was the first victim. He stood really nicely, even when the wind gusted hard and the barn door slammed LOUDLY. I fed him carrots every few minutes and told him what lovely manners he had- flattery worked ;^) JR is now about 4 shades lighter than he is in these photos, taken before the bath. Due to the crazy wind, I did not have the chance to photograph JR after the bath. I sprayed his face with water but did not shampoo it. We’ll try that another time.

Wizard was next. He was equally polite and brave when the wind whipped through the door. He was a little goosey but perfectly mannered, even when I stepped on a rake and almost fell on him. I’m oh-so graceful, you know… When I was done, Wizard was sooooo soft- he felt like a big teddy bear.

OK, here’s a confession… I’m kind of a product freak about horses. I cannot walk out of a tack shop without some sort of little purchase: hoof conditioner, shampoo, something. Today, I cleaned out my tack trunk and found all sorts of goodies for grooming. The hooligans had better watch out.

For both horses today, I used my leftover Absorbine Special Care shampoo and Vetrolin shampoo. I use many different varieties and I don’t have an overwhelming favorite at this time. I try not to over-bathe horses since it can disturb the balance of oils in the coat. If I bathed horses frequently, I’d use the mildest shampoo possible. To condition their manes and tails, I used Cowboy Magic. For their feet, I used my old jar of Epona Diamond Hoof Ointment.

Due to the recent discussion on the Chronicle of the Horse forum about coat conditioners, I tried Pink Sheen Spray on Wizard’s tail a week or so ago. I disliked how much it attracted dust and it seemed sticky at first, but as soon as it dried, it felt quite nice. I would not use it too frequently, but in the winter, I like to condition manes and tails to keep them from drying out and splitting. JR and Wizard have natural manes that are not pulled, so they require more maintenance than a short, pulled mane.

And speaking of grooming, have you ever seen a person perform the art of singeing a horse? Pretty cool way to remove the “cat hairs”.

I said goodnight to two soft, clean, conditioned horses. I have a feeling I’ll be saying hello to two grubby hooligans in the next day or two.