Best feed for the ulcer prone horse?

[HarrisonEQ]

Wondering what other people have used with the best results.
Already doing ulcer maintenance with meds and supplements, he is an event horse (OTTB) currently doing prelim level with the intention to keep moving up, so he stays fairly fit.

I had him on Triple Crown Complete and he was doing pretty well on that with grass hay as often as needed and some alfalfa once a day. I have had nurmous issues with that feed store not always being in stock, which I refuse to tolerate! I can’t stand the idea of running out of feed or having to add in something else until they get their order in etc etc, Has happened several times over the past year and I have even called Triple Crown twice to let them know it had happened but they still run short.
So…
I have now switched them to Purina Ultium. But he just had an ulcer relapse last week - I am not blaming the feed on this, he was swtiched slowly and has now been on Ultium for a few months now. But he does seem a little ‘hotter’ on it.

What have you used (even if I have to mix my own) that has been the best for these highly active horses with ulcers but has not made them any ‘hotter’?

I thought maybe a senior feed, more fiber? made to be easy to digest?

I certainly do not need him to loose any weight! In the last 6 months he has finally filled out to the weight I would like him to stay at.

[Dressage_Diva333]

My ulcer-prone mare is on Triple Crown Senior. Is there a way you can put in a standing order with them? My feed store has been really good about it, and I just make sure to never run out EVERY single other feed I’ve tried with this mare causes a flare up, she did NOT do well on Ultium. That’s not to say that there couldn’t have been some other issue that was causing her to have episodes while on the other feeds. Honestly she’s been great since being on TC Senior though. She’s only 13, but I like the high fat content in the SR so that’s what I chose. I really watch the NSC content. Pretty much any Purina feed has been a big no-no for her. She did “okay” on Nutrena. She actually did pretty well on ADM Alliance, but I was having supply issues with that.

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

So Ultium is meant to give your horse energy because it is a performance feed. So if your horse is a little hot it’s because he’s getting a lot of protein and fat from his food. Ultium is good because it’s low in starch and the high starch & sugar content feeds are not good for ulcery horses. I have my mare on Strategy Healthy Edge because it doesn’t give her as much energy (lower fat content) and supplement her diet with forage at meal time.

I think it’s better to feed plenty of forage and less grain for an ulcer horse so I’d calculate how much feed your horse needs for nutrients and then bulk him up on forage like beet pulp, alfalfa cubes/pellets, and then I’d also give him alfalfa more than once a day (I know, I know alfalfa is really #*$%&^! expensive).

But right now, my 1000lb mare is on:
2lb of strategy healthy edge 2x a day
As we go into winter she goes onto 1 lb alfalfa pellets/cubes 2x a day
And if she seems at all ulcery she also goes on to 2 lb of soaked beet pulp 2x a day (make sure it’s the beet pulp without molasses)
During the summer she is on 24 hr turnout, and during the winter she is in at night and free-fed hay (grass or timothy and alfalfa).

[Concetta]

I would blame the ultium…,you’re better off with triple crown senior, pennfields fibergized …or something low starch/sugar …like a ration balancer and fat source plus added fiber like beet pulp or alfalfa pellets

[fire_911medic]

I have an ulcer prone made and do a mix of safe guard and triple crown senior. She is a little older 15 and it seems to work well. She stays in active work , is an OTTB , and tends to be a bit hyper. This keeps her from going over the top. Good luck !

[LDavis104]

My ulcer prone horse is on Triple Crown Senior. He used to be on Triple Crown Complete and I realized the Senior had a much lower NSC. He also keeps his weight better on less Senior than he did the Complete so I am able to keep the amount of grain to a minimum.

[HarrisonEQ]

I tried the standing order - and even spoke to the Triple Crown Supplier about this store always running out, to no avail! grrr…

I originally went with the Ultium because of the high fat (TC Complete has high fat too and he was fine) because he is hard to keep weight on. He has hay 24/7 and I would feed the alfalfa twice a day if he would clean it up (he doesn’t always finish his 1 flake).

I have a Nutrena dealer close by, but can’t get any other good brands, no Pennfield here or Cavlor. The Triple Crown is actually a fairly new brand in this area which I am sure is part of the problem getting it in. They don’t want any more that what will sell.

I also have heard something about soy meal and ulcers not going well together… maybe I am wrong.

I would love to have him on less grain even if it meant more $$$ spent on hay. But he is such a tough keeper and I don’t want him to loose any weight.

What about the Purina senior? Or one of the Omelene sweet feeds? Anyone had luck with those?

thank you everyone for all the tips!

[SuckerForHorses]

1. If he is ulcerprone, have you considered that he is a hard keeper BECAUSE of the grain you’re feeding him? You may be surprised if you were to make a complete switch to a ration balancer and upped his calories by using alfalfa cubes or beet pulp. Easier on the stomach, may end up being teh same amount of calories you’re feeding right now on just grain.

What about the Purina senior? Or one of the Omelene sweet feeds? Anyone had luck with those?

HELL. TO. THE. NO. if your horse has trouble with ulcers.

[SuckerForHorses]

^ The reason I mention #1 above is because a friend had a horse that was a “hard keeper” and then started exhibiting signs of ulcers. She stopped his Poulin Performance 12/12 (I think it was, one of their 12/12 feeds anyways, not the textured, it was pellets) and simply went with Poulin’s ration balancer (MVP) and added alfalfa pellets. The horse looks better now than he ever has.

[Scaramouch]

Definitely no Omolene - that stuff is loaded with starchy grains. I wouldn’t switch to Purina Equine Senior if you don’t want weight loss as it’s only 5.5 percent fat. With Purina, Ultium is probably the best choice as it is a low starch formula, but I’m not a fan of the brand overall.

You might ask the Nutrena dealer if they have or can order Pro Force Fiber.

Other than the feed, what are you doing to manage the ulcers? Is he turned out or stalled? Is he on a preventive dose of omeprazole?

[stryder]

Purina Omolene 400 is 20 NSC. That doesn’t seem terrible to me. Purina Senior is 17 NSC, which I feed in small amounts to my ulcer-prone mare.

The Omolene 400 used to be called something else, but it was the only one of that type. So Purina changed its name to group it into a “family” of feeds, according to the Purina rep.

I feed Purina Wellsolve LS, which my main feed dealer doesn’t always have in stock. So I keep at least one bag on hand. Get ready to open the last bag, call in my next order. If it were more scarce, I would keep a couple bags on hand and plan ahead so I wouldn’t run out.

You said the dealer has just started carrying this line, and doesn’t want to be stuck with out-of-date stock. I get that. Could you find out how often they order, how long it takes to get a delivery, and work around their schedule? That way they have no risk, and you get what you want.

[HarrisonEQ]

He gets anywhere from 8-10 hours of turn out every day. He is turned out during the day with another fairly quiet gelding. But they do play some.

As fall approaches the grass is not the best, so I throw flakes of hay out for them. But he doesn’t always eat all the grass hay, he gets offered alfalfa once a day in his stall and there is usually still some in the stall after his turnout from his morning food. So he usually cleans up a total of a flake of alfalfa a day. I break his meals into 3 feedings, morning, smaller lunch, evening grain, then at night check he gets more hay if he is out or low.

He was getting a low quality cheap sweet feed when I bought him, I switched him to TC Complete then. Once he got back into work (he had then been turned out and left for a while as previous owner had quite riding) and shortly after increasing his work load and getting him started eventing, we discovered the ulcers. Treated then and he seemed much better; was eating more, coat became shiny, weight increased etc. Now we seem to be having a relapse in the ulcers and along with the ulcer meds, I want to really tailor his feeding as much as I can to help manage it with out him loosing the weight and bloom that he has gained.

-I purchased him last June - to give you a time frame.

A ration balancer may be my next step.

[HarrisonEQ]

You said the dealer has just started carrying this line, and doesn’t want to be stuck with out-of-date stock. I get that. Could you find out how often they order, how long it takes to get a delivery, and work around their schedule? That way they have no risk, and you get what you want.[/QUOTE]

The dealer has had Triple Crown now for going on two years at least! I have tried many ways to resolve, including offering to pay a month up front so he could have it in stock for me, but he always seems to be on his last few bags when I go in.

[stryder]

What about alfalfa cubes with oil? I’ve found cubes (soaked) with oil and flax are great ways to add calories.

Other than that, she gets about 3 lbs. of Wellsolve LS in the evening, and about 1 lb of equine senior in the morning. When she needs more calories, I increase the oil. This is working great for her.

And free choice hay, 24/7, in hay nets.

[SuckerForHorses]

He gets anywhere from 8-10 hours of turn out every day.

Is more turnout possible? Being in a stall for 14-16 hours a day would have my ulcer prone mare climbing the walls.

[Ruby2shoes]

Blue Seal has Carbguard. I add fat… whatever oils you prefer. It is only 8% fat, 12% protein, but 25% fiber and 10-11% NSC.

[arabiansrock]

No experience with ulcers here (that I know of!) but I just switched my horses to the Nutrena Safe Choice Senior. It is 20% NSC, the same as the TC complete you were using and 8% fat. So far (its been a little over a week) it hasn’t made my TB hot. knock on wood. I was feeding ultium but as a furloughed federal employee (gotta love being used as a pawn), when I saw the BOGO on the new Safechoice senior, I knew it was time for a trial. The horses seem to like the taste of it and it has pre/pro biotics in it which the purina does not.

If you wanted to stay with purina, try the Purina Senior Healthy Edge. It is 8% fat so higher than their normal senior. but again, no probiotics, which might help an ulcery horse.

[beowulf]

Definitely more turn out. I love ultium, I personally think its good for the ulcer prone horses… It is beet pulp based, isn’t it?

Omolene500 is not so different than Ultium. IIRC it is beet pulp and oatmeal based. My late finicky-stomached gelding did very well on Omolene 500. Better than he had done on Ultium. I also supplemented his grain with 2qt soaked rolled oats (so, about 4 lb soaked, I think) and he did very well on this.

I would definitely consider more turn out. If he can graze constantly he will likely feel better.

FWIW, my new horse is on BS LS Sentinel. Has lower starch and higher fat than ultium, IIRC. I love it and he seems to too. It’s puffy as all hell so I soak it for him at lunch time, but he seems to enjoy the slop it makes. I’m sure this guy has ulcers too, his last race was on the 6th before I got him.

[LauraKY]

Hay. Top quality alfalfa/timothy mix. As much as you can stuff in him. As little concentrate as possible.

[QHF]

My ulcer-prone mare has been on several feeds and all of them after a week or two really irritated her stomach. Ultium was a big no for her, as was Pennfield’s Fibergized. She cannot even tolerate plain oats. While going through this process she was thin and not thriving - she came to me this way. I’ve now had her for 3 years and have been through just about every feeding option under the sun! What works for her, and keeps weight and a beautiful shine on her, is a forage diet. She eats soaked alfalfa cubes and beet pulp (no molasses) 2X per day. I feed a complete supplement with no added fillers from Horse Tech called Fuel. However, she also cannot tolerate any soy, not even veg. oil, so they custom formulate the Fuel for me substituting the powdered soy veg. oil with more flax. I also keep a small hole hay net in front of her with O&A hay always when she’s in. While out she has plenty of grass to graze on and in the winter I supplement outside with more hay. I also feed 1/4 cup oat flour in both of her soaked meals. Another must is to be religiously consistent with feeding times. This is so very important! If her schedule varies she immediately becomes “ulcery”. As long as all of these things are in order she never has a problem, but it not she’s a very unhappy girl!