Diet for ulcer horse

[BilyandJack]

My ottb just got diagnosed with superficial ulcers (but a lot of them) after several colic episodes. (See previous thread for more info). I was thinking that the horse is going to need grain for the winter (possibly starting in September depending on weather and grass availability). Any suggestions or tweaks to the diet I came up with are welcome. That’s why I’m posting this!! I really want the best diet I can get with this guy

This horse currently gets:
6:30 a.m and 8:30pm
20 oz hay cubes
12 oz tribute k finish
30g Equishure
1 scoop magnesium
1 scoop pre/probiotics

I’m thinking of changing the diet to:
5:30 a.m (work hours are changing :p)
16oz tribute kalm ultra
3oz k finish
10 oz hay cubes
Plus supplements
4:30 p.m
2oz k finish
16 oz kalm ultra
10oz hay cubes

7:30pm
3 oz k finish
16oz kalm ultra
10 oz hay cubes
Plus supplements

How does this diet sound? Would it be suitable for an ulcery and colicky horse? If Canada had grass in the winter I wouldn’t change his diet at all. I will of course run it past my vet but she isnt to experienced in the “diet” area.

[IndyEquestrian]

When you say Hay Cubes, are we talking alfalfa? Alfalfa is proven to be better for ulcer prone horses. . . and I might change the hay cubes to the Alfa-Lox forage from Triple Crown.

I don’t know a lot about the Tribute feeds, so I’m not much help there. Sorry!

I feed GUT from Uckele for all my working/showing horses and everyone gets free choice hay (Timothy/Orchard) and alfalfa depending on what they need.

[BilyandJack]

[QUOTE=IndyEquestrian;8211236]
When you say Hay Cubes, are we talking alfalfa? Alfalfa is proven to be better for ulcer prone horses. . . and I might change the hay cubes to the Alfa-Lox forage from Triple Crown.

I don’t know a lot about the Tribute feeds, so I’m not much help there. Sorry!

I feed GUT from Uckele for all my working/showing horses and everyone gets free choice hay (Timothy/Orchard) and alfalfa depending on what they need.[/QUOTE]

The haycubes are alfalfa/Timothy. My horse is a hot head and goes nuts off straight alfalfa. He also gets free choice hay (also Timothy/alfalfa) in the winter.

[BilyandJack]

Here is the link to K Finish.

http://www.tributehorsefeeds.com/catalog/performance/k-finish-9kf2-3/

[BilyandJack]

And Kalm Ultra

http://www.tributehorsefeeds.com/catalog/performance/kalm-ultra-t91212-1/

[SLW]

The proposed diet looks solid albeit time consuming.

I have had success using molasses free beet pulp to get and keep bloom on ulcer prone horses who needed to have concentrates restricted or removed from their diet. I only added a simple probiotic to help the gut flora.

Is your horse able to have plenty of turnout time or fun, quiet rides? So much of what I’ve read about ulcers is that the more we change the horses God given habits the more we set up ourselves up for problems. Simpler is best is most, not every, case.

[BilyandJack]

A friend of mine that is becoming an equine nutritionist said to get rid of the Kalm Ultra at the 4:30 feeding and replace it with 1/2 cup of corn oil in both the morning and evening feedings. Would this be a better idea? I want to reduce the amount of grain of possible. The horse has access to free choice hay in the winter and is out 14 hours per day with a buddy.

[Flash44]

OP, you are sure feeding a bunch of different stuff - maybe micromanaging a bit. Omeprazole for the ulcers. You are on the right track with the free choice hay/grass, very important for ulcers to have 24/7 access to forage.

Why are you feeding hay cubes if he has free choice forage? This seems unnecessary. You are planning to hardly feed any of the Kalm ultra, which is meant to be fed at the rate of 6-7 lbs a day. The Equisure and the pre/probiotics seem a bit redundant as well.

[Fharoah]

I had recently finished a full course of gastrogard on my gelding and have gone with just a good quality timothy that has a little alfalfa in it. He also gets soaked alfalfa pellets and a little bit of grain along with complete vitamin mineral supplement. I did not go with any additional supplements. I would think good quality forge and additional calories through oil and perhaps alfalfa as alfalfa can help buffer the stomach and keep weight on.

[BilyandJack]

[QUOTE=Flash44;8213666]
OP, you are sure feeding a bunch of different stuff - maybe micromanaging a bit. Omeprazole for the ulcers. You are on the right track with the free choice hay/grass, very important for ulcers to have 24/7 access to forage.

Why are you feeding hay cubes if he has free choice forage? This seems unnecessary. You are planning to hardly feed any of the Kalm ultra, which is meant to be fed at the rate of 6-7 lbs a day. The Equisure and the pre/probiotics seem a bit redundant as well.[/QUOTE

This horse is on haycubes because he isn’t a big “hay eater” he will eat about 2 flakes per night. The pre/probiotics and equishure were vet recommend because of the frequent spasmadic colics.

The diet I got from my vet is to keep the supplements the same. Kalm ultra 3 pounds…K finish 1 pound and 1/2 cup of oil per feeding. She also recommend to keep feeding the hay cubes.

[Flash44]

[QUOTE=BilyandJack;8214361]

[QUOTE=Flash44;8213666]OP, you are sure feeding a bunch of different stuff - maybe micromanaging a bit. Omeprazole for the ulcers. You are on the right track with the free choice hay/grass, very important for ulcers to have 24/7 access to forage.

Why are you feeding hay cubes if he has free choice forage? This seems unnecessary. You are planning to hardly feed any of the Kalm ultra, which is meant to be fed at the rate of 6-7 lbs a day. The Equisure and the pre/probiotics seem a bit redundant as well.[/QUOTE

This horse is on haycubes because he isn’t a big “hay eater” he will eat about 2 flakes per night. The pre/probiotics and equishure were vet recommend because of the frequent spasmadic colics.

The diet I got from my vet is to keep the supplements the same. Kalm ultra 3 pounds…K finish 1 pound and 1/2 cup of oil per feeding. She also recommend to keep feeding the hay cubes.[/QUOTE]

OK so why are you asking a bunch of anonymous people on the internet?

[shamrocker58]

Have you tried adding Alfa Lox? It is made for ulcer prone horses. You could use it instead of hay cubes. Also I think Equishure is terrific, but if you could add it at a lunch time feeding that is the ideal way to use this supplement.

[CrotchetyDQ]

I will third the kudos for Alfa Lox. Good stuff. Easier to deal with than cubes, and even the pickiest eater wolfs it down.

[Pegasus5]

[QUOTE=Flash44;8214667]

[QUOTE=BilyandJack;8214361]

OK so why are you asking a bunch of anonymous people on the internet?[/QUOTE]

Flash44, OP explained that I her first post. She said the vet is not too experienced in the diet area. No need for an aggressive response.

[Obsidian_Fire]

I looked up the K Finish & Kalm ultra, and both are high fat, it appears the only difference is one has probiotics the other does not? So why feed both?

I have an ulcer horse, he has bad teeth so doesn’t eat alot of hay, this is his diet:
Haystack Special Blend pellets
Alfalfa/Timothy pellets (because the other feeds are high fat, and this is ONLY hay)
Triple Crown Senior
Triple Crown 30%
–Pellets are soaked, TC Senior is not - I put his ulcer meds in that.

Free choice hay (orchard grass), plenty of pasture/turnout time.

Supplements are: SmartDigest ultra, MSM, hoof supp, psyllium, magnesium.

The Haystack product - I have no idea what would be comparable in your area - but here is the label:

Feed as a forage supplement for all ages of horses and other livestock. This feed is intended for horses or livestock that would benefit from a lower carb/higher fat diet. There is no molasses added. It is useful for animals that need to gain weight.
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
CRUDE PROTEIN: MIN 12%
CRUDE FAT: MIN 6%
CRUDE FIBER: MAX 28%
DIETARY STARCH: MAX 5.0%
SIMPLE SUGARS (ESC): MAX 2.5%
WATER SOLUBLE CARBS (WSC): MAX 7.5%
FRUCTANS (WSC-ESC): MAX 2.5%
ASH: MAX 8%

INGREDIENTS:
PLAIN DRIED BEET PULP, SUN CURED TIMOTHY HAY, SUN CURED ALFALFA HAY,
GROUND FLAXSEED MEAL, RICE BRAN, CANOLA OIL

This has been a great diet for him. I have dealt with both fore and hind gut ulcers, as well as him losing teeth (partly age, partly a life-long cribber).

Hope this helps!

[Winding_Down]

I have had success with feeding 2x daily:
ranitidine,
1/2 cup corn oil,
beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, soaked (1/2 scoop or so of each)
regular feed (I feed either Triple Crown Senior or Ration Balancer depending on weight).
Forage (hay or pasture) available at all times.

[Flash44]

[QUOTE=Pegasus5;8214808]

[QUOTE=Flash44;8214667]

Flash44, OP explained that I her first post. She said the vet is not too experienced in the diet area. No need for an aggressive response.[/QUOTE]

Actually what OP said is, " I will of course run it past my vet but she isnt to experienced in the “diet” area." Which does not make sense if the vet is the one who suggested the diet. Not sure I would hire a vet that does not keep up with the basics, and diet is very very important in every aspect of horse management.

IMHO it’s best to keep it very simple, especially when trying something new. If anything helps dramatically, it will be the omeprazole, and OP should see an increase in appetite, especially wrt hay consumption.

[SandraD]

I have 5 in my barn that are ulcer prone. I swear by this combo and very rarely have a colic episode.
Free choice hay - keep the stomach acid down
1 flake of alfalfa slightly before each grain meal
Triple Crown Senior - beet pulp and flaxseed based, easier on the stomach
1 scoop of Ugard powder with each grain meal - powder, not pellets

[Flash44]

Agree with Sandra, and TC Senior is not a grain product, it’s roughage based.

[melhorse]

You do not mention the most important part of the diet-HAY… Without hay in the gut the majority of the time-you may always have issues no matter what else you feed.

Lower nutritional quality free choice hay, supplement with some alfalfa (not pellets) and a beet pulp based feed with ulcer supplement would be my diet change for this horse.