My instructor has a mare she has in training (not mine) on this. 2x/day, she’s seen dramatic improvement.
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Well that’s certainly interesting. Wonder how Triple Crown feels about this study haha
I’m not really a believer in these “gastric support” feeds.
Most of them basically have the same ingredients as U-Gard powder added in with some alfalfa base and they jack the price up and bam…Gastric Support feed.
Given that I think U-Gard and comparable products (antacids, horsey tums) are useless beyond an hour or so of temporary relief, I’d not waste my money on this type of feed.
Here in South Florida depending on which feed store you go to price varies - that being said where I get my grain the Regular Ultium is $23 a bag and the Gastric was $28 a bag, I was interested in trying the Race Ready Gastric Support feed, I have my race filly on the Regular Race Ready which she likes but she is so picky about adding anything to her grain I’m afraid to spend the money and turn her off of a feed she is cleaning up. For anyone who has tried the gastric support feed, what is the difference in the grain? Does it smell different or is there just another grain type of additive similar to when they started adding the Fat Nugget to the grain?
I’ve started several of my horses on this…and know several others who have seen great results. I’m not using this to cure ulcers…but using it on my performance horses and horse who are more prone as a preventative. It has some good science behind it.
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I should probably update this, since I did start the threat!
The Ultium Gastric Care seemed like an intriguing option for my ulcer-prone OTTB. Generally I’m not a huge fan of Purina feeds, but this one does have a great deal of research behind it and is a fixed formula. Even after scoping clean, my horse tends to be a bit girthy and a very unenthusiastic eater. He is the opposite of a horse “hoover” and will slowly pick at his grain (and hay) throughout the day. According to previous owners he’s always been a slow eater, which may also have something to do with the fact that he’s never had to share/compete for food and has been fed alone in a stall since weaning.
I’ve tried about 7 different types of grain, Gastrogard, ranitidine, Succeed, a few different supplements and even some “flavoring” products to see if they would improve his appetite - with no luck. He seemed to have a maximum intake per day of about 4-5lbs of grain of any type, even split into 3-4 feedings. As his workload increased, maintaining body condition on this amount of grain was a challenge (even with free choice premium alfalfa and orchard grass hay.)
As it turns out, he LOVES the Ultium Gastric Care. The tub is licked clean after every meal, and he’s maintaining well on 6lbs/day. This is split into three feedings per day, which at 2lbs/meal is only 50% of the minimum 4lbs/meal that Purina recommends to provide effective gastric buffering ingredients. I tried switching back to another grain as a test, and he went back to eating slowly or not finishing at all. Once I put him back on the Ultium Gastric Care, he was back to cleaning up his meals. He’s still girthy and his attitude has not changed, but I’m thrilled that he eats the stuff!
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