Purina Ultium?

[MorganJunkie]

Please help. We are sorting out some issues, spooking, bucking, hyper sensitivity. The first thought was ulcers so we have been treating with Ulcerguard. He has gone off hay - though he has free choice blend and alfalfa- so alfalfa won’t really help. He does get 7lbs weighed of Ultium, split between two meals.

I recently read a thread about Ultium making horses not themselves. Anyone else have that experience? He is out 10 hours a day and actually works 45 minutes 5 days a week.

He’s just become a cranky, spooky, hostile, scared baby of a 16.3 hand horse.

[JB]

Every feed has a set of horses who do really well, and those who don’t

the only real way to determine what’s what is to first just drop the Ultium for 2-3 weeks.

How long has he been on Ultium, and when did this behavior start? How old is he?

[MorganJunkie]

Just three - so there’s that. He’s been on the Ultium for 2 months but is off as of today. So I should expect improvement in 3 weeks being conservative. That gives me something to watch for. Thank you.

[barnesthenoble]

I had my horse on Ultium for about a month, maybe six weeks. Normally a very steady guy, enough energy to be fun but not so much as to be reactive. He got increasingly spooky and prone to bucking, spooking, tossing his head, kicking out at the leg etc. Culminated in one of the nastiest falls I’ve ever had and definitely the nastiest fall I’ve had off him–he just took off honest-to-goodness broncing which he had never done before or since. This is a horse who lived out 24/7 on 2 acres with a friend, was late summer in an area that gets really hot so it wasn’t related to weather changes or lack of turnout.

The only thing that had changed was the Ultium, which I’d started at my trainer’s suggestion. Took him off it and two weeks later had my horse back. Haven’t touched the stuff since.

[MorganJunkie]

Wow. We don’t have that amount of turnout but that’s our guy. Praying we see a change. Obviously every horse is different, but what might be the trigger factor with this feed?

[luvmyhackney]

My horse did wonderful on Ultium gastric care but not the standard Ultium.

He’s on a house blend mix plus California Trace plus now and isn’t as chill as he was on Ultium Gastric.

Was he thin before? Or why was he put on Ultium to begin with?

[MorganJunkie]

He was a little thin, and this feed was suggested. I’m not specifically blaming the feed - we are just trying to weed out possibilities - and ulcers and the feed are reoccurring suggestions.

[Amy3996]

Would also suggest testing for Lyme if you haven’t already. That can cause some pretty radical behavior shifts in and of itself. Adding Magnesium can also help in some cases - it really made a world of difference for my guy. A month of Nupafeed liquid and he was back to his chill, steady, hack on the buckle self.

[MorganJunkie]

Ignorant question - and I will follow up with the vet - in a small barn would Lyme be an issue for one? We have several older horses - and most are out in larger, woodier, grassy areas. Am I correct thinking it’s that one tick?

[Amy3996]

Yes, one tick carrying Lyme could be enough to infect a horse. The longer a tick is attached, the higher the risk of transmission. It’s not passed from horse to horse, and not every case presents with the same symptoms.

It could be just one horse in a field that has it, or potentially more who are sub-clinical. It’s a relatively inexpensive titer to rule in or out.

[JB]

@MorganJunkie

in a small barn would Lyme be an issue for one? We have several older horses - and most are out in larger, woodier, grassy areas. Am I correct thinking it’s that one tick?

I have 3 horses who all share the same pasture, including a few wooded areas they like to hang out in when it’s hot. I had one horses tested because she was just…odd, and her OSPF (chronic, 5+ months) came back at 13,000. About 6 months later, another horse was behaving a big oddly as well, so I had him tested, and he was about as clean as you can get. #3 has never showed symptoms so I can’t say what a test would show, but I assume clean

So yes, it’s the horse who is unlucky enough to have that tick attach for long enough, and they are TINY, so pretty difficult to impossible to find, especially on dark horses

[ParadoxFarm]

Add me to the list of folks who had a horse get a bit crazy on Ultium. Actually, I had two that did not do well on Ultium. I want to like the feed, but I can’t afford to have a silly horse. When I switched those two (at two different times) to another feed, they did better. Each horse is different, I know, but I think it CAN affect some horses.

[nighthorse6]

Just had to take my horse off Ultium. After 3 weeks on it, he was reacting like he had ulcers. Super crabby for grooming, kicking out when I touched his flank/stifle, overall miserable. I started treating him for ulcers, not making the connection it was the grain. It made no difference. He’s been off Ultium for almost 2 weeks now and I have my horse back!

[FLeventer]

I had an issue with Ultium too. Made my usually steady, easy guy pretty hot. No issues with my two others but he did not handle it well. Also he didn’t keep his weight as well as I would have liked with it. Some horses process it like rocket fuel. He went off it and settled again after a week or so.