Purina Ultium making horses quieter?

[Whitfield Farm Hanoverians]

I've heard both sides of this in other posts. Just curious as to others findings on this.

[dwblover]

I had a close friend who had a dutch warmblood mare who was very full of herself. She sent the mare out for full training with a big name trainer. Trainer put the mare on Ultium and told my friend to keep her on it because her attitude had improved greatly once she had been switched to the Ultium. Once the mare came home my friend agreed that she really was more calm, and she has stayed that way. That mare still eats Ultium to this day and it's been about three years or so. I've personally never used it.

[CatchaBreeze]

Purina Ultium is a low sugar/low starch feed. Some vets recommend it for IR horses. One of our horses has been on it for a couple years.

[fixem]

Found it made them crazy

[bhebert19]

I have had my mare on it for about 4 years now and love it... I would not say it makes them quieter I would say it gives them more positive energy, so if you have a hot horse it will keep their energy the same but not make them silly hot or add hotness. I had my mare on horsemen's edge 14% with athlete to help add weight. When she was on the 14% she was more spookier and silly hot, where on Ultium it has not changed her energy level but she is not silly or spooky at all anymore. I also know another horse in my barn switched from XTN to Ultium and making that switch it made him a LOT quieter. So I would say it depends on what you are currently feeding and workload. I can honestly say it is a wonderful feed and I have seen nothing but success, but its not going to make a hot horse dead quiet by any means... but then again what feed will.

[sfstable]

I have had my mare on it for about 4 years now and love it... I would not say it makes them quieter I would say it gives them more positive energy, so if you have a hot horse it will keep their energy the same but not make them silly hot or add hotness. I had my mare on horsemen's edge 14% with athlete to help add weight. When she was on the 14% she was more spookier and silly hot, where on Ultium it has not changed her energy level but she is not silly or spooky at all anymore. I also know another horse in my barn switched from XTN to Ultium and making that switch it made him a LOT quieter. So I would say it depends on what you are currently feeding and workload. I can honestly say it is a wonderful feed and I have seen nothing but success, but its not going to make a hot horse dead quiet by any means... but then again what feed will.

Agree :) This is what I also have found with the two jumpers we have on it.

[deltawave]

Didn't notice a bit of difference one way or the other. :)

[quicksilverponies]

I feed my stallions Ultium as they tend to run off calories rapidly and also my ponies that are either hard keepers or are going out to show in-hand and need a little more weight. My stallions are puppy dog quiet - so I sure haven't found them to be more hot with the Ultium. I have been pleased with it for all the ponies that I have used it for.

[Mukluk]

No huge difference noted. But my mare LOVES this stuff!!! I think she would be very upset if she didn't get it anymore.

[Heinz 57]

My new filly is on Ultium now, and was substantially quieter today than she was the first few days of being with me - however, I'd probably attribute that more to the fact that she's been working daily the last few days more than I'd say it was the swich to Ultium.

Quiet enough today that it seemed like a good day to climb aboard for the first time. :)

[Seven-up]

My mare's been on it for a month or 2, and I haven't seen a change in either direction. But she was quiet before.

The dog sneaks a nibble here and there, and she's calm. :winkgrin:

[dressagediosa]

Purina Ultium is a low sugar/low starch feed. Some vets recommend it for IR horses.

It's actually not all that low in sugar, and we had an IR horse on it briefly who didn't do so well. All that said, it's the staple of my program, and I've had horses who were picky fussy pains in my ass who would only eat a sweet feed or senior switch to Ultium and get MUCH quieter. If the Ultium makes a horse silly, I use Strategy and a fat supplement to make up for the caloric difference.

It's got more sugar than a Strategy/Safe Choice-esque feed, and less than a Sweet Feed/Senior feed or staight oats. If they're silly on a sweet feed, try it. If they're silly on a dryer, less molasses-y pellet, well... :)

[bhebert19]

It's got more sugar than a Strategy/Safe Choice-esque feed, and less than a Sweet Feed/Senior feed or staight oats. If they're silly on a sweet feed, try it. If they're silly on a dryer, less molasses-y pellet, well... :)

Actually that is not true NSC levels are :

Ultium :15-16%
SafeChoise : 22.8%
Strategy : 28%

So Ultium actually has less sugars and starches then Safechoice/Strategy.

[Beaulovee]

I have had my mare on it for about 4 years now and love it... I would not say it makes them quieter I would say it gives them more positive energy, so if you have a hot horse it will keep their energy the same but not make them silly hot or add hotness. I had my mare on horsemen's edge 14% with athlete to help add weight. When she was on the 14% she was more spookier and silly hot, where on Ultium it has not changed her energy level but she is not silly or spooky at all anymore. I also know another horse in my barn switched from XTN to Ultium and making that switch it made him a LOT quieter. So I would say it depends on what you are currently feeding and workload. I can honestly say it is a wonderful feed and I have seen nothing but success, but its not going to make a hot horse dead quiet by any means... but then again what feed will.

When my horse was on it it filled his topline nicely and like ^ said gave him the positive energy to do what i asked, but didn't make him any more silly than usual. he would still be on it if my current barn would bother to give it to him.

[Raquel]

Changed my horse over to Ultium about a year ago and it made a huge difference. He looks great and has a less "uppity" attitude.:D

[ImJumpin]

My guy was very hot on it. He is not hot on a mostly beat pulp diet, so it is something else about the ultium that does him in.

No harm in trying it out and seeing how your horses react. If they start to be a bit hot, then you know it doesn't work with them. If not, then use it.

[veebug22]

So after reading this thread and a number of others, I switched my mare over to Ultium from TC Complete. I really liked TC Complete, and in general am not a Purina fan, but I thought my mare needed some more weight and I was curious as to how she'd respond, especially after this post (her brain needs all the help it can get!:lol:). Wow! She's not only quieter, but has started putting weight back on quickly (lost a lot of weight due to Lyme). I think I'll stick with it for awhile and see how it goes.

[caffeinated]

My horse seemed to have more energy when he was on it, but it wasn't "bad" energy- he didn't get spookier or anything. I really liked it and only took him off because he was out of work for a while and I wanted to save money by using the barn grain. Will probably put him back on it (with an additional fat supplement like ultimate finish) soonish :) He never really got that much, though, being a pretty easy keeper.

[PiaffeDreams]

I changed my feed program from Nutrena Safe Choice and Rice bran pellets about 6 weeks ago.

The Safe Choice and Strategy are in the grand scheme of things fairly high NSC levels, and I found that in my very easy keeping Andalusian I was getting fat pads with just 1lb. In my hot Andalusian, a pound was making me have to peel him off the stall and arena walls. That same horse on 3lbs a day of just rice bran pellets was barely able to keep weight on. This is with 2% of his body weight being fed in grass hay. Any alfalfa also had same effect... sending the two of us into orbit.

He's now on 3lbs a day of Ultium and 3 big things happened. 1) He's not only keeping weight, he has gained it particularly in topline muscle that just never would develop correctly. 2) He didn't get hotter. 3) This horse would burn up his energy from nerves about 20minutes into a session and then be an emotional basket case. That part is gone. He has plenty of energy, but as per item 2 its not crazy loopy hot energy.

My easy keeper lazy andalusian is getting 4.5lbs a day, no fat pads, actually sleeker appearance and not so lazy. He's got some gas in his tank now. I couldn't feed him anything but 50%alf/grass before and while he looked good, and energy was okay for a 2nd/3rd level horse, he's ready to go 4th and schooling FEI.... he needs way more now.

My warmblood who can be a bit of a wild card... lazy one minute a hot head the next has been very steady: energetic, but attentive and calm. He's looking great! I have stepped up his game and been doing some more conditioning work with him recently, but I've done this work before and not seen the obvious physical changes I'm seeing since he started on Ultium. His dark bay spring coat is also coming in near black.

Overall, I'm very happy. I wish I wasn't... its expensive. LOL But, compared to the other products I've fed, I'm seeing steadier temperaments, better energy levels and wonderful body condition in a more pronounced way.

[LarkspurCO]

My high-strung TB is back on Ultium. I have tried twice to change products but am switching back with Ultium again. I also add flax, magnesium and, when he needs additional protein, some ration balancer.

I tried soaked beet pulp with oats and some other goodies, but this didn't work. The soaked beet pulp is like pre-chewed oatmeal. He gobbles it up without chewing and chokes on it. He takes his time eating dry pellets and doesn't choke. Oats make him run run run. I then tried a Progressive pellet but the higher protein seemed to excite his kidneys.

He just does better all around on Ultium.

[Ambrey]

Wow, do you guys feed the recommended amounts? I keep looking for other options for my guy who's not thriving on a hay only diet, but he's an easy keeper and 5 lbs of ultium seems like it would make him blow up like a blimp.

[ladipus]

It's actually not all that low in sugar, and we had an IR horse on it briefly who didn't do so well. All that said, it's the staple of my program, and I've had horses who were picky fussy pains in my ass who would only eat a sweet feed or senior switch to Ultium and get MUCH quieter. If the Ultium makes a horse silly, I use Strategy and a fat supplement to make up for the caloric difference.

It's got more sugar than a Strategy/Safe Choice-esque feed, and less than a Sweet Feed/Senior feed or staight oats. If they're silly on a sweet feed, try it. If they're silly on a dryer, less molasses-y pellet, well... :)


That's incorrect...Ultium's NSC(starch/sugar content) is 16% Vs. Strategy which is an astounding 38%:eek: Per the Purina Nutritionist when i called and spoke w/ them last week

[bhebert19]

Wow, do you guys feed the recommended amounts? I keep looking for other options for my guy who's not thriving on a hay only diet, but he's an easy keeper and 5 lbs of ultium seems like it would make him blow up like a blimp.

I do not feed the recommended amounts... My 16.3 TB Mare gets 1 1/2 lbs twice a day... And she is worked hard and in beautiful weight. Hope this helps... :D

[Ambrey]

I do not feed the recommended amounts... My 16.3 TB Mare gets 1 1/2 lbs twice a day... And she is worked hard and in beautiful weight. Hope this helps... :D

Do you supplement her, then?

[penhille]

Do you supplement her, then?

I was wondering that too. Also, what's the minimum suggested age? Is it all right for a three year old turning four this year?

[bhebert19]

Do you supplement her, then?

Yes she is on a vitamin and mineral supplement (EquiShine), oil, and also have free choice salt... I do give a joint and hoof supplement too... My best advice is have the nutritionist from Purina come out and they will help you. We have them come out and check our big time show horses 2 times a year... Hope that helps..

[Drifter]

I have an older TB ex-show horse, who was never hot. I put him on it because of the low sugar content, plus in feeding Ultium you apparently need to use less feed. His weight has been great. Also, since he has been on it, about 4ish years, he has had a wonderful shiny coat. Many people have asked what kind of feed he is on. Don't worry I also groom and rub on him, however, the Ultium has definitely contributed! Very happy with Ultium.

[Tasker]

We used Ultium with 2 client horses that were having trouble holding decent weight...they got 1-2 lbs as a top dressing on their regular feed.

1. 17.3 old fashioned big Hanoverian - did very well, a bit more awake but not hot by any means. More topline developed with less effort in a shorter time frame (4 months) than in the past.

2. 3/4 Hanoverian 1/4 TB 16.3 of growing youngster - psychotic, dangerous, hot, difficult and evil for the entire 10 days he got Ultium. 2 days of being off the 'smack' he was back to his normal, grounded, quiet self. Switched to Rice Bran pellets as the top dress and he did just fine...

[SunshineAcres]

Purina Ultium is LOADED with corn. I don't particularly like corn for horses in any form. I liked the idea of the higher fat feed and did lots of checking around. I finally decided on a fantastic feed called Tribute Kalm Ultra. It's a low starch/high fat feed, 12% fat 12% protein with Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. The best thing?? NO CORN to make horses hot, stocked up or digestive problems. You can view the full product line here: http://www.tributehorsefeeds.com/full-product-line.html
They have many wonderful products. I love that they are nutritionally correct. Finally a manufacturer that understands the needs of horses!

[Seven-up]

Purina Ultium is LOADED with corn. I don't particularly like corn for horses in any form. I liked the idea of the higher fat feed and did lots of checking around. I finally decided on a fantastic feed called Tribute Kalm Ultra. It's a low starch/high fat feed, 12% fat 12% protein with Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. The best thing?? NO CORN to make horses hot, stocked up or digestive problems. You can view the full product line here: http://www.tributehorsefeeds.com/full-product-line.html
They have many wonderful products. I love that they are nutritionally correct. Finally a manufacturer that understands the needs of horses!

Corn? They must pulverize it then. I notice one kernel of corn in there every couple of days. I always thought they must not have cleaned all the corn out of the machine or something.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

I could see Ultium making them quieter if the horse came off of a feed with a higher sugar/starch content.

It'd be that way if you switched from any higher sugar/starch feed to any lower sugar/starch feed.

[eventersmom]

We've had mixed results with Ultium. It made our quieter Tb mare a total psycho and it has made absolutely no change in behavior in our warmblood mare.

[Ritazza]

Hmmmm.... maybe it's the corn making my horse bonkers. She's been on Ultium for two months now and she looks GREAT..... but WOW, she has become a brilliant performer who is SERIOUSLY irrational and explosive. We usually do at least one huge air above ground (our favorite is the rear, pivot on one foor 180 degrees, and then leap in the other direction) every ride if I ask something that doesn't totally make sense to her, and even silly things like lunging in her chambon (which she's been doing FOREVER just fine!) now starts off with a huge explosion for no reason after she trots off and bumps into it - she rocketed in reverse, sat down and rolled over backwards yesterday, then got up and trotted off just fine.

Hmmmmmm. Well, she looks amazing, jumps higher, runs faster.... and I've got insurance, so......

[SunshineAcres]

Corn? They must pulverize it then. I notice one kernel of corn in there every couple of days. I always thought they must not have cleaned all the corn out of the machine or something.

Purina Ultium is a pelleted feed. All the ingredients are ground into a powder and made into a pellet.

[SunshineAcres]

INGREDIENTS:
Dried Beet Pulp, Wheat Middlings, Stabilized Rice Bran, Ground Soybean Hulls, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Oat Hulls, Ground Corn, Soybean Oil, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Flaxseed, Dried Whey, Calcium Lignin Sulfonate, Cane Molasses, Salt, DL-Methionine, Thiamine, Calcium Carbonate, L-Lysine, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Iron Oxide, Natural Flavor, DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Selenite, Choline Chloride, Cyanocobalamin, Nicotinic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Tryptophan, L-Threonine, Vitamin A Acetate, Ferrous Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Magnesium Oxide, Riboflavin, Cholecalciferol, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate.

[ladipus]

I've heard both sides of this in other posts. Just curious as to others findings on this.

I switched my 4yr dutch wb geld from Progressive Nutrition's Pro Advantage Hi-Fat formula ration balancer to Ultium and he seems alot quieter than he was on the RB...he wasn't hot or spooky to begin w/..but i wanted to feed him something to help fill in his topline and help his muscling/condition as i've had good luck w/ using ultium on other horses...and his coat and topline already seem to be improving and he just seems alot quieter in general...i also feed it to my older wb show hunter when he's in work-he's always looked great,maintained his condition and was always nice quiet and steady on it,and i also currently just switched one of my ottb's to ultium for weight gain and to help his topline...and he's doing well on it too..ive seen no difference in any of their behavior except for the better.

[FancyFree]

I've been feeding Ultium for around 3 months now. I have noticed that my horse is less explosive. She will always be a hot, sensitive horse but she is more focused. I also give her a magnesium supplement, vitamin supplement and a flower essence additive. All these combined with regular, medium to hard six day a week work, and the fact that she is growing up, may be the reason for success. I can't claim it's simply the result of feeding Ultium though. I do think work plus Ultium have helped create her beautiful topline though.

[Seven-up]

What I'd like to know is if they can develop a feed to specifically improve a horse's topline, why can't they develop something to improve my tummy line? :winkgrin: (I mean, besides 'put down that donut'.)

[slight]

My mare's been on it for a month or 2, and I haven't seen a change in either direction. But she was quiet before.

The dog sneaks a nibble here and there, and she's calm. :winkgrin:

Ha!

[Seven-up]

I should add, the dog also has quite an ample topline.;)

[zakkandtoto]

That's incorrect...Ultium's NSC(starch/sugar content) is 16% Vs. Strategy which is an astounding 38%:eek: Per the Purina Nutritionist when i called and spoke w/ them last week


Ah! My dead sensible Appendix was on TC Senior (11.7% NSC), moved barns and they put him on an Ultium/Strategy mix. He gained a lot of weight and was playing too hard in the field. I was worried he'd get hurt.

Moved barns again and put him back on TC Senior - he's back to his normal, unflappable self.

[ptownevt]

We added 1/2 lb of Ultium to our mare's 3 lbs of Purina Senior, 2 C wet beet pulp and Cool Calories to help her put more weight on. No real difference. Then we upped the Ultium to 1 lb and within a couple of days the mare bolted back out of the stall, knocking down and dragging my 12 year old daughter. I was intrigued to see this thread as I was wondering if the Ultium might be the problem. The barn doesn't feed TC products, but TC Senior would probably be my first choice for her as that is what I feed at home.
We'll just have to wait a couple more weeks and see. If this really does as much for helping to put weight on and build a topline as you all say, I would hate to have to stop. This mare has NO topline. She was sick and starving when I got her a couple of years ago. She has gained a lot, but she needs muscle now as well as just a bit more weight.
Pam

[patch work farm]

Interesting to see how many have said their horses are calmer and how many are hotter. I haven't noticed any difference but I have been feeding Ultium to my performance horses almost since it hit the market. I know that my trainer moved to it several years ago because he liked that his working horses were keeping their weight with it. I know he prefers a hotter horse but he has never mentioned that he thinks Ultium makes them any different one way or the other, guess I have to ask him.

[LarkspurCO]

Purina Ultium is LOADED with corn.

It's the seventh item on the ingredients list, after oat hulls and before soybean oil. I don't think "loaded" is a fair characterization.

[zakkandtoto]

It's the seventh item on the ingredients list, after oat hulls and before soybean oil. I don't think "loaded" is a fair characterization.

The Progressive and Triple Crown reps I've spoken to have told me that unlike food for human consumption, feeds for animal consumption do not have to list their ingredients in order of greatest quantity. They're governed by different rules.

That said, I have no idea about Ultium's corn content.

[zakkandtoto]

Now I do...

It varies by plant. I called Purina. They'll list in order of actual quantity on their bag tags.

She read me the Denver plant's tag and the Missouri plant's tag. Cane molasses came up before corn on each - it was fifth. Wheat Middlings were first on both tags. I stopped writing by the time she got to Beet Pulp on each.

Called back to try to get the whole list and the second rep was completely clueless - she thought that the website had the proper list, when I told her it varied by plant, she said, "But that would change the formula!". She also thought that they manufactured Ultium in Ft. Worth when the previous rep said they did not.

She finally connected me to the Equine Nutritionist who confirmed that the ingredient amounts do vary from plant to plant, that the website is not correct and that the NSC ranges from 15-18%.

Called Triple Crown just to check on their Senior formula and the woman I spoke to said their bag tags should not be varying from what's on the website. I'll have to check my tags.

[Ambrey]

Purina has never had a guaranteed formula, have they? I thought that was the "thing" about them- just guaranteed nutritional analysis.

[snbess]

Having read all the answers...has anyone who switched from Strategy to Ultium had a hotter/spookier horse after the switch? I like the idea of higher fat/lower sugar.
thanks...
Sandra

[SunshineAcres]

Ultiium and high fat feeds are geared toward the equine athlete, not the pleasure horse. For those of us with pleasure horses, the high fat feed is a great choice for hard keepers. I chose the Tribute Kalm Ultra because of the lower starch compared to Ultium, but those with horses in moderate work will use the high starch in the Ultium unlike my horses. Corn is difficult for horses to digest and can contribute to colic and other problems. My personal preference is to stay away from corn but I know a lot of people don't and that's their choice. Some horses react adversely to it, others don't. It's an individual choice. I choose what I think is best for my horses, and you yours.
What I was told by the Purina rep is that yes, the ingredients are listed in descending order. IMHO, it is loaded with corn.
Just to sweeten the deal for me on the Tribute is the price. $15.30 a bag compared to $23 for the Ultium. I buy for an entire barn so the savings is substantial for me.

[LarkspurCO]

Now I do...

It varies by plant. I called Purina. They'll list in order of actual quantity on their bag tags.

She read me the Denver plant's tag and the Missouri plant's tag. Cane molasses came up before corn on each - it was fifth. Wheat Middlings were first on both tags. I stopped writing by the time she got to Beet Pulp on each.


Typical big company BS. I'm confused by the term "bag tag." My bags of Ultium don't have tags. The ingredients are printed right on the bag, and bags are stamped Denver. I tried switching this horse to Progressive, but he just does better on Ultium, and it's less expensive - $19.20 per bag last week.

Since corn is 65% NSC and Ultium 15-18% NSC, I'm not that worried about the corn content. It has to be a small percentage.

More info from Purina's web site:

http://horse.purinamills.com/flash/realdeal.swf
http://horse.purinamills.com/conditions/insulin.asp

[zakkandtoto]

Typical big company BS. I'm confused by the term "bag tag." My bags of Ultium don't have tags. The ingredients are printed right on the bag, and bags are stamped Denver.
If it's not on there, I'm confused too. The rep was reading from a sheet from each plant.

I think the hotness some experience very well could be coming from the extra calories. My gelding needs 8lbs of Ultium a day for his weight, to meet his nutritional requirements. That's over 14,000 calories. He only needs 6lbs of TC Senior, which comes to about 8,400 calories. He was getting more than he was burning.

Thought about using Progressive, but the ProAd Grass and Envision are $33.50/bag here. They recommended starting him on a combination of 5lbs (2 ProAd and 3 Envision)/day. Their Hi-Fat Formula is a whopping $50/bag. I don't get a discount for using my own grain.

Ultium and TC Senior are both around $20.