Ever fed Ultium?

[5StarRanch]

Hello all. I have been going back and searching through past nutritional threads here, trying to get some sort of idea on what to feed my mini that will be arriving in June. He is a 4 year old gelding, about 34" and will be starting a regimen of halter conditioning and ground driving. I plan on working him 5 nights a week. He will have access to grass, but only for half an hour or so a day.

I am wondering if anyone has tried Ultium by Purina? I work at a Purina dealership and many of our performance horse people feed it and swear by it. Has anyone ever tried it for a mini horse? And also, has anyone tried the "new" Omolone 400 or 500?

Thanks in advance.

 

[wildoak]

Ultium is a great feed if you are trying to put weight on a horse......not the scenario most of us have with minis.

I fed it to a senior QH mare, was the only thing that put weight back on for her last couple of years, but when I tried it on a few of the little guys I had to pull them back off of it pretty quickly. Imagine it would be great for a hard working horse - but most of them don't work that hard.

Jan

 

[jleonard]

I feed it to my hard keeping TB and it has done wonders for her, it's the only thing that will put weight on her, and we have tired everything! I do have one of my minis on it now, trying to get a little more weight over her topline where she got a little thin over the winter. She's been on it about a month, gets a 1/4 lb Ultium, 1/4 lb Omelene 100 2x per day and she is not getting fat on it yet. I think I would wait to see what your new guy is going to be like weight wise, unless you really want to put weight on, I don't think it would be ideal for a mini. We have always been happy wih Omelene 100 for all of our ponies and minis.

 

[Leeana]

Our horses (both miniatures and shetlands) are worked often and i consider most of them to be semi hard keepers (atleast i find it to be that way) and the Purina Strategy / Beet Pulp mixture has worked GREAT (i also add in loose minerals and several other suppliments depending on the horse). I just always thought that Ultium would be a bit "much" for them, the Strategy has just worked great so far. They have held a good weight, muscle tone all over, shiny coat, great hooves and their personalitys are just great overall.

This filly has been on Strategy / Beet Pulp / Loose Minerals and i think she looks good. She has no pepi or shine spray on in this photo and was clipped 6 days prior, it is natural

 

[5StarRanch]

Thank you all very much for the responses. The main reason that I was looking into the Ultium is that it supposedly gives them a good reserve of "cool" energy. For a driving/performance horse at a show, that is a nice thing to have.

I definately might try the Strategy. Know a lot of people who feed it to thier big horses and they look good too. Definately beet pulp.

Thanks again!

Our horses (both miniatures and shetlands) are worked often and i consider most of them to be semi hard keepers (atleast i find it to be that way) and the Purina Strategy / Beet Pulp mixture has worked GREAT (i also add in loose minerals and several other suppliments depending on the horse). I just always thought that Ultium would be a bit "much" for them, the Strategy has just worked great so far. They have held a good weight, muscle tone all over, shiny coat, great hooves and their personalitys are just great overall.This filly has been on Strategy / Beet Pulp / Loose Minerals and i think she looks good. She has no pepi or shine spray on in this photo and was clipped 6 days prior, it is natural

 

[txminipinto]

I, too, only feed Ultium to my hard keepers (modern pleasure gelding). Everybody else gets a co-op feed identical to SafeChoice, which is comparable to Stragedy but contains more vitamins/minerals and has a higher fat content.

 

[BlueStar]

All we feed is Purina products and have been very happy with the results!! All our show horses gets Ultium and have never had a problem with too much weight. It is an amazing grain and it does what it claims to. We also use Omolene 200, Complete Advantage (cannot remember but it is now the 400 or 500), beet pulp as well as our young horses get the Jr. All have gorgeous coats and are in great condition. I think though that as long as your feeding correct amounts, that most feeds will give you a pretty good result. There are many different feeding programs out there and a whole lot a beautiful horses that are not eating the same so I think everyone should do what works best for their horses.

 

[Tatonkas Dream]

I have fed Ultium to my minis and LOVE it. I mix this with Alfa pellets for most my horses.

I've recently added in some beet pulp as the main ingredient has changed from beet pulp to wheat millings.

My mares that are in foal or nursing get a 14% pellet feed but everyone else is on the Ultium mixed with alfa.

I am a believer in lower protein levels and higher fat content – have been for years

 

[Marty]

We are on Strategy plus soaked beet pulp with very nice results. My horses also get a few good hours of grass pasture plus hay at night and look very good, no bellies. I haven't tried Ultium at all and will look forward to seeing how everyone likes it. But around here usually if it ain't broke I don't fix it.

This is Merry Beth who is 33". She gets 2 1/2 cups of Strategy am and pm and about 2 cups of rinsed soaked beet pulp for lunch and hay at night. Pasture grass about 4-5 hours per day. No complaints.