Okay I have been feeding my horse Ultium for a while, thats what a barrel trainer recomended, she said rolled oats, and 3 way stuff like that isnt good for my horse. I was feeding Rolled oats, so I switched that to barley, my horse seemed to like that ok. Then this last time I got more Ultium at a feed store, my mom asked him what kind of grain to feed with it and he gave us a weird type of grain and my horse HATES it, she wont even finish her food. It looks like little seeds you find in sunflowers. So if some one could help me that would be awsome!!! Also my mare is 4 and competing in barrels, I have a hard time keeping weight on her , becuase she has tb in her, I feed her grain two times a day, and give her lots of hay, its just reg grass hay. Does any one know how to put weight on her. Also What ways can you build up a horses chest and shoulders?

I would just feed ultium. Thats what I feed my barrel horse{I have tried other feeds but it wouldn't keep weight on him}. Have you tried feeding ultium with out another grain mixed in?

We feed Ultium... It's wonderful. You feed half of a regular grain and they are putting weight on. The one horse we have on a Buckeye pellet 12% and Rice Bran recommended by the vet. You might want to try that Rice Bran does not add energy and it's helped with not just weight but the coat on this horse.

Good luck

I personally was not impressed with Ultium. I had my 4yo mare on it for a couple months. When I put her on it, she needed to add a little bit of weight. She wasn't very active at the time. I was feeding 8lbs a day, and she wasn't gaining any weight. Her coat was rather dull. She went off of it after a while. And she tied up while on it.

I have her on a oats/corn/soy/vitamin pellet mix. It has wheat bran added in the winter. She gets about 4lbs of that a day. After putting her on that, she started gaining weight, her coat is slick and super shiny, she eats all of it, and she hasn't tied up since, even though she has been worked hard.

So, I'm not a fan of Ultium. But if it works for you, use it. I wouldn't mix it with anything. To me, if you are having to mix a $16 feed with something else, is that really the feed you want to be using?

As for adding weight, I pulled this from another reply I gave someone:
My preferred method for putting weight on is increasing good quality hay, feeding alfalfa, increasing grain (though hay is more important to me. I feed a corn/oats/soy/vitamin pellet mix), and rice bran. Even on hard keepers this packs the weight on quick. If I want a little extra gain, I will mix in senior feed. I use front runner. I don't know if that's a local brand, or if you can get it anywhere, but I really like it.

I was under the impression that you didn't need to feed anything else with Ultium.

How long has it been since you started feeding Ultium? Maybe you haven't given it enough time to show any improvements yet.

Thanks everyone, its not the ultium she doesnt like its the kind of grain I mix it with. I didnt know you didnt have to mix it with another type of grain, she really likes the ultium she has put on more weight sence I have started feeding it to her. So giving her alfalfa mixed hay will help put weight on her too? Thanks A bunch.

I'd just feed the ultium by itself then. She should gain weight on it alone if you are feeding her the recommended amount on the bag. The alfafa would defenitely help, too!

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Originally posted by bchorses:
Thanks everyone, its not the ultium she doesnt like its the kind of grain I mix it with. I didnt know you didnt have to mix it with another type of grain, she really likes the ultium she has put on more weight sence I have started feeding it to her. So giving her alfalfa mixed hay will help put weight on her too? Thanks A bunch.

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Yes, alfalfa will help a lot. But since it's more rich, you need to adjust how much you feed. You can't feed the same as you would with grass.
I usually go 1 flake of alfalfa would be the same as 2 flakes of grass. Or if I'm mixing it, I would go 1 small flake of alfalfa and one small flake of grass.
Also, be sure to start her out slowly on alfalfa, I would start out doing 1/4 alfalfa, 3/4 whatever she is normally on, for about a week, and slowly increase over the next couple weeks.