Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

>   Ultium was like  horsey prozak. In trying to figure it out, I was 
> told that ultium is partially digested in each stomach which somehow 
> calms them. Can anyone explain that? 
Well, horses only have one stomach, but fermentation and absorption
continues to occur all down the line.  The GI tract is arranged stomach,
small intestine, cecum (big fermentation vat similar to the rumen in a cow),
and large colon.  Nutrients like proteins and simple carbs (sugars and
starches) are primarily digested in the stomach and small intestine.
Leftover simple carbs go into the cecum and are then treated as though
they're a complex carbohydrates (roughages, beet pulp, things like that),
with the primary by-product being volatile fatty acids that are absorbed the
rest of the way downstream.  

The take-home point here is that a good ration doesn't throw a lot of any
one type of feed into the pot all at once (and this is a very broad
statement, because some things you can toss a lot in at once, others you
don't).  Not too much starch, too much fat, just a really nice balance.  If
you do that, then you're not necessarily providing a horsey Prozac per
se---you're just avoiding the behavioral issues that can occur with glucose
spikes, unbalanced vitamins/mineral ratios, all kinds of those sort of
things.  When Purina was developing Ultium, they used the services of an
independent veterinarian/nutritionist Ray Geor who is IMO the best equine
clinical nutritionist on earth bar none.  The goal was to produce the best
performance feed they could, and that's what he did for them. (And no, I
don't work for Purina, get sponsored or get anything free for saying so.  I
just like the product and the science that went into it.)


> Dr Susan, beet pulp in ultium? I 
> did not know that. So, you use it AND beet pulp and beet pulp in your 
mash too?

No, I don't add additional beet pulp, just the Ultium.  It breaks down very
quickly with some water, so I don't have to soak it for long (or at all if I
don't want to, though I usually do) and so I can put it into baggies dry to
send out to vet checks, and just add some water at the last minute to make
it the consistency of sloppy oatmeal.  Cheyenne can slop it around and get
it up to her eyebrows.  I add a little salt, and a scoop of a supplement mix
based on Platinum Performance that I tweak with a few added things (higher
antioxidants, biotin, selenium, things like that) to suit myself.

Susan Garlinghouse, DVM




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=