7 Best Digestive Support Horse Feed For Sensitive Stomachs Old Grooms Trust
Discover the 7 best digestive support feeds for horses with sensitive stomachs. This guide reveals the time-tested options that experienced grooms trust.
You’ve seen it before: the horse that’s a little girthy, the one with a dull coat no matter how much you groom, or the chronic case of loose manure. These aren’t just quirks; they’re often whispers from a sensitive digestive system asking for help. Finding the right feed isn’t about chasing the latest trend, but about understanding what an unsettled gut truly needs.
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Recognizing a Sensitive Equine Digestive System
A sensitive gut doesn’t always scream for attention with a full-blown colic episode. More often, it’s a series of small, persistent clues that something isn’t quite right. You might notice your horse becoming irritable during grooming, especially around the flank and belly, or pinning its ears when you tighten the cinch.
Look at the manure pile. Is it consistently loose, overly dry, or does it vary wildly from day to day? These are direct signs of hindgut distress. Other signals can be more subtle, like poor topline development despite adequate work, a lackluster coat, or even mild, recurrent gas colic that resolves on its own but keeps you on edge.
It’s easy to dismiss these things as just "how the horse is," but they point to an underlying imbalance. Before you overhaul your feed room, always start with a call to your veterinarian. They can help rule out more serious issues like ulcers, dental problems, or parasites that no feed can fix on its own.
Purina Ultium Gastric Care for Ulcer Support
When you’re dealing with a horse prone to or recovering from gastric ulcers, this feed is a heavyweight contender. Purina formulated Ultium Gastric Care specifically to support the stomach lining and manage the acid that causes so much trouble. It’s built on a foundation of high fiber and high fat, providing steady, cool-burning energy.
The key here is the controlled starch and sugar content. High-grain meals can create a surge of acid in the stomach, which is exactly what you want to avoid. This formula uses alternative energy sources, like beet pulp and vegetable oils, to provide calories without the grain bomb. It also includes Purina’s "Outlast" supplement, a proprietary blend of seaweed-derived calcium designed to buffer stomach acid.
Happy Belly Soybean Oil is a light-tasting and versatile cooking oil, perfect for frying and everyday use. This cholesterol-free oil contains 14g total fat per serving.
The tradeoff is that this is a premium, complete feed, and the price reflects that. It’s not the right choice for an easy keeper who just needs a bit of forage balancer. But for the hard-working performance horse, the hard keeper struggling with ulcers, or any horse needing serious gastric support, it’s a trusted tool that delivers consistent results.
Triple Crown Senior: Gentle on an Aging Gut
Triple Crown Senior Horse Feed provides optimal nutrition for older horses and those with metabolic concerns. This high-fat, high-fiber formula features beet pulp and can be used as a complete diet.
Don’t let the name fool you; this feed is a fantastic choice for many horses with sensitive systems, not just the old-timers. Triple Crown Senior has earned its reputation because its formula is fundamentally gentle. It’s a beet pulp-based feed, which means the primary ingredient is a highly digestible "super fiber" that ferments slowly and supports a healthy hindgut.
This feed boasts a low NSC value (non-structural carbohydrates, a.k.a. sugar and starch), making it a safe choice for horses with metabolic concerns. It’s also fortified with prebiotics and probiotics to actively support the microbial populations in the gut, helping them do their job more effectively. The soft, easy-to-chew texture is a lifesaver for seniors with poor teeth, but it also makes a wonderful mash for any horse needing extra hydration.
Because it’s so palatable and easy to digest, it’s become a go-to for bringing underweight rescue horses back to health or for any adult horse that just seems to do better on a softer, lower-starch diet. It provides balanced nutrition without putting unnecessary stress on the digestive tract.
Nutrena SafeChoice Special Care for Low Starch
If your horse’s sensitivity is linked to metabolic issues like insulin resistance, Cushing’s disease, or a history of laminitis, this feed should be on your short list. Nutrena’s SafeChoice Special Care is designed from the ground up to be exceptionally low in starch and sugar. This is non-negotiable for metabolically compromised horses.
High-starch feeds can cause dangerous spikes in blood sugar and wreak havoc on the hindgut. This formula avoids that by relying on digestible fibers and fats for energy. It’s a lifeline for the classic easy keeper—the pony that seems to live on air or the stocky horse that puts on weight just by looking at grass. It provides the essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids they need without the risky calories.
The important thing to remember is that this is not a high-calorie feed. If you have a hard keeper who also needs low starch, you’ll likely need to supplement with other fat sources like flax or oil. But for the horse that needs strict dietary control to stay sound and healthy, Special Care is one of the most reliable options available.
Tribute Kalm ‘N EZ: High Fiber, Low Sugar Feed
Tribute’s Kalm ‘N EZ is a versatile, workhorse feed that suits a wide range of horses with sensitive stomachs. Its philosophy is simple and effective: provide calories from fat and fiber, not from high-starch grains. This approach helps maintain a stable hindgut environment and avoids the "hot" or fizzy behavior that can come with traditional sweet feeds.
The ingredient list is packed with super-fibers like beet pulp and soybean hulls, which provide sustained energy release. It’s also a fixed-formula feed, meaning the ingredients don’t change from batch to batch based on cost. That consistency is a huge benefit for a horse with a sensitive digestive system, as sudden changes can easily trigger an upset.
This feed is an excellent choice for pleasure horses, trail mounts, or horses in light to moderate work that are prone to getting anxious or "gassy." It delivers balanced nutrition and cool calories in a highly palatable pellet, making it a straightforward and effective solution for keeping a sensitive horse happy and comfortable.
Standlee Timothy Grass Pellets: A Forage First Fix
Sometimes, the best solution is to simplify. Standlee Timothy Grass Pellets aren’t a complete, fortified feed, but they are an incredibly powerful tool for managing a sensitive gut. Forage should always be the foundation of a horse’s diet, and these pellets provide a consistent, low-sugar, high-fiber source of it.
These pellets are ideal for several scenarios. They can be used to supplement poor-quality hay, ensuring your horse gets enough fiber. They’re also perfect for senior horses who can no longer chew long-stem hay effectively; soaked into a mash, they provide essential forage in a safe, easy-to-eat form. Because you can weigh them precisely, they are also invaluable for managing the diet of a horse with metabolic issues.
The crucial point to understand is that forage pellets are not nutritionally complete. They are simply chopped and compressed grass. If you rely on them for a significant portion of your horse’s diet, you must add a ration balancer or a comprehensive vitamin/mineral supplement to fill the nutritional gaps. Think of them as a better-than-hay base, not the finished product.
Seminole Wellness Herbal Blend for Calming Guts
For the horse whose digestive upset seems tied to anxiety and stress, Seminole Wellness Herbal Blend offers a unique approach. This feed combines the principles of a low-starch, low-sugar diet with a selection of herbs traditionally used to soothe the digestive system. It’s a feed that acknowledges the powerful connection between a horse’s mind and its gut.
The formula is built on highly digestible fiber sources, but it also includes ingredients like chamomile, fenugreek, mint, and licorice. These aren’t just for flavor; they are chosen for their purported calming and supportive properties on the gut lining. This makes it a compelling option for the tense, internalizing horse that gets loose manure when the routine changes or a new horse arrives.
This isn’t a feed designed to pack on hundreds of pounds or fuel a high-performance athlete. Its strength lies in its gentle, holistic approach. For owners who believe their horse’s gut health is directly impacted by their nervous system, this feed provides a balanced nutritional profile with an added layer of herbal support that you won’t find in most other bags.
Bluebonnet Intensify Omega Force for Gut Health
Bluebonnet’s Intensify Omega Force is a modern, nutrient-dense feed designed for horses needing calories and significant digestive support. Its standout feature is the focus on high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, primarily from flaxseed and fish oil. These fats are known for their powerful anti-inflammatory properties, which can be incredibly beneficial for an irritated or inflamed gut lining.
This is a high-fat, high-fiber, and grain-free formula, making it an excellent choice for hard keepers or performance horses that need a lot of energy without the risks of a high-starch diet. The concentrated energy means you can often feed a smaller volume compared to more traditional feeds. This is a huge advantage for horses with poor appetites or those who get overwhelmed by large meals.
The inclusion of multiple gut-support ingredients, like prebiotics, probiotics, and yeast cultures, makes it a comprehensive solution. It’s designed not just to provide calories, but to actively improve the health of the entire digestive tract. For the horse needing to gain weight, maintain condition during hard work, or recover from a digestive illness, Omega Force provides a powerful combination of cool energy and anti-inflammatory support.
Ultimately, the best feed is the one that works for your individual horse, and that journey often starts with a forage-first mindset. No single bag holds a magic cure, but by matching a well-formulated feed to your horse’s specific needs—be it age, workload, or metabolic status—you can provide the steady, gentle support their sensitive system requires. Always make changes slowly, and never hesitate to loop in your veterinarian for guidance.
