What exactly are you feeding your horse in his "Supplements?" PART 1
What exactly are you feeding your horse in his "Supplements
?" PART 1
Every horse owner I know feeds her horse supplements. One for joint support, one for digestion, one for vitamins and minerals, one for hoof health, and the list goes on We all try to do the best we can by our magnificent steeds, but do you really know what goes into the supplements you are feeding, and WHY you are feeding them? Not to mention, do you know what dose your horse needs to reap the full benefits, as opposed to the amounts that are hardly making a dent?
My favorite marketing phrase is: "Balanced nutrition." Balanced to what? Itself is the answer. These supplements are balanced to what is in the bucket or bag, not to anything else you are feeding. So, if you are feeding your horse 20 pounds of hay a day, and one scoop of supplement, you are missing the balanced nutrition part of 20 pounds of his diet. But on the bright side, that little scoop is totally balanced.
As an equine nutritionist, it is my first and foremost recommendation that you have you try to understand basic nutrition. Consider spending some time reading through the Nutrient Requirements of Horses for topics that interest you for an introduction. Equally as important is having your forage tested! Equi-Analytical is a reliable source. After all, hay and grass are what make up the bulk of your horses diet. By having them analyzed by a specialized laboratory, you will know exactly what they need and when you are wasting your money on things they don't.
For example, copper and zinc are the most common deficiencies in hay and grass, but general supplementation found in catalogs and feed stores barely begin to make a dent in the amounts they really need. An average sized horse's daily need of copper is about 100mg per day. After reading labels of more than 11 vitamin and minerals supplements, not one of them provide more than 15-20 mg per dose. The average horse needs 400mg of zinc per day, but supplementation average yields about 5-7 mg per day. With those numbers yielding amounts that are barely drops in the bucket,, why waste your money?
Iron is the most over supplemented mineral in a horse's diet. Contrary to urban belief, anemia in a horse is rare! Chances are almost 100% that your horse has more than enough, if not an overload, of iron in his/her forage. Yet, you will find iron in almost every commercial supplement. If it's good for me, it must be good for my horse' is not a good adage to carry over to your horse's nutrition in this case As humans, we are iron wasters. We use what we need and get rid of the rest. Horses, on the contrary, do not have an efficient way to get rid of iron. It becomes stored in their bodies, and they can become overloaded. A long term overload of iron can create some serious issues. Not to mention, that iron, the most over supplemented mineral, competes for absorption with copper and zinc, the most under supplemented minerals. If your horse has sufficient iron, and insufficient copper and zinc, the small amounts of copper and zinc that you are supplementing will never make it to where they need to go, as they will be blocked by iron. Check your supplement labels: is iron added along with copper and zinc? Then with the insufficient amounts of copper and zinc, the added iron will take care of those for you and you can essentially put your money into a piggy bank for all the good it is not doing
Biotin is another supplement that is added to every hoof and hair supplement, but unfortunately, it's rarely enough to make a difference. Most of the commercial hoof supplements claim that theirs is the best. 5mg of biotin per day is not going to do a thing for your horse's hoof health, as the most recent research shows that at least 20mg per day is needed for optimum uptake.
Chromium has been the mineral du-jour for a few years now. In humans, it regulates blood sugar (glucose). In horses with metabolic issues, glucose is not the problem; instead it's a high insulin level that causes laminitis and founder. Blood glucose levels of horses, even with metabolic issues, are usually normal. In addition, research has consistently shown that plants take up chromium quite readily and most parts of the country yield grass and hay that are more than adequate in chromium. Research has also shown no benefit to horses, with the exception to those living and eating in alkaline soils where chromium may be insufficient in the soil. Another supplement that your horse probably doesn't need, but commercial manufacturers know that you think your horse should have it, so they add it in the ingredients. More money for your 401K!
Vitamin E is nearly always added as an antioxidant to commercial supplements. Did you know Vitamin E has no route of absorption without oil? It is a fat-soluble vitamin and must have oil to reach the pathways to be properly absorbed. So when you see Vitamin E on a label, and the supplement is in a dry powdered or pelletized form, the vitamin E will not be used by your horse. Toss that money into a wishing well. Notice that human form of Vitamin E is in capsules. These capsules are a combination of Vitamin E and oil (usually soybean oil) to ensure proper delivery. The fat content in a powdered or pelletized feed supplement won't do the trick, Vitamin E and other fat-soluble vitamins need a liquid source of fat, mixed in at the same time of ingestion, to properly do their job.
Pampered Pooch and Pony has developed a line of horse supplements, created in collaboration with an equine veterinarian and equine nutritionist, to provide your horse the minimum of what he/she needs with no expensive fillers and no ingredients they don't need. You won't find iron in our supplement, because we know they don't need it. No fancy packaging or marketing ploys to convince you that our supplement is the best. Decide for yourself as an educated consumer. Our philosophy is to keep it simple, and give your horse what nature intended, not what the latest trend says they should be taking. Adequate amounts of copper, zinc and sodium, in an Omega 3 flax base, with no artificial flavors or fillers are the main components of our supplements. Antioxidants that are absorbed and digested without the need of oils, providing the maximum uptake, are what we use. We've done our research; it's time to do yours
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