Are supplements a waste of money?

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Ginn

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As the title says really....

Yes I think that certain supplements (assuming I have spelled it right!!
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) can be of benifit - for example studies have shown that gycosamine and cod liver oil in certain doses can benifit joints - but are general supplements just a waste of money?

Horses have evolved to live of rougage and many horses are fit well and healthy living off grazing (and hay if grazing is not accesible/poor), in addition to this we also feed them cereals/cubes/mixes due to the demands we ask of them so do we really need to be feeding them a supplement on top? And to what extent does stabling a horse affect this?
 
Some are some aren't (useful answer
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)

For instance..

Bob, my TBxConnie has ulcer/gastric acid issues. However he is much better with supplements - not tucked up, eats all his feed, not anxious, no windsucking and less cribbing. He has Coligone and slippery Elm plus a probitic periodically because I worry the drugs he sometimes needs might affect his gut flora.

Sparky had an abcess, had a rather large chunk of sole cut out to drain it and the vet put her on a 60-day hoof supplement to help her grow the sole and hoof wall back. The box claims I should see a difference in her horn quality within a month..we're on day 45-ish and they look the same to me so I guess that was wasted on her as her feed already provides her with everything she needs to grow good quality horn!
 
I think it is very dependent of feed levels and work levels of a horse.
If a horse isn't been worked then I see no reason why they need any hard feed if they are on good grazing (or haylage).

Mine is currently on a general supplement (clop) because:
a) She is a very good doer so is fed below recommended levels of happy hoof (her only feed)
b) I'm riding her everyday so I feel that as she is working fairly hard, and isn't getting recommended levels of vit/mins
c) when she wasn't getting her supplement over the summer she was lazier than normal (but this could also have been due to her fat grass belly)

It's like anything - they have their uses for some horses and in some situations.
 
Donkey only gets Soy oil and garlic as supplements and her coat is as shiny as anything and her hooves are strong too (not that it stops her pulling her shoes off!!!)
 
Jazz is at grass for 6 hours a day and has 4kg Timothy Horsehage and 500gm Fibergy as a daily allowance; she too is a very good doer
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so on reduced chaff. I suppose I class her Baileys Lo Cal as her supplement as it 'tops' up her vits and mins, so IMO hers is worth the money! I do add 2 ickle scoops of Redwings hedgerow mixture daily aswell, I guess I like the idea of her having old fashioned plants in her diet, probably gives me more of a feel good factor
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Her other supplement is Mentax Mild which is for a specific purpose and increases her magnesium levels, our Island is deficient in this mineral and she is quite anxious when left alone, again I just try to give her what I believe she needs
 
Yes and no some are useful I have used supplements though not at the moment with my filly because she just doesnt need them, but there is a lady I know of her horse is a sec D type not working except the odd hack and lives in holds his weight and is gen healthy in all aspects It is on all sorts of supplements 11 different ones to be exact in both feeds it must cost a fortune for something the horse does not need imo I think this lady could be doing more harm than good.
 
My broodies have topspec bloodstock balancer and soya oil and although pricey they have never looked better or been calmer.
Usually have mud fever issues here in winter and very little yet so presume oil must help that.
 
For some horses yes, for others no.

Delia's condition was vastly improved by feeding a pro-biotic.

I have normally had sparce grazing and feed mainly chaff and few nuts way under the recommended amount so a good general vit and min supplement was recommended.

My boys have never looked and moved better since feeding Simple Systems Total Eclipse plus a little extra linseed.

If I were feeding a recommended amount of hard feed with everything added then I would not use anything.
 
if they work then no they're not a waste of money. unless theres one brand thats a reasnoble price and another thats extautionate (sp?) and they both do the same and work as well as the other. obv you'd go for the cheaper brand if they work just aswell
 
Well,I feed SWUO brewers yeast and milk thistle seed.
The brewers yeast has b-vits,plus aids the gut in getting as much goodness from her food as possible,and the milk thistle as a liver tonic/aid.Although she's never had Lami I class her as at risk due to her weight,so anything that'll help prevent it will be money well spent IMHO
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I think it depends.
Some people over use them, in which case they're of no use at all.
I think if you have a reson for using one, ie rubbish hay, or for a veteran etc then fine, but choose a good one and use only that one.
I had a little welshie who'd come off of 24/7 grazing looking a little dull (and V overweight). He was in during the night with 4 pads of hay and out in the day with a muzzle on for 1/2 the day.
I put him on a handful of hi fi just to mix a little D&H multi vitamin in, and after 4 weeks his coat shone and his eyes were sparkling. If anything I gave him way under the recommended amount, and it still did the world of good. The hay wasnt brilliant so that was my main reason for using it. I would deffo use it again if the need arose, but other than that, no.
 
My horse is on a few supplements but is in very hard work and I only tend to use supplements from the vet rather than over the counter ones. They are more money - I get all mine cost price as my uncle is a vet and they are still more than over the counter equivalents but I think they are better.
 
Well I have found a joint supplement to work amazingly well so they're definately not a waste! Not sure about usual supplements, never really thought about it. I do use an all round one because I dont have masses of grazing for them to get all the nutrients they would choose in the wild plus they are worked quite hard so need extra vits to replenish them. At the same time, I remember when I was younger with my first pony that it never crossed our minds to feed a supplement - we didnt even give feed, just hay and grass! And back then the ponies never had any problems or looked bad at all....
 
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I remember when I was younger with my first pony that it never crossed our minds to feed a supplement - we didnt even give feed, just hay and grass! And back then the ponies never had any problems or looked bad at all....

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My point exactly!! Surely horses have coped just fine despite being "used" by humans for as long as humans and horses have lived together - so why are we shovelling supplements down their throats now? Especially an "allround" one?

At what point do we consider them to be needed and how do you measure this need?
 
I think the key is to only use a supplement to make up any deficiencies. My mare gets no hard feed, limited grazing and good quality hay. She is intollerant to sugar and grass, so I give her Aloe Vera to stop her having diarrhoea (it sook me 6yrs to find a supplement that worked). I also give her a Vit & Min supplement as she practically lives off hay. In winter she also get echinacea to boost her immune system as she is prone to mudfever (but hasn't suffered since I have fed echinacea through the winter). I may start a joint supplement is she start to get stiff, when she is older.
 
For what it's worth, it seems to me that the equine supplement craze started about the same time as the human one.... I personally think that the vast majority (of both types!) are a bit of a con, but there are obviously exceptions.

To give a human example, I take cod liver oil because I don't eat fish (am fussy!) but need the Omega-3. I buy no-brand capsules for pence, but could buy some hyper branded 'pure Omega-3' super pill for ££££, but it would be exactly the same thing in essence. I think that there must be many comparable situations in the equine supplement business but am not clued-up enough to know what they are.

Sorry for the ramblings (on second glass of vino now - lol!)
 
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