Do you feed supplements?

L

LittleBlossom

Active Member
Joined
21 April 2009
Messages
33
Visit site
Seeing the reader poll on H&H just now, "Do you feed your horse supplements?" and the story about horse feed in this week's mag has got me wondering if I should...

My mare is on regumate because without she's away with the fairies, but tbh I have no clue what's really in it or what affects it could have.... but feeding supplements seems so commonplace now, I never really worried about it before.

What do people think, do they actually need supplements or are they a quick fix?!
confused.gif
 
I think the vast majority of people are wasting their money, and giving their horses far too much in the way of additional vitamins and minerals.

What we should really ask is, who takes supplements for their own personal health, I'll bet hardly any of us do !

What annoys me about these supplements is they are all so bloody expensive. My horse has rubbish feet, so I tried the leading brands. At £30/month it is more than I spend on hard feed ! they did not work, so they recommended I double the qty. £60/month on hoof supplements - madness.

The real big business is for calmers - mostly to cover up inadequate riding /training. We are actually doping leisure horses to make them more rideable ?
 
Would you call regumate "doping" then?! Obv not technically, but then if some hormonal woman is being vile we don't tranq them I guess...

When it comes to feet it's hard because you can't ride a horse with no feet, but I think conditioning ones could easily be cut out with the right exercise and feeding regime, or am I being too generic?
 
I feed mine supplements, but only blood salts and sunflower seeds

That's because I have no intention of feeding the X number of kilos of feed that the likes of D&H and spillers recommend. Mine get 0.5kg if they are lucky, so I know its lacking in vits and minerals.

However the horses not in work don't get anything other than a mineral lick.
 
I feed a general supplement called "keep me sound", has got glucasaimine and biotin and other stuff in it, i alternate it between that and "my joints" which is a joint supplement
tongue.gif


I also feed a tblsp of baking soda when i feel horse is a bit "off", and will feed it for 1-2 weeks and then stop. But i dont feed this regulary, say 3/4 times a year.

He also gets a 1 desert spoon of salt as he sweats alot, but thats normal for him, just need to make sure that he replenishes what he looses. He is worked quite hard!

And for stamina he gets 2 cups of outshine a day.

This is in his evening feed btw!

I used to add sugar beet but i think they make his legs swell so he came off that.

I think prevention is better than cure tbh. I would rather feed to help prevent an injury, than feed to help an injury
smile.gif


I do think calmers are weak dopers though.
 
My mare gets a lot!
At the minute she's on the most she's ever been on!
Coligone - for her dicky tummy and ulcers, working wonders and she's a different horse
Yakult - Top up her probiotic after her stomach being stripped of them
Electrolytes - She has had trouble keeping hydrated which has lead to impacted colic
Red Cell - For her Anemia from bleeding ulcers

She'll hopefully go back to just coligone and slimline soon
smile.gif
 
I'm not a big fan of them but find myself using quite a few at the moment. Usually it would just be a broad spectrum vits and min added to feed, but at the moment I add in NAF Slimline, Newmarket Joint Formula (she is getting on so it is preventive as much as anything) and Serrapeptase to deal with slightly puffy legs. Oh and Global Herbs Weez as and when she appears to be a bit chesty

None of these are a quick fix for me and all fed for a purpose
 
[ QUOTE ]


The real big business is for calmers -

[/ QUOTE ]

Calmers are almost a 'must have' at the moment it seems, and I do wonder why. Are horses being handled wrongly and trained wrongly, or are they maybe being wrongly fed, on inapropriate food? Or something completely different? I would be interested in thoughts on this.
 
Daisy has been on NAF Slimline and it made a real difference to her weight. She is currently fed Benevit which is a vit supplement because she is on very restricted grazing and soaked hay so isn't getting the amount she needs naturally. I don't take vits myself because i can choose to eat a healthy balanced diet. unfortunately I can't give my horse the diet she would have in the wild so she has a supplement.
 
I try to feed simply, avoiding compound feeds, I feed ad lib hay (soaked if necessary) and Alfa A.

I feed Mag Ox and Vitex to my cushingsoid cob, and would never stop this as I believe it to be essential for laminitis prevention.

HOWEVER Im also feeding Benevit Advance as a Vit and Min supplement (Both are fed Alfa A lite which is not a complete feed for horses in work), Biotin (as both mine have crap feet), plus Cleavers and Marigolds as both are inclined to filled legs. Oh and BOSS to the TBx for condition.

I used to feed various hoof supplements at vast expense and no improvement has been seen so now I just feed NAF biotin.

I cant understand how these syringes of calmers can possibly work.

I think I might need to put both on a joint supplement soon though as both are veterans and getting a bit creaky when its damp.
 
I used to feed my mare calmers - started feeding them when I was trying to build topline on her. For a Welshie she was just a wee slip of a thing, so needed the help. So she was getting fed top line cond cubes, and then she needed the calmer. Realised that she was hyped up from the hard feed, running the weight off her - so took her off hard feed, kept her on chaff, speedy beet, and a good balancer. VOILA, no more calmer needed and her top line is coming on lovely!

I do feed supps though - seaquim, a touch of oil, salts and electrolytes when competing, and pink powder for the last couple of weeks but coming off that. She isn't your typical "good do-er" Welshie so still needs a bit of feeding thru the summer.
 
yes quite a lot at mo...........
365 complete as like others have said dont feed full amount that feed manufacters recommened,
Pure DMG,
Premier Flex,
Garlic,
Nettle (as she loves them!),
Electrolytes as req,
Antihistamines as req
 
I just feed a good equine balancer.

I sometimes wonder how our horses survived in years gone by before all the commercial companies got in on the supplements scene. They now make us feel so guilty for not adding all these supplements.

We gave them salt, codliver oil and Linseed - that was it!

This horse had no supplements
Pinzara001-1.jpg
 
I think the article in H&H showed how important it is, if you feed supplements, to buyh them from a UCAS registered manufacturer so they are mixed properly and with good quality ingredients. I mainly use NAF supplements on my boys as as far as im aware they are the only company that conform with the above.
 
I feed Feedmarks Benevit which is an all round vit/min supplement because my lad is always on poor and restricted grazing with year old hay so I want to ensure he gets everything he needs. I also use their one for respiratory problems which does help him noticiably.
I myself take vit c, cod liver oil capsules and vit b as I get very run down easily and they help with this...the cod liver oil is because I get arthritis in my feet. The vit b and changed my life literally - I have more energy since taking it and can cope with hectic weeks better without feeling drained...so they must do some good!!! Another brill product for us humans is Berrocca...for hectic lifestyles as a pick me up...great stuff.
 
Absolutley nothing.

They get Alfa A and balancer in their buckets, hay on the floor.

I tried a calmer while my mare was on box rest, it made no difference so I gave up and just doped her with sedalin (on the vets instructions) when she was allowed back out/to be ridden for the first few days.
 
Yes, I feed my horse a joint supplement and devils claw.

I stopped feeding them as he was being re-habbed for an injury and I fed them as preventative, however since being off them he has become very stiff, so he is back on them as from today to see if that is what made the difference.
 
Mine has just started having Selenivite, basically a general all round supplement but with elevated levels of Vit E and Selenium as he's moving on to a high oil diet. Vet recommended putting him on a joint supp as well so if I can get the insurance to pay (he needs some further investigation to hocks) then he will hopefully go on Cortavet.
 
i feed superflex as a mintenance as oppsed to anythng else and dengie performance vitamins nd minerals to help promote healthy tissue and cartilage
he has garlic
 
I do wonder just how much of our money ends up on the muckheap! I feed mag ox, and linseed though...mag ox as a lami preventative alongside a strict regime, and linseed for skin and coat condition, and for joints.
 
[ QUOTE ]
But surely a balancer is a supplement?
Kate x

[/ QUOTE ] I guess it could be, although i've always looked on balancers as being concentrated feeds rather than supplements. Hmm, you've got me wondering now lol xx
 
For the gelding I feed Premier Flex as a maintenance. Devil's claw if he seems a bit stiff or if we do a long hack. Both of them get seaweed powder and cider vinegar.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Limestone flour
grin.gif

My mare atm is fed one meal a day of oats and alfa a origional. Limestone is to add some calcium to her diet.

[/ QUOTE ] Alfalfa is high in calcium, so depending on the ratio of oats to alfa a you may not need the limestone flour
smile.gif
 
I just feed Benevit adavance to my 4 year old as she has less than the recommended amount of feed, but my little colt has none as he is fed the full amount.
 
I have recently started giving (well when he was getting hard feed any) my boy a general vit and min supplement as I phone up D & H for advice on Safe and Sound to be told he woudl require 2.5kg a day without supplement. Just not an option so he gets a supplement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top