Giving supplements to horse they don't need?

[Loch_ness_monster]

Is there such a thing of over supplementing a horse? If so what are the consequences ? I know that horse need some vitamins etc due to being in an unnatural environment so they are unable to forage but Do we supplement our horses for our own piece of mind or do they actually enhance the horses performance or well being?

Oh I'm not a new user just fancied a new name !

 

[rhino]

Oversupplementation of some vitamins/minerals can be fatal. There are two main types of vitamin; water-soluble and fat-soluble, water soluble types can't really be over fed as they are excreted in urine but fat-soluble types are stored in adipose tissue and can build up to toxic levels.

The effects vary dependent on the particular vitamin. Yes, a lot of people oversupplement, sometimes due to the 'one scoop is good so two scoops must be better' thinking and sometimes due to using a number of different supplements which contain the same ingredient.

 

[teasle]

Yes you can harm your horses health by over supplementing. Some minerals that are needed ,like selenium , are harmful in excess.

 

[Loch_ness_monster]

This is what I thought but as I see so many people supplementing x,y,z I thought maybe I was under supplementing my horse as she only gets a salt lick once in a while and that's it. What about performance supplements for competition horses supposedly boosting your horses performance levels...or respiratory or joint which would be relatable to health. If your horse doesn't need for example super flex would it be bad to give it to them anyway ?

 

[rhino]

Most of the supplements contain 'therapeutic doses' which are unlikely to be harmful on their own, even if the horse does not specifically require them. It is more likely to have a negative effect if, for example, you were feeding a cube or mix which was fully supplemented, then adding a balancer, then adding a joint supplement and a hoof supplement.. Each of these will have some ingredients in common.

 

[orionstar]

Yep, my vet said to me last week that given the care and attention given to the equines in Britain they should be the healthiest animals in the world with the amount of suppliments people feed - but funny enough I'm still busy every day. Sort of sums it up really.