Horse supplements - Are we being conned?!

[Karenchol]

I have just learnt that a lot of supplements are not what they should be, or proclaim to be. Also, that not all companies that sell supplements are nutritionists despite their claims.
I have just discovered my 2 horses are deficient in selenium. I know this, because I have just had them blood tested, for years i've been looking for the reason my horses have a a poor performance history. The vets only test for selenium levels if you ask for them to do so, they don't do it in routine blood tests.
Ground levels for selenium vary a lot in the UK and mine is clearly particularly deficient.

After 7 yrs and huge vet bills for xrays, bone scans, ultrasound, physios, chiros, bodyworkers etc etc I am where I am now. Have I found the reason? I am about to discover that I hope, because both of my horses are now on good levels of everything. In a few months I am told there should be a difference.

I am now getting the help of an independent horse nutritionist, who has set me straight about the pitfalls of believing what companies say. It is shocking to say the least. My advise to everyone, is to look at the credentials of the people selling these products, are they really qualified nutritionists? Because if like me, you are feeding naturally (adlib hay, grass, grass nuts and grass chaff) and you are relying on the your balancer to give your horse the correct amount of vitamins and minerals they need, beware. Please investigate their claims, even those that talk a good talk and have great marketing may not be what they say, nor their products!

Does anyone else on here have a history with their horse/s like this, that has been resolved by the right supplementation?

 

[I'm Dun]

equmins missold vitamin e for years, which when it is used to treat PSSM almost certainly had negative consequences. I use the soil observatory map to get a very rough idea of whats deficient etc in my grazing, then mix my own supplement to mitigate.That way I know whats in it.

 

[paddy555]

I am now getting the help of an independent horse nutritionist, who has set me straight about the pitfalls of believing what companies say. It is shocking to say the least. My advise to everyone, is to look at the credentials of the people selling these products, are they really qualified nutritionists? Because if like me, you are feeding naturally (adlib hay, grass, grass nuts and grass chaff) and you are relying on the your balancer to give your horse the correct amount of vitamins and minerals they need, beware. Please investigate their claims, even those that talk a good talk and have great marketing may not be what they say, nor their products!

Does anyone else on here have a history with their horse/s like this, that has been resolved by the right supplementation?

I think many on here will guess who your nutritionist is.
.

Like you I spent a lot of money (thousands) and even the horse hospital didn't suggest shortage of vit E.
I only found out by chance via google and Steph Valberg MSU's site after yet another unsatisfactory blood test. No vet ever suggested to test vit e levels. I don't blame the supplement companies, they stated exactly what was in their products (or at least they did on the ones I bought) but it simply wasn't enough for my (or some other horses) I don't think we realised at the time 2012 how much vit E was required by some in winter.

I hope you see a difference for your horses. I was lucky because vit E deficiency reacts very quickly to supplementation so it was very obvious it was working.

sadly the product that saved my horse so quickly was the equimins vit e oil and I cannot thank equimins enough,

If I had the choice to still buy it I would choose it any day over the natural vit e powder. To replace the Equimins vit E I am now having to buy human vit e capsules which are a more expensive.

On a separate note if anyone knows of a good quality vit E product in liquid oil form (rather than powder) please let me know.

 

[NocturneNoel]

I think many on here will guess who your nutritionist is.
.

Like you I spent a lot of money (thousands) and even the horse hospital didn't suggest shortage of vit E.
I only found out by chance via google and Steph Valberg MSU's site after yet another unsatisfactory blood test. No vet ever suggested to test vit e levels. I don't blame the supplement companies, they stated exactly what was in their products (or at least they did on the ones I bought) but it simply wasn't enough for my (or some other horses) I don't think we realised at the time 2012 how much vit E was required by some in winter.

I hope you see a difference for your horses. I was lucky because vit E deficiency reacts very quickly to supplementation so it was very obvious it was working.

sadly the product that saved my horse so quickly was the equimins vit e oil and I cannot thank equimins enough,

If I had the choice to still buy it I would choose it any day over the natural vit e powder. To replace the Equimins vit E I am now having to buy human vit e capsules which are a more expensive.

On a separate note if anyone knows of a good quality vit E product in liquid oil form (rather than powder) please let me know.

Have you tried the omega equine one? KER also do one but it’s eyewateringly expensive.

 

[paddy555]

Have you tried the omega equine one? KER also do one but it’s eyewateringly expensive.

thanks. The KER one is Nano and I have tried it. Surprisingly in view of the price I didn't find it particularly effective compared to others.
I have looked at the omega one many times trying to decide on the quality.

Anyone else tried it?

 

[Karenchol]

I think many on here will guess who your nutritionist is.
.

Like you I spent a lot of money (thousands) and even the horse hospital didn't suggest shortage of vit E.
I only found out by chance via google and Steph Valberg MSU's site after yet another unsatisfactory blood test. No vet ever suggested to test vit e levels. I don't blame the supplement companies, they stated exactly what was in their products (or at least they did on the ones I bought) but it simply wasn't enough for my (or some other horses) I don't think we realised at the time 2012 how much vit E was required by some in winter.

I hope you see a difference for your horses. I was lucky because vit E deficiency reacts very quickly to supplementation so it was very obvious it was working.

sadly the product that saved my horse so quickly was the equimins vit e oil and I cannot thank equimins enough,

If I had the choice to still buy it I would choose it any day over the natural vit e powder. To replace the Equimins vit E I am now having to buy human vit e capsules which are a more expensive.

On a separate note if anyone knows of a good quality vit E product in liquid oil form (rather than powder) please let me know.

Vit E and selenium deficiency go hand in hand. I had soil analysis done years ago, but again, selenium levels are not tested. I have also fed supplements that contain both. I’d never read anywhere what the average requirements are for horses, so I relied on the companies to tell me. Sadly, not all give you the correct information.
It makes me realise that to feed our horses correctly you need a degree in horse nutrition, or you need to find someone that does. It isn’t straight forward and all horses are different.

 

[Elno]

I have just learnt that a lot of supplements are not what they should be, or proclaim to be. Also, that not all companies that sell supplements are nutritionists despite their claims.

Yup. That is why, when you have a headache you go to the pharmacy and buy Aspirin, and not to the herbal store and buy white willow bark tree. But apparently this does not apply when it comes to our horses where we gladly will buy all sorts of expensive supplements that claim all sorts of benefits (joint supplements especially are my biggest eye sore) not even knowing what is in them, and sometimes even if we do think we know what is in them there is no way to be sure that it is in the amount the supplement claims it to be

Unfortunately supplements for both horses and humans are a big industry, and a lot of research goes in to how to make us buy more. I'm a M.D and heck, even I (almost) fall for the clever marketing sometimes! We all want what is best for our horses after all, and the companies know that and take advantage.

Btw, we have selenium deficient soil. I buy selenium/vit E in the pharmacy, vet prescription. This is in Sweden, but surely you must have similar products in the UK?

 

[Starzaan]

I used to run rehab yards, and worked closely with an independent nutritionist who is also a practicing vet. The vast majority of supplements are absolute tosh and not worth the money. A lot of owners are in fact doing more harm than good with the supplements they feed (particularly those who feed a huge range of supplements just because they like the label, rather than supplementing because you have blood tested and had soil, grazing and forage analysed so you genuinely know what you need to add in).

Supplements drive me BONKERS.

 

[Hackback]

thanks. The KER one is Nano and I have tried it. Surprisingly in view of the price I didn't find it particularly effective compared to others.
I have looked at the omega one many times trying to decide on the quality.

Anyone else tried it?

I find the Nano E very effective for my older horse. I tried the powder first, which made no difference and I tried the oil (many years ago now) in an effort to cut costs but it didn't seem as good and was horribly messy to use, so he's been on Nano E ever since. It is expensive but for me it's been a game changer so very worth it.

Lots of people see a difference with the powder form, so it must depend on what suits your horse.

 

[Albus15]

I must admit I love a supplement... and it's taken me a lot of work and research to come to the understanding there there really is only a small handful that genuinely work. Probably far less than you'd ever think! I've gone from 5 supplements to just a balancer.

For example:
Premier Performance - calming cookies that are full of molasses? Feeding sugar really makes sense if you want a calming effect...

 

[Karenchol]

Yup. That is why, when you have a headache you go to the pharmacy and buy Aspirin, and not to the herbal store and buy white willow bark tree. But apparently this does not apply when it comes to our horses where we gladly will buy all sorts of expensive supplements that claim all sorts of benefits (joint supplements especially are my biggest eye sore) not even knowing what is in them, and sometimes even if we do think we know what is in them there is no way to be sure that it is in the amount the supplement claims it to be

Unfortunately supplements for both horses and humans are a big industry, and a lot of research goes in to how to make us buy more. I'm a M.D and heck, even I (almost) fall for the clever marketing sometimes! We all want what is best for our horses after all, and the companies know that and take advantage.

Btw, we have selenium deficient soil. I buy selenium/vit E in the pharmacy, vet prescription. This is in Sweden, but surely you must have similar products in the UK?

Hi,

Yes we do.
However, I’ve had years of having various issues, that even with vet help I couldn’t solve. I’ve now enlisted the help of an “independent” highly qualified nutritionist. I just wish I’d done it years ago. The vets never suggested looking at their diet for deficiencies, even though my area is very low in selenium.
I did not want to supplement it for fear of over dosing, until I had the blood test. Which I had to request in the end.
I have spoken to many people selling supplements over the years. All of course want to sell you their products, but none met my horses requirements I now realise, even though they contained selenium & Vit E. I have also had soil tests and forage tests before. None highlighted the deficiency, because I think you have to ask for selenium tests. I didn’t know this and no one said. If I was naive about it all I could accept it. I’m not a scientist, or a nutritionist and I was taking advice from people I thought were.
It just makes me realise that there must be a lot of people out there missing this too.
If I’d enlisted the help of an independent nutritionist at the beginning, instead of the vet and companies selling their own products, I’d not be where I am today.

 

[paddy555]

, rather than supplementing because you have blood tested and had soil, grazing and forage analysed so you genuinely know what you need to add in).

but how do you do that with sufficient accuracy?
I buy in hundreds of bales of hay. They come from many different fields and they are all "mixed up" ie I don't get 100 from one field even. Very many people will be in the same position. They buy whatever hay the feed merchant has. They are dependent on whatever hay the livery owner buys in. I have one on haylage from a large firm. I buy a few bales at a time from different feed merchants. Those will have come from hundreds of different fields. How on earth can I analyse them all. A large amount of my feeding is forage.

I would imagine each of my fields have different soil and grazing analyses. I move my horses around.

So all the time horses are getting a different mix of everything. So the choice for me, and I guess for many in my position, which is most horse owners, is don't supplement or give a general supplement.

my other question is do all horses absorb supplements equally and do some need more that others. Other than testing every single vitamin and mineral for each horse how do you know? Realistically how many horses owners with horses that are seemingly OK could actually afford to.

Clare McDonalds page suggests that feeding forage alone isn't sufficient it needs supplementation.

Over very many years I have only seen 2 actual results from supplements. One was the vit e deficient horse I mentioned above. The other was a horse who didn't grow feet (he was BF) I used equimins hoof mender and I started to get growth relatively soon. It was obvious in those 2 horses that they needed something from their clear results.

I
After 7 yrs and huge vet bills for xrays, bone scans, ultrasound, physios, chiros, bodyworkers etc etc I am where I am now. Have I found the reason? I am about to discover that I hope, because both of my horses are now on good levels of everything. In a few months I am told there should be a difference.

which supplement are you feeding now?

 

[Karenchol]

I used to run rehab yards, and worked closely with an independent nutritionist who is also a practicing vet. The vast majority of supplements are absolute tosh and not worth the money. A lot of owners are in fact doing more harm than good with the supplements they feed (particularly those who feed a huge range of supplements just because they like the label, rather than supplementing because you have blood tested and had soil, grazing and forage analysed so you genuinely know what you need to add in).

Supplements drive me BONKERS.

Absolutely. I’m shocked by how many proclaim to be nutritionists without the correct training. Of course I didn’t actually look into their credentials. I believed their big company marketing and their advice, that I thought was better than my own. The biggest mistake ever and it has cost me years of lost enjoyment with my horses.
However, in my case soil and forage sampling was no help either. One company gave me a whole host of supplements to work with the analysis I had done. However, still, none mentioned selenium levels??? I’m am shocked and bloody furious at the same time!

 

[Fieldlife]

I have just learnt that a lot of supplements are not what they should be, or proclaim to be. Also, that not all companies that sell supplements are nutritionists despite their claims.
I have just discovered my 2 horses are deficient in selenium. I know this, because I have just had them blood tested, for years i've been looking for the reason my horses have a a poor performance history. The vets only test for selenium levels if you ask for them to do so, they don't do it in routine blood tests.
Ground levels for selenium vary a lot in the UK and mine is clearly particularly deficient.

After 7 yrs and huge vet bills for xrays, bone scans, ultrasound, physios, chiros, bodyworkers etc etc I am where I am now. Have I found the reason? I am about to discover that I hope, because both of my horses are now on good levels of everything. In a few months I am told there should be a difference.

I am now getting the help of an independent horse nutritionist, who has set me straight about the pitfalls of believing what companies say. It is shocking to say the least. My advise to everyone, is to look at the credentials of the people selling these products, are they really qualified nutritionists? Because if like me, you are feeding naturally (adlib hay, grass, grass nuts and grass chaff) and you are relying on the your balancer to give your horse the correct amount of vitamins and minerals they need, beware. Please investigate their claims, even those that talk a good talk and have great marketing may not be what they say, nor their products!

Does anyone else on here have a history with their horse/s like this, that has been resolved by the right supplementation?

this sounds strange to me.

If you feed a reputable balancer at the right amounts, your horses should not be selenium deficient. Most UK soil is low selenium. Most good balancers provide enough to be sufficient if soil contained none. But not so much to be toxic if there was a bit in soil. Is a narrow band between deficient and toxic amounts.

Which balancer(s) have you been using?

It is true some supplements dont contain the amounts advertised or the amounts in a bioavailable for horse can actually use. And is a fairly unregulated industry. But AFAIK Selenium is not expensive to add to supplement and is added in a form horse can use.

I struggle to believe if you have been feeding a reputable balancer at the recommended amounts, there would be insufficient selenium being provided for your horses daily needs.

Sarah Braithwaite from Forage Plus would be a really interesting person to speak to, as a general expert in this area it would be worth contacting her.

I would also be slightly cautious as to how much training some nutritionists have had about minerals, mineral balancing and mineral deficiencies. Not all training is that in depth in these areas. Versus say the Kellon NRC balancing courses.

 

[Karenchol]

but how do you do that with sufficient accuracy?
I buy in hundreds of bales of hay. They come from many different fields and they are all "mixed up" ie I don't get 100 from one field even. Very many people will be in the same position. They buy whatever hay the feed merchant has. They are dependent on whatever hay the livery owner buys in. I have one on haylage from a large firm. I buy a few bales at a time from different feed merchants. Those will have come from hundreds of different fields. How on earth can I analyse them all. A large amount of my feeding is forage.

I would imagine each of my fields have different soil and grazing analyses. I move my horses around.

So all the time horses are getting a different mix of everything. So the choice for me, and I guess for many in my position, which is most horse owners, is don't supplement or give a general supplement.

my other question is do all horses absorb supplements equally and do some need more that others. Other than testing every single vitamin and mineral for each horse how do you know? Realistically how many horses owners with horses that are seemingly OK could actually afford to.

Clare McDonalds page suggests that feeding forage alone isn't sufficient it needs supplementation.

Over very many years I have only seen 2 actual results from supplements. One was the vit e deficient horse I mentioned above. The other was a horse who didn't grow feet (he was BF) I used equimins hoof mender and I started to get growth relatively soon. It was obvious in those 2 horses that they needed something from their clear results.

which supplement are you feeding now?

I had that conversation about different hays etc. You cannot gauge it. Hay is a small part of it. If in doubt ask a local farmer what the local ground is like. All my neighbours feed extra selenium to their cattle and sheep!
That is why a blood test is the best thing to do. Then at least you know how much to supplement them with to balance it. I then need to re blood test in a couple of months. If they have stabilised, I then get them on the right products. There are good, well balanced products out there. The nutritionist gave me a list. She is independent so she doesn’t favour one company. She has just a good knowledge of the correct levels. One other thing, each horse is individual!

 

[Karenchol]

this sounds strange to me.

If you feed a reputable balancer at the right amounts, your horses should not be selenium deficient. Most UK soil is low selenium. Most good balancers provide enough to be sufficient if soil contained none. But not so much to be toxic if there was a bit in soil. Is a narrow band between deficient and toxic amounts.

Which balancer(s) have you been using?

It is true some supplements dont contain the amounts advertised or the amounts in a bioavailable for horse can actually use. And is a fairly unregulated industry. But AFAIK Selenium is not expensive to add to supplement and is added in a form horse can use.

I struggle to believe if you have been feeding a reputable balancer at the recommended amounts, there would be insufficient selenium being provided for your horses daily needs.

Sarah Braithwaite from Forage Plus would be a really interesting person to speak to, as a general expert in this area it would be worth contacting her.

I would also be slightly cautious as to how much training some nutritionists have had about minerals, mineral balancing and mineral deficiencies. Not all training is that in depth in these areas. Versus say the Kellon NRC balancing courses.

I do not want to start a war in here, but I will just say. Be careful who you believe is an expert. That is where I went wrong!

 

[paddy555]

I had that conversation about different hays etc. You cannot gauge it. Hay is a small part of it. If in doubt ask a local farmer what the local ground is like. All my neighbours feed extra selenium to their cattle and sheep!
That is why a blood test is the best thing to do. Then at least you know how much to supplement them with to balance it. I then need to re blood test in a couple of months. If they have stabilised, I then get them on the right products. There are good, well balanced products out there. The nutritionist gave me a list. She is independent so she doesn’t favour one company. She has just a good knowledge of the correct levels. One other thing, each horse is individual!

why do you say hay is a small part of it? several of my horses are on 90% or more of hay ATM as they are yarded due to the wet ground. That may continue for a long time so their diet is basically hay. (or haylage for one) for a long period of time.

what are you blood testing for? Se, vit e, cu, zn or what else? everything else? if you don't know the levels of everything then how do you know what to balance and what could be over supplemented?

other than a blood test what else has your nutritionist tested to balance into the equation? hay? ground etc.

 

[Fieldlife]

I had that conversation about different hays etc. You cannot gauge it. Hay is a small part of it. If in doubt ask a local farmer what the local ground is like. All my neighbours feed extra selenium to their cattle and sheep!
That is why a blood test is the best thing to do. Then at least you know how much to supplement them with to balance it. I then need to re blood test in a couple of months. If they have stabilised, I then get them on the right products. There are good, well balanced products out there. The nutritionist gave me a list. She is independent so she doesn’t favour one company. She has just a good knowledge of the correct levels. One other thing, each horse is individual!

Hay is NOT a small part. That is nonsense. In winter for up to six most horses have at least 80% of their diet as hay / haylage so the mineral profile IS important. And most horses the hay is not made from the same soil as their grazing fields.

UK soil is typically selenium, magnesium, zinc and copper deficient. This is well known.

It isnt that complicated for most horses.

You can safely feed acceptable amounts of these minerals for most horses, via reputable balancers.

If you are unlucky your soil is high selenium or iron, and needs more thought.

 

[Fieldlife]

why do you say hay is a small part of it? several of my horses are on 90% or more of hay ATM as they are yarded due to the wet ground. That may continue for a long time so their diet is basically hay. (or haylage for one) for a long period of time.

what are you blood testing for? Se, vit e, cu, zn or what else? everything else? if you don't know the levels of everything then how do you know what to balance and what could be over supplemented?

other than a blood test what else has your nutritionist tested to balance into the equation? hay? ground etc.

I also thought studies show that blood tests for horses, only show the free circulating minerals that are in the blood. Doesnt show levels bound to cells and receptors in the body being utilised, and isnt reliable measure of whether deficient or not. (Dont know this specifiically for selenium, but do understand cannot test for general mineral deficiency in horses by blood testing).

This article explains blood testing well - https://madbarn.com/blood-vitamin-m...measure specific,low in a particular nutrient.

 

[paddy555]

this sounds strange to me.

If you feed a reputable balancer at the right amounts, your horses should not be selenium deficient. Most UK soil is low selenium. Most good balancers provide enough to be sufficient if soil contained none. But not so much to be toxic if there was a bit in soil. Is a narrow band between deficient and toxic amounts.

Which balancer(s) have you been using?

It is true some supplements dont contain the amounts advertised or the amounts in a bioavailable for horse can actually use. And is a fairly unregulated industry. But AFAIK Selenium is not expensive to add to supplement and is added in a form horse can use.

I struggle to believe if you have been feeding a reputable balancer at the recommended amounts, there would be insufficient selenium being provided for your horses daily needs.

Sarah Braithwaite from Forage Plus would be a really interesting person to speak to, as a general expert in this area it would be worth contacting her.

I would also be slightly cautious as to how much training some nutritionists have had about minerals, mineral balancing and mineral deficiencies. Not all training is that in depth in these areas. Versus say the Kellon NRC balancing courses.

I did see the list on Claire McDonalds site and FP were not included in the list of recommended supplements I don't think (happy to be corrected if I am wrong), neither were equimins although PE were.
As they are very similar I was surprisd not to see FP but to see PE.

 

[Fieldlife]

I did see the list on Claire McDonalds site and FP were not included in the list of recommended supplements I don't think (happy to be corrected if I am wrong), neither were equimins although PE were.
As they are very similar I was surprisd not to see FP but to see PE.

Claire doesnt like FP (I think due to when they tested and published the intrinsic levels of iron in all their competitor balancers). Her choice to not recommend them is due to that, and not due to the quality of their products.

I dont know why she doesnt include Equimins.

For PE she only recommends the balancers that contain Vit A and Vit E.

But she recommended some pretty limited balancers too on her list.

 

[Karenchol]

I do not want to start a war in here, but I will just say. Be careful who you believe is an expert. That is where I went wrong!

Without setting the cat amongst the pigeons, these are the companies I have tried over the last few years.
Hi Form
Forage Plus
Equifeast
None met my horses requirements. You can take from that what you want, but I spoke to them in depth and I am where I am today. Lots of tests done, lots of advice!
I am now using one of the best “independent” nutritionists in the country. She is more qualified than any of these people I believe and is not pushing her own product.

 

[SEL]

There's quite a few posts on this forum about selenium and vitamin E deficiency.

The link here isn't the most user friendly but you can zoom in on your area and get an idea of what your soil is high / low in. Then follow up with a test if you want. My hay is sourced locally so I fully expect to be short selenium and copper. My horses have tested in the normal zone for selenium though so must be getting sufficient from their balancer (& I switch balancers on occasion as one horse is fussy)

Advanced soil geochemical atlas of England and Wales | UK Soil Observatory | UK Research and Innovation

www.ukso.org

 

[SEL]

Without setting the cat amongst the pigeons, these are the companies I have tried over the last few years.
Hi Form
Forage Plus
Equifeast
None met my horses requirements. You can take from that what you want, but I spoke to them in depth and I am where I am today. Lots of tests done, lots of advice!
I am now using one of the best “independent” nutritionists in the country. She is more qualified than any of these people I believe and is not pushing her own product.

Forage Plus winter balancer has enough vitamin E and selenium for a 'normal' horse. - I don't know the others well enough to comment.

The trouble is when your horse becomes very deficient in something it can be extremely hard work to get back into the normal range. I don't always see eye to eye with the lady who runs FP but if you presented her with a blood test showing selenium deficiency she wouldn't have advised just one of their general balancers - I know that as fact!

 

[Karenchol]

why do you say hay is a small part of it? several of my horses are on 90% or more of hay ATM as they are yarded due to the wet ground. That may continue for a long time so their diet is basically hay. (or haylage for one) for a long period of time.

what are you blood testing for? Se, vit e, cu, zn or what else? everything else? if you don't know the levels of everything then how do you know what to balance and what could be over supplemented?

other than a blood test what else has your nutritionist tested to balance into the equation? hay? ground etc.

I had a full bloods done plus selenium/vit E. I feed hay 24/7 and my horses were still deficient. That is why i imagine hay is not a huge part of it? Unless I guess you have high levels in the ground you are getting hay from. Companies offer low levels of everything for this reason I guess, to be cautious. That is why you have to blood test to really know. I get in a range of hay from people, not always from the same fields. I also think this is why I have such deficiencies too. Low levels in supplements, low levels in hay and grass = deficiency. It’s a nightmare.

 

[Karenchol]

Forage Plus winter balancer has enough vitamin E and selenium for a 'normal' horse. - I don't know the others well enough to comment.

The trouble is when your horse becomes very deficient in something it can be extremely hard work to get back into the normal range. I don't always see eye to eye with the lady who runs FP but if you presented her with a blood test showing selenium deficiency she wouldn't have advised just one of their general balancers - I know that as fact!

I’ve done all of that and fed a whole host of suggested stuff from FP. I fed it for a good year at great cost. I stopped because of the expense and because it made no difference.

 

[Karenchol]

I also thought studies show that blood tests for horses, only show the free circulating minerals that are in the blood. Doesnt show levels bound to cells and receptors in the body being utilised, and isnt reliable measure of whether deficient or not. (Dont know this specifiically for selenium, but do understand cannot test for general mineral deficiency in horses by blood testing).

This article explains blood testing well - https://madbarn.com/blood-vitamin-mineral-testing-in-horses/#:~:text=Blood tests can measure specific,low in a particular nutrient.

Mine were specifically tested for selenium deficiency. The other bloods were just normal bloods.

 

[quizzie]

There are 2 common problems .....

Firstly, because of the narrow safety margin of Selenium, very few feed/supplement companies will recommend or include ,more than about 1mg in their products, in case there are other sources in the diet. A horse in medium to hard work can require around 3mg/day....so depending on the hay/grass/other parts of the diet, some may become deficient, but others may have plenty.

Secondly : there are some horses who simply don't absorb/utilise things such as vit E/selenium, and thus need more....it is individual.

Eg I had two horses...on the same diet/hay/grass and workload....one was selenium deficient....he responded well to supplementation at 3mg/day...his vitamin e levels were fine
...the other horse had a normal selenium level, but was very deficient in Vit E, the only form of which he could utilise being Nano-E.
Both horses had regular blood tests to ensure supplementation levels were correct.

 

[Fieldlife]

Hi Form
Forage Plus
Equifeast
None met my horses requirements.

Assuming (as you’ve implied) you’ve only just blood tested, you can ONLY actually say the most RECENT balancer you fed didn’t provide your horses with sufficient selenium.

You can make NO assumptions on the performance of earlier fed balancers as you didn’t test whilst feeding them.

Hi-form & Equifeast are not reputable balancers AFAIK

FP is a reputable balancer (but your independent professional doesn’t like their marketing strategy!)

I’m struggling to belies you fed correct amounts of an FP balancer for six months then blood tested immediately and found your horses selenium deficient!

With the Hi-form & Equifeast (both products with aggressive marketing and little substance on ingredients if read labels closely) it’s certainly possible.

Ps I don’t feed or have any connection to FP. I do have a biochemistry degree.

 

[paddy555]

There are 2 common problems .....

Firstly, because of the narrow safety margin of Selenium, very few feed/supplement companies will recommend or include ,more than about 1mg in their products, in case there are other sources in the diet. A horse in medium to hard work can require around 3mg/day....so depending on the hay/grass/other parts of the diet, some may become deficient, but others may have plenty.

Secondly : there are some horses who simply don't absorb/utilise things such as vit E/selenium, and thus need more....it is individual.

Eg I had two horses...on the same diet/hay/grass and workload....one was selenium deficient....he responded well to supplementation at 3mg/day...his vitamin e levels were fine
...the other horse had a normal selenium level, but was very deficient in Vit E, the only form of which he could utilise being Nano-E.
Both horses had regular blood tests to ensure supplementation levels were correct.

that seems to be what has happened here. Once the blood was tested for selenium then the deficiency was found and can now be corrected.

Karenchoi, did you test for vit e as well as deficiency is also very common?
are you just supplementing extra SE or vit e as well?

just as a matter of curiosity what made you test for Se?