OK lets have some answers! Do supplements/herbs really work??

J

jen1

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As the title really, do you think supplements and herbal additives really work? Have heard a lot of conflicting advice on here and the fact that there's so much to choose from it's quite bewildering!!

2 tack shops/feed merchants near to me how have whole sections of the shop devoted to tubs of the stuff below is an example from one manufacturers web site!!

Is this praying on our need to be caring responsible owners or our wallets? I think I know my opinion but what is yours and what results have you experienced?

Herbal stomach soother
For horses which suck air
To sprinkle on bedding
Soothes fly bites quickly
Digestive calmer
For clear airways
For coping with forced rest
For bumps & uneven skin
For joint comfort
Laminitis prone difficult horses
For comfortable bowels
Essential fatty acids
Supporting hormonal balance
For flies
For dusty times in the stable
For bowels
Comfortable urination & kidneys
For body defence
For competing horses
For extreme exertion
Soother for eye discomfort
Sterile drops for soothing eyes
Builds muscles
Quick acting for accidents
Omega 3 for skin,& suppleness.
Repels flies internally
Wash for itchy feathering
For calming mares
For flies,breathing, skin, parasites
Minerals and vitamins
For joints
For relaxed bowels
Get hair growing quickly
Feed balancer
For minor cuts & abrasions
Ointment for the sole
For the immune system defence
Red blood cells
Itching relief
Joint comfort
To keep flies away
For laminitis
Libido support in stallions
For puffy legs
For nose and chest comfort
For regrowth of laminae
For difficult leg areas
Transforms hooves
For calming quickly
For tapeworms
For when BoxRest ends
To soothe tight chests
Fetlock nutrition
Helps with worming
Helps with minor wounds
For lumps and bumps
For easy breathing

And if you got this far the list goes on and this is just from one manufacturer!!!!!
 
You forgot one

For emptying your bank account

ETA and one more...For adding to the manufacturers fund for the holiday home in the bahamas..

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I think joint and hoof supplements are probably necessary for
some horses.Wound products are necessary but I also think we are victims of our wallet and like to spoil our babies!!!!!!!!!!
 
I do have a fairly open mind on this. If I reproduced your list and queried whether your local veterinarian could supply something to address each of these issues you would probably believe that he/she could.

Why should herbal medicine be any less effective - so many prescribed medicines have their base in herbal medicine, after all.

So yes, I do believe that many work, but that they are often based in common-sense and can be produced cheaper at home.

Your checklist sounds very much like Global Herbs - all their products seem to smell of curry and I have no idea how they work, but the ones I have tried DO work.
 
I think the majority don't work, especially the more random herbal mixes

However Brewers yeast works on my horse with sweet itch and ready linseed makes them shiney. Red cell is debatable, but makes one of them sharper.

Tried hoof supplements and wasn't terribly impressed, most say "feed this highly expensive product for 6 months to see a result...."
 
I have actually found Placid to have a calming effect on my horse. It is the only one that has worked and is purely herbal I believe. (Probably really flowers drenched in ether or something!!!)

I use garlic and a linseed based supplement, soya oil and ciderapple vinegar at the moment. I also like to feed mine stinging nettles in the summer! (I cut them first and then let them eat them!) Personally I think there is a lot in herbal remedies but not sure really whether the supplements have enough to make a difference.

Im not really into supplements per se but will feed general vit supplements if im not feeding huge amounts to my bigger/older horses. I do question feeding M&M ponies huge amounts of supplements as surely they have evolved to survive on the poorest of grazing. I would provide a mineral lick if necessary. Not sure if that helps much either!!!!!!
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But makes me feel better.

BTW If I am feeding soya oil should i add a Vit E supplement???? :
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'BTW If I am feeding soya oil should i add a Vit E supplement???? : '
Only if it forms a substantial part of the diet, if you are just adding a generous splash, don't worry about Vit E.

M&M ponies sometimes need extra help precisely because we don't keep them in their natural environment, they may not cope with a dusty stable, or lowland crop pollens, or cereal diets......
 
No, they are all a complete waste of money... well, I do add glucosamine(good preventative for joint problems in the future)... and soya oil for coat shine... and lots of people on here recommend brewer's yeast so I'm trying that now...and in the summer, there's a vitamin supplement....ooops, that's quite a lot already!!!
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Milk Thistle really is the dog's whatsits to support a dreadfully damaged liver (ragwort poisoning) and Blue Chip Original is also a miracle worker. The before/after shots they show are real! Also, Farriers Formula completely turned around my old neds crappy feet - farrier thinks the area he came from was low in essential minerals in the grazing. 1 season on farriers and his feet were like rock. D&H Yea Sac is also proven in horses with compromised livers to aid hindgut digestion and to stimulate the appetite. All the rest? Tried some but about as much use as so many human "supplements", which your GP will tell you, just gives the average person really expensive urine!
 
im quite open minded things ive used which i feel have worked and produced a noticeable difference are
cortaflex, blue chip kalma liquid, pink powder (technically a concentrated balancer though not a supplement)

ive tried some mare supplements and herbs but im not 100% sure if any have helped as not a very noticeable difference that could be pin pointed to them.

have tried global herbs mud x i dont think this works.

have used Easy breathing liquid as she was having a slight cough every now and then and i must admit now come off it i have noticed her breathing is not as clear from time to time.
 
Each to his own when it comes to supplements...

I use Farriers Formula for all of mine and I find that if I take them off it they have problems.

I love Camrosa for cuts, lumps and bumps.

I also feed Cool, Calm and Collected to the lively ones. It either works on the horses, or I think it works which makes me calmer (just as good really)
 
Joint supplement I use works. Pony is stiff behind when she hasn't had it for 3 days. One of our liveries has a supplement specially mixed!!! (pampered, spoilt horse and in my opinion would be the same with or without his special blend)
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*Linseed Seeds for all of them,Excellent for coat and condition,
*Grand Meadows Grand Hoof Pelletts is the best hoof ,supplement since Farriers Formula,not 1 lost shoe or cracked foot all winter
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* Feedmark Multi Vitamins
* Pro Biotic for one that is on bute at the moment
 
Jury is out for me on some of them. What I'm not keen on is 'ready-made' mixes. I have a couple of books on herbology and the quantities required seem to be more than the component volumes of one scoop/measure of the mix. The only one I did try which seemed to have an effect was 'Mulitflex Gold'. However, the next time I went to the shop, they didn't have any, so I simply bought Omega 3 oils from NAF. No difference whatsoever. My shettie is still sprightly and has been seen cantering/trotting like a good un (he's 30 something). Soooo, was it an effect? Or just the 'placebo effect'? Who knows! I won't be buying anything else for a while, that's for sure!
 
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