Opinions on supplements as horses get older?

[tiger_buzz]

Hi all

Older implies my horse is old.. she's not, but I wasn't sure how else to phrase it! My horse will be 12 this week and I wondered what people's advice/opinions were on whether I should give her supplements (thinking joint ones) or if it's far too early to think about that sort of stuff.

I've had her since she was 4 and she's never had any health problems and never been lame (touch wood) and I obviously want to ensure I do everything I can to keep it this way!

She currently doesn't get any supplements in her feed.

Thanks in advance!

 

[wellsat]

I currently feed salt and Equimins MetaBalance (high quality vit and min supplement) to my boy who is 10.

Personally I wouldn't feed a joint supplement other than turmeric until it was necessary as they are expensive and IMO there isn't enough evidence that they have a preventative effect.

I'd be thinking more about not trotting on roads/hard ground, not jumping on hard ground at shows etc. Not saying that you do but it makes me wince when I see people jumping on ground like concrete.

 

[Oberon]

My old boy is 26. You have a way to go yet

I've had him since he was 4 and he was always healthy until he hit 24 and BOOM. Infection after infection and his teeth went awry

So I overhauled his diet. It's taken me a couple of years to get it right

As well as fibre based feeds and balanced minerals, things that I have found helpful as he's got older:

Vitamin E - helpful for older horses/insulin resistant horses/horses on restricted forage
Turmeric - joint supplement
Micronised linseed - joint supplement/gut muculage/coat conditioner/hoof moisture balance
Lysine - essential amino acid for protein use
Yea-sacc - gut aid

I also use herbs, for taste and to boost circulation and immunity. This is a good site for inspiration.
http://www.equinatural.co.uk/

 

[horsemadelsie]

One of mine has just turned 11 and I have just started him on a joint supplement but this is only because he's been a little stiff and has previous problems with swollen fetlocks and he's quite lazy so doesn't like to bend his joints much I don't use supplements unless there is a reason for using them, and if I can prove they are helping.

 

[tiger_buzz]

Thanks for the advice I hadn't heard of using tumeric for horses but there's a few posts on here so I'll have a read through of them.

She's the only horse I've ever had so I just want to make sure I get everything right, so she can go through middle age and old age happily!

 

[Oberon]

Thanks for the advice I hadn't heard of using tumeric for horses but there's a few posts on here so I'll have a read through of them.

She's the only horse I've ever had so I just want to make sure I get everything right, so she can go through middle age and old age happily!

I buy my herbs and spices from Cotswold Health Products online. Cheapest price I have found.