Vitamin E - how do horses react to it?

[Natassia]

I bought a vitamin supplement for my horse as he is on a forage only diet (Alfa-A) as he doesn't need anything heating and he is maintaining his weight well at the moment so doesn't need any cubes yet. I have some Saracen high-fibre pencils for when he needs them and they are fortified so won't need anything extra then. Before I used Equivite but I didn't think that was very cost effective as I had to feed 2 scoops a day and the pot didn't last long - now I feed one by Balanced Horse Feeds as it was recommended to me.
When I bought it the girl in the shop told me to only give him 1/2 a scoop to start off with and to see how it affected him as it was likely to make him feel 'very well' due to the vitamin E and iron in it. I know that Equivite contains iron so I'm not worried about that. But I'm not so sure about vitamin E - how does it affect your horses? He has enough energy as it is but I'm sure that any extra fizziness he does get will settle after a few days. The recommended amount for him to have is 150g a day and he only had about 30g today, am I right to increase it gradually over a few weeks?

 

[only_me]

well when im putting vit E oil on my horse's cuts i let him smell it, and if he tries to lick it then i pour some on my hand and let him lick it - it can be very good for them! (he seems to love it

)

it dosent affect his way of going at all - but then he is quite a chilled boy (except for 1st event of season

)

 

[monstermunch]

Vitamin e can help to boost the immune system and is often supplemented for horses who are in a stable a lot as less access to grazing will decrease their levels of vitamin E intake. It acts as an antioxidant to flush out dead cells from exercise and can help in muscle function. It generally shouldn't have and effect on energy levels in terms of making a horse fizzy.