Vits & Mins, and the dangers of iron

[moon_and_spoon]

Hi all,
Globalvite, Equivite and ForagePlus- your opinions please.
Attempting to analyse the differences as we speak but personal opinions or anyone who has already researched these would be much appreciated.
Mare is too fat to be fed pure anymore so needs just a chop with some added Vits & mins. Very conscious however of the amount of iron that seems to be in the other two compared to FP?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Pro balance from progressive earth is what I would feed, I have fed equivite in the past without any adverse effects my old horse was on it for years.

 

[Fieldlife]

I would avoid any supplementation with added iron all of the time.

 

[Cragrat]

I used to use one of the complete mixes from PE or FP. They worked fine.

For the last 18 months I have used Pro-3 (Cu, Zn and Se ) and add Biotin. Their hooves/coats/ general health are fantastic. I also feed a mix of glucosamine, MSM and Vit E to the older TB. They all get salt according to how much they are working/sweating. They all get linseed. This works out the most cost effective and flexible for me. I was going to combine it all into one mix (apart from salt) , but decided this way allows more flexibility.

 

[SEL]

I Used FP for years until I worked out linseed was one of the things making a horse itch - other horses all looked well on it and had great feet.

Used PE since then and had no complaints.

I think Equivita say the iron in theirs isn't bio available. I seem to remember a FB rant a while back when FP tried to say their supplement was better than everyone else's because of the iron content only to have it resoundingly disproved - but I CBA to trawl back through their FB pages to find out what the argument was about!! I think they're all pretty good.

 

[Horseysheepy]

I've used Equivite for many years on and off. Horses seem to eat it ok, also the NAF general purpose supplement is good and the horses eat it.
I like the idea of Forage Plus and ordered a little trial pack. But despite trying all the tricks, I could not get my youngster to eat it, even the tiniest amount!.
So id always go back with Equivite or NAF.

 

[Bernster]

I use FP winter balancer. Matched the typical nutritional analysis for my area and importantly low iron.

 

[Fieldlife]

I Used FP for years until I worked out linseed was one of the things making a horse itch - other horses all looked well on it and had great feet.

Used PE since then and had no complaints.

I think Equivita say the iron in theirs isn't bio available. I seem to remember a FB rant a while back when FP tried to say their supplement was better than everyone else's because of the iron content only to have it resoundingly disproved - but I CBA to trawl back through their FB pages to find out what the argument was about!! I think they're all pretty good.

There is a difference between added iron, and the iron that is bound to other minerals and comes along for free!

Balancers such as TopSpec, ADD iron and list the added iron on the label.

Balancers such as Equivita have no iron on the label, but FP were able to show their was some iron that was added unintentionally as it was bound to other minerals.

I would not buy a product that is manually adding iron and showing added iron on the ingredients level.

I am not sure about products where there is unintentional iron bound to other minerals. Not anywhere near as bad as adding iron IMO. Not sure how bio available this iron is.

I feed FP balancer. But I would also use Equivita / Progressive Earth

 

[Tiddlypom]

I seem to remember a FB rant a while back when FP tried to say their supplement was better than everyone else's because of the iron content only to have it resoundingly disproved - but I CBA to trawl back through their FB pages to find out what the argument was about!! I

Did this study get debunked, then? It had a Progressive Earth product coming in with very high iron levels, which seemed very odd. The Forageplus product was lowest ?. I feed Pro Balance+.

https://forageplus.co.uk/iron-in-horse-feed-balancers/

 

[AandK]

I would only feed one with no added iron. Have used Pro Earth in the past, currently feed EquiVita from EquiNatural.

 

[lynz88]

I use FP Hoof and Skin (the winter one). I wonder if there is a difference between iron being added and iron that binds to other materials? Or is iron just iron? I never did chemistry beyond grade 10....ha

If there is a difference, I'm keen to potentially try the Equivita as I think it would work out cheaper. I know that FP works as mine has run out in the past and gone footy. But, am looking for ways to cut whatever I can....

 

[moon_and_spoon]

Thanks all. Have ordered a bag of PE pro balance and will see how she looks & feels. Will keep researching though, might blood test her to see how balanced mineral levels are and will change accordingly...

 

[Fieldlife]

Did this study get debunked, then? It had a Progressive Earth product coming in with very high iron levels, which seemed very odd. The Forageplus product was lowest ?. I feed Pro Balance+.

https://forageplus.co.uk/iron-in-horse-feed-balancers/

The study AFAIK is accurate, but the impact of unintentional iron versus intentional iron (that doesn’t need adding to ingredients list legally) isn’t so clear.

I’d feed FP if can afford it and one of the others if need cost saving.

I wouldn’t feed FP if I had multiple horses.