Supplements, Supplements, Supplements

[JulieM]

I've been doing some research on supplements and really getting to know my horse now that I've had him for awhile. Currently he is on a general multi-vitamin and some pretty generic joint supplements. Daily, he receives 3 lbs of rice bran, 1 lb. of oats, the supplements listed above plus free choice salt block, 2 flakes of alfalfa and 2-3 flakes of high quality grass hay. He's doing well and actually starting to look like a chunky hunter! From about May 1 through September he should be out to pasture daily. During the winter season he's usually out in the round pen with lunch as long as it's not pouring. I'm looking for a place that has more pasture turn-out. I'll post photos of him soon - before and after. It's pretty amazing and I credit it to the regular grooming sessions, exercise and the rice bran.

He has a few issues. 1. His feet are fairly dry and brittle, they don't grow much. I put stuff on them, but it doesn't help. 2. He has an old, healed slab fracture. 3. He's not the easiest keeper.

I'm thinking of nixing the multi-vitamins and the joint supplements and adding Omega Horseshine. Also, instead of the joint supplement, I'm thinking of putting him on pure MSM.

I've heard that both supplements are great for the feet. In addition, the Omega Horseshine is a good source of calories in a small package, which he needs, and contains some vitamins. The MSM, I've heard, is an excellent joint supplement. Both supplements are fairly inexpensive.

My goal is to only give him what he needs, save money, but take care of his needs at the same time. Below is the detailed information on the Omega Horseshine. Would love thoughts or comments.

Guaranteed Analysis
Ingredient Per Serving Per Pound
Omega-3 10,500 mg 84,000 mg
Omega-6 3,375 mg 27,000 mg
Crude Protein, Min. 18% 18%
Crude Fat, Min. 30% 30%
Crude Fiber, Max. 8% 8%
Calcium, Min. .5% .5%
Calcium, Max. .55% .55%
Phosphorous, Min. .59% .59%
Magnesium, Min. .39% .39%
Potassium, Min. .74% .74%
Iron, Min. 15 mg 261 ppm
Copper, Min. 6.5 mg 116 ppm
Zinc, Min. 18 mg 321 ppm
Manganese, Min. 6 mg 104 ppm
Selenium, Min. .04 mg .72 ppm
Vitamin A, Min. n/a n/a
Salt, Min. .01% .01%
Salt, Max. .01% .01%
Lysine .81% .81%

Ingredients:
Stabilized flax (source of Omega-3), Diamond V yeast, ground oats, calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, selenium, copper sulfate, folic acid, niacin, iron carbonyl, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, pyrdidoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), biotin, vitamin B-12, riboflavin, thiamine

[TeachU2Ride]

I'm a big fan of Omega Horseshine, but you may need a supplement higher in biotin and methionine to help out those feet. Farrier's Formula fits the bill and also supplies the Omega fatty acids found in Horseshine.

Here's a link:
www.lifedatalabs.com/index.php?act=farriersformula&lang=us

[fancyhorse]

I'd also ditch the Multi-Vitamin and replace those salt blocks with mineral blocks!

I agree with M about the Biotin. I suggest Farrier's Formula as well. I, however use For-A-Flex Biotin formula on my boys and am very happy with the results (runs about $30 for 2 months supp and usually takes 1 bag to get really working).

If you are going to go with a joint supp., I'd go for Gluecosamine instead of MSM. I buy the Pure Gluecosamine Power for about $20 for 3 months supply and have noticed GREAT improvements in my boys. The pure stuff contains 25,000mg in each ounce!!! Thats A LOT!

I buy everything from www.horse.com

[Big Tee©]

One thing missing in the product listed - silica. It is essential for good hoof growth, biotin or not as a supplement. SIlica can be found in hulled grains, such as oats and barley. Regarless of what you feed, it takes a year for new wall to grow down, so there will be no instant gratification - it takes TIME to feed a good hoof onto a horse. Application of Goop of the Day is only benificial in the application to hairline ONLY, you can rub it on the wall untill you are blue in the face, but it won't help any more than painting Super Star Endorsed Fingernail Super Strong Stuff does yuo your fingernails......Hoor wall, like the external portion of the fingernail and even hair is dead keratin, nothing can make it do anything but look polished or greasy; rubbing the hairline will stimulate hoof growth somewhat, but don't over do it or you will have a separation.

I also noted that your horseshine has an inverted calcuim-phosporous ratio, and you are feeding rice bran already and that is horribly inverted. If you feed that combination, you are going to have to feed a LOT of alfalfa to balance it.

To give the horse what he needs, get your feeds analysed and work from there otherwise, you are shooting in the dark and will oversupplement some things and undersupplement others.

[BoyleHeightsKid]

I also love the Omega Horseshine. Great product, the Omega's are a great immune booster and natural anti-inflammatory. I agree though that if your boy needs more support for his feet that Farrier's Formula is great. I have had Boy on the Horseshine for over a year now, his problems with scratches, hives and rainrot have pretty much disappeared and his feet are in wonderful shape. His feet weren't horrible, but he could never go barefoot. He's barefoot now and doing great, even on gravel, but he's not in work so we will see what happens once I can start riding again. One thing that's really nice for me is Tractor Supply carries the Horseshine, so I don't have to order it and for the money, I believe it's one of the best flax supplements out there.

[jetandmegs4]

Farrier's formula is great. I'd look into the Grand products (Grand Flex, etc), they have worked well for horses at my barn. I use the Finish Line HA supplement for my horses who are a bit stiff, it works great.

[JulieM]

OK, so I went supplement crazy recently. This might be a bit much, but I did a lot of research and it seemed like a good mix. I am not sure if I am overdoing it or not. I feel like I might be.

Cosequin -- For joints. I may switch to Cosequin w/ MSM next time. Does anyone know if I need to using the loading dose for maintenance on a moderate exercise schedule?

G.U.T. -- I don't know for sure if he has ulcers but fits many of the classic symptoms and is a poster-boy for them. I'll be moving him at the end of the month, so I'm starting him on this now to prepare for the move. Once he moves, he'll have free access to hay and full-time turnout, so after seeing how he does I'll probably wean him off of it and see how he does since he'll have a full belly to absorb some of those acids, not to mention a more relaxing atmosphere.

Omega Horse Shine: I've heard so much great stuff about it. Plus, I am going to wean him off the rice bran now that he's getting all the hay he wants and grass and would still like to see that healthy coat that the rice bran gives him (from the flax).

SmartVite Performance Grass: This is such an all-around supplement and looks perfect for Brig! It is lower in Biotin than I'd like to see (for bad hooves, 15mg per day is recommended), so I also added Vita-Biotin Crumbles to the mix to make up for it. It has the recommended amount of selenium (I found out we're deficient here) and I checked the other supplements to be sure we wouldn't be giving him too much, and we're not. I'm also going to take him off oats and grain with exception of a higher protein mix as a dressing for his supplements.

Guaranteed Analysis - SmartVite Performance Grass
Ingredient Per Serving Per Pound
Crude Protein 11%
Fat 8%
Fiber 10%
Vitamin A 34,000 IU
Vitamin D 6500 IU
Vitamin E 1500 IU
Vitamin K 30 mg
Vitamin C 1150 mg
Thiamine (B1) 170 mg
Riboflavin (B2) 170 mg
Niacin (B3) 850 mg
Pantothenic Acid (B5) 170 mg
Pyridoxine (B6) 170 mg
Vitamin B12 850 mcg
Folic Acid 60 mg
Biotin 7 mg
Inositol 250 mg
Choline 140 mg
Calcium 5.00%
Phosphorous 2.00%
Magnesium 2.40%
Potassium 2.50%
Salt 6.00%
Silicon 0.50%
Iron 275 mg
Manganese 300 mg
Copper 200 mg
Zinc 800 mg
Selenium 3 mg
Cobalt 25 mg
Iodine 3 mg
Microbials 700 Million CFU
Yeast Cultures 1.25 Billion CFU
Lysine 3000 mg
Methionine 1200 Mg
Threonine 700 mg
Chromium 700 mcg
Creatine 300 mg

[BoyleHeightsKid]

Don't forget that the Horseshine has biotin in it as well, so you may be able to forego the biotin supplement.

[TeachU2Ride]

Yes, you must give the loading dose of Cosequin, no matter what your horse's level of exercise.