Alright hoof and nutrition gurus - speak to me on the best hoof supplement for stalled horse - no pasture

[BatCoach]

I’ve been looking at my horse’s feed program trying to make sure there are not any holes, while also not over supplementing or throwing money away on expensive urine.

Horse is 12 yo 17hh TB gelding with hooves we are trying to grow out as my new (awesome) farrier is battling white line and chronic laminitis in LF. Hoof had large resection & clean trax so horse is stalled while we balance the line between exercise, keeping him sane and sound while fortifying and growing that wall back. No turn out or grass is available.

Currently on 7 lbs of TC Complete, 3 lbs timothy pellets, and 1 lrg california flake of alfalfa and 2 large California flakes orchard a day.

Supplements are:

Aedeptus Augment hoof
Uckele GUT
Elevate Vitamin E
Custom Equine Nutrition Copper & Zinc
Animed Via Calm
Smart Salt Pellets (only way this horse will eat salt)

here is the SS I created to try to keep tabs on this.

Coach feed analysis

I put the Platinum products in a separate color since I am debating switching over to them. They look more comprehensive, but I would still have to add vitamin E and copper & zinc. How important is cobalt to hoof health?

Horse is looking the best he EVER has with the current supplementation program. His coat gleams and is velvet soft, he is moving great and looks comfortable in our rehab work. His topline is coming back better than ever. I do wonder if I need more iron, but I don’t want to fire him up since we are still just doing reduced work. Just wondering if my current set-up is enough, or if there is room for improvement.

[Scribbler]

You don’t ever really want more iron. It interferes with hoof growth is my understanding.

[Dani]

Remove as much iron as possible. California Trace or California Trace Plus for hooves (takes care of copper and zinc as well). Magnesium Oxide is good for calming, hoof health, and keeping muscles relaxed. That’s a good vit E supp, best if fed with oil (flax oil being the best option). Keep the salt in there.

[JB]

Without a forage analysis you’re guessing

Are you saying you’re currently feeding all those supplements?

Personally I’d drop the Augment Hoof - not enough of the things that matter most, and especially since you’re using CE cu/zn. How much of the latter are you feeding? If a full serving, that’s good. Is it enough? Without a forage analysis, who knows.

Hay Harmony is something to look at - more cu and zn, and added biotin. Depending on cost, maybe adding straight biotin is cheaper, you’d have to do the math.

[Simkie]

You can save some bucks going to the Santa Cruz vit e. Exactly the same ingredient at the Elevate powder, but a lot less $$ (I think a third the cost? It’s been awhile since I’ve checked Elevate pricing.)

Comes in powder or pellets. Powder is ~$0.11 per 1000iu, pellets are ~$0.14 per 1000 iu.

https://www.scahealth.com/p/ultracruz-equine-vitamin-e-horse-supplement

https://www.scahealth.com/p/ultracruz-equine-natural-vitamin-e-plus-horse-supplement

[BatCoach]

@Simkie yep - I plan on switching to Santa Cruz for cost benefit as soon as I am done with this container of Elevate. There was a fabulous thread on cost analysis of Vitamin E supplements here that inspired me to re-examine the cost/ benefit of my supplements.

[BatCoach]

Thanks @JB I was hoping you would comment. Yes, horse is now getting all the supplements listed in the post. I added the platinum performance columns for a comparison. I could try an hay analysis, but horse is boarded and BO just gets from local feed store about 10 bales at a time, so I fear that the source changes frequently.

I added the cu/zn from a different hoof care thread. Just started it a month ago and horse is getting the recommended 1/2 TBS a day. If the augment hoof is dropped, should I start the platinum performance?

[JB]

@BatCoach

I could try an hay analysis, but horse is boarded and BO just gets from local feed store about 10 bales at a time, so I fear that the source changes frequently.

Yeah, not worth it then. Is it at least all the same kind of hay? If so, is it from the same county? If yes and yes, then you could call that county extension agency and see if they have an average for that kind of hay in that country, and use that as your best guess starting point. It’s better than nothing

I added the cu/zn from a different hoof care thread. Just started it a month ago and horse is getting the recommended 1/2 TBS a day. If the augment hoof is dropped, should I start the platinum performance?

No PP on top of 7lb of TC Complete

[LuvEquines]

I can personally attest that you can get rid of most other supplements if you use Platinum Performance vitamins. They totally ROCK! The only other things I do is add Kentucky Equine Research EO-3 for E and Omega balance, Kentucky Equine Research Rite Trac stomach and hindgut buffer, and we tried Triple Crown’s Safe Starch hay. I know it looks stunningly expensive but honestly it goes 3-4 times as far as a regular bale of hay and it also is fortified with all vitamins. If he gets stressed being on stall rest Smart Pac Naked Leaf CDB pellets have really helped a crazy Saddlebred and Peruvian Paso I pulled from Kill pens. They are so much happier and it handles minor pain too. The only other thing I do when they are stressed is give Vitamin B complex IM shots. The vet was stunned when I got rid of barn girl and he saw my horses 8 weeks after starting this combo with Triple Crown 30% Balancer.

[JB]

@LuvEquines

I can personally attest that you can get rid of most other supplements if you use Platinum Performance vitamins. They totally ROCK!

PP is so lightly fortified it in no way replaces most things, and it in NO way adds anything of significance to 7lb of a well-fortified feed like TC Complete.

PP has 14mg copper, the Custom Equine cu/zn blend has 200. That’s just 1 example of pretty much how PP falls ridiculously short compared to what she’s feeding now.

You’re adding some hefty supplements AND a well-fortified quality ration balancer - why do you give poorly fortified PP all the credit?

I know you love the supplements you use, you’ve posted pretty much the same thing on at least 3 threads. I’m not here to change your mind, just pointing out facts of the situations.