Copper/Zinc suggestions needed/Thanks

[cayuse]

Could I get some suggestions for a copper/zinc supp for my pony/minis please?

We have a lot of iron in the water and although it’s treated with a water conditioner, despite treatment some still remains. My ponies coats are not looking as good as they should and my IR mini is not responding to treatment as well as he should so I thought I should add this to their diet.

They are on a forage based diet. The metabolic welsh pony gets a pound of Safe Choice Special Care, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, Vit E,Insulin Wise, Metformin, Prascend. Most hay is soaked.

Metabolic mini gets hay, Remission supp,Vit E, Insulin WIse, Steglatro and Prascend. All hay is soaked. He’s the one I’m most concerned about.

Third mini doing well but coat not as nice as usual, he also gets Remission and some oil plus the Vit E.

All are dewormed. Teeth done. Bloodwork for Cushings just done on the metabolic two and meds at appropriate dose.

Anyways, what’s out there that would fit the bill? Is one brand better than the other? More palatable? Thanks.

[Marla_000]

I’ve used several supplements
From Mad Barn and been very pleased with the results.
Their customer service is top notch. But more importantly, they offer FREE consults with either nutritionist or Vets to help balance your horses’ diets.

[CanteringCarrot]

I’m interested in suggestions too, so I’ll follow along.

I tried the copper and zinc supplement from Custom Equine Nutrition and my horse will not eat it. No matter what I mix it with. I’ve never seen him refuse something so hard. Fortunately, it wasn’t expensive. If you’re horse will eat it, then it’s not a bad value and I find them to be a good company overall.

[NaturallyHappy]

I’ll follow, too. Most of mine will eat Custom Equine. I syringe it down the others.

[cayuse]

Mad Barn was one of the brands I was looking at. Do you horses eat it ok? Any big odor? One of mine is suspicious of odd smells . He won’t eat Safe Starch Forage because “it’s stinky.”

[Simkie]

I use the poly zinc and poly copper from Horsetech. I haven’t had any problems with them eating it, but not everyone has that luck.

The Vermont Blend options are perhaps worth exploring, too. My guys had zero issues when I started VB Pro.

[cayuse]

The VB was on the list too! Thanks. Will check out the Horsetech.

[Marla_000]

Haven’t tried the MadBarn Zinc/Copper but so far these were very palatable:
Jiaogulan
Natural Vit. E
Amino Trace +
Electrolytes
Maybe call and ask for a sample .

[Snowdenfarm]

Seconding the individual supps from Horsetech.

[JB]

@cayuse

The metabolic welsh pony gets a pound of Safe Choice Special Care, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, Vit E,Insulin Wise, Metformin, Prascend. Most hay is soaked.

Metabolic mini gets hay, Remission supp,Vit E, Insulin WIse, Steglatro and Prascend. All hay is soaked. He’s the one I’m most concerned about.

Swap the 1lb Special Care for 1/2-1lb of a ration balancer, depending on how much he weighs. That alone is more nutrition.

Or, since the mini isn’t on anything properly fortified, you could put both on a weight-appropriate amount of a forage balancer like Vermont Blend, which is more cu/zn than a weight-appropriate amount of a ration balancer.

MadBarn does make a combination that you can feed as-is, or double the serving (base on their weight) for amounts more like Vermont Blend

Individual cu/zn isn’t acceptable for a lot of horses, and lots of others don’t blink, it somewhat depends on their palate and what it’s mixed with

[Lusoluv]

My horse eats the Mad Barn Cu/Zn and he’s fairly picky. I mix it with 1.5 lb alfalfa pellets. My friend’s QH won’t. It just depends…

[GreyDes]

Vermont Blend now comes in pellets and my crew likes them better than the powder version.

[cayuse]

It’s hard to to find a ration balancer for the welsh pony as he’s sensitive to soy (and allergic to some additives and life in general) but I could give the Vermont Blend balancer a look and see if he could eat it. Or I could just try it and see what happens as his allergies are sometimes random. Would it give them an adequate amount of the cu/zn? Would being deficient in cu/zn cause the mini’s IR to be difficult to treat? We have gotten it lower by quite a bit but it needs to go down more. Thanks!

[Simkie]

@cayuse

Would it give them an adequate amount of the cu/zn?

This is a big ol it depends.

I test my hay and run everything through FeedXL and what is a very sufficient amount amount of copper and zinc on paper is definitely not enough in practice.

Vermont Blend is a reasonable place to start, but don’t be afraid to try a little more if you’re still seeing stuff in your horses that suggests they need more.

[cayuse]

I was hoping for a miracle cure !

[Simkie]

@cayuse

I was hoping for a miracle cure !

It might be! I don’t mean to be negative about it! Give it a try and hopefully it’s magic, yay!

But if you’re like…that helped, but…not enough … adding a little more cu/zn might get you there!

[deweydee]

You could look into TC balancer gold maybe

[JB]

@cayuse

It’s hard to to find a ration balancer for the welsh pony as he’s sensitive to soy

Triple Crown Balancer Gold, Tribute Wholesome Blends Balancer, Purina Omega Match, and there are a couple more whose names are escaping me

@cayuse

I could give the Vermont Blend balancer a look and see if he could eat it. Or I could just try it and see what happens as his allergies are sometimes random.

You’ll have to mix with something tasty, whether you use the powder or the pellet. Beet pulp works great for this if he likes it, as you can add relatively substantial volume without a lot of calories

@cayuse

Would it give them an adequate amount of the cu/zn?

A weight-appropriate size of a ration balancer, or any forage balancer, is more cu/zn than 1lb of what you’re feeding now. The question is - how much is enough for these horses.

@cayuse

Would being deficient in cu/zn cause the mini’s IR to be difficult to treat?

Since cu and zn are important parts of the immune system, it’s possible. How probable, I have no idea. The information provided does make a good case for adding more. For a 1000-1200lb or so horse, I’d be adding in the range of what VB provides - 300 and 900mg cu/zn respectively. You can titrate that down based on their individual weights

[StormyDay]

I use the bulk copper and zinc from California Trace. You can buy it pre mixed too.

[Libby2563]

I have fed the Uckele poly copper and zinc pellets for years. My pickiest horse doesn’t love them and won’t always finish his meals, but they won’t make him reject his grain completely. He won’t touch Vermont Blend Pro, CEN, Hay Harmony, or anything flax-based or powdered. I add biotin tablets too, for a “complete” homemade hoof supplement. If I were going to add anything else, I think it would be amino acids.