delete
What is your definition of high end? CA Trace and Trace + have ample amounts of each vitamin/ mineral and are inexpensive. Platinum is expensive and has low amounts of copper, zinc, methionine, is high in iron, only decent vitamin E…
1 Like
HorseTech’s High Point for grass fed horses. It’s a complete, condensed Vit/Min supplement that only requires 3 ounces daily.
Cost is ~ .86 cents per horse daily.
It is excellent for easy keepers and horses with metabolic issues.
2 Likes
If you want to invest in high quality, (mostly) comprehensive nutrition, I’d recommend CA Trace, HorseTech HighPoint Grass or Alfalfa, or TC 30 ration balancer instead of Platinum. The nutrition in Platinum Performance isn’t great, certainly not what it’s billed to be. IMHO, PP is only high-end in terms of flashy marketing and an outsized price tag for what it is.
4 Likes
While I haven’t used it in a few years, I was really impressed with Horse Tech High Point.
Uckele. I use the Equi VM. No added iron. They have other formulations too.
Interested in this too. I just bought smart pak perform but haven’t started using it yet. I thought I read that chelated minerals were more digestible but not even sure how to know if the minerals are chelated!
That one isn’t chelated. I just checked the ingredients.
Please link the specific product from CA trace. Based on the label that I saw CA trace has only a few compounds and is not complete.
This one has one chelated and only about six compounds. Not compete.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Unfortunately I do not like the ones suggested so far.
To be clear, the analysis on the bag only lists what is in the bag by weight (or whatever measurement). It does not take into account bioavailability. I am looking for bioavailability.
Also a few of them only had a few vitamins/ minerals and were calling themselves complete.
For example calcium carbonate contains a lot of CA 2+, but it is locked. Actually it is plaster of paris. A stable and cheap! compound.
Please keep the suggestions coming. Thanks
So what exactly are you looking for? You want “complete” — what? What VM are missing from the above suggestions? What ingredients do you think are low quality and not as bio available? What minerals do you think must be chelated to be effective?
Perhaps giving more specific parameters would help with the suggestions you get.
2 Likes
For ten years I just ordered vitamins and minerals a la carte from Horse Tech and used a gram scale to make my own mix. Now I start with K.I.S. and just order a few additional vitamins/minerals to supplement it. Okay about six more, but that is a lot less scooping and weighing than before.
So far I am liking the Arenus product. Plat Perform is also ok but has molasses.
Minerals are hard to absorb, so those need to be a more bioavailable source. For example magnesium glycinate, citrate work. Magnesium oxide is commonly used, is cheap, and has high content but it is not accessible.
Vitamins— a good complex containing at least ABCDEK
Something with a basic protein analysis
Trace minerals
Pro/prebiotics bonus but not required.
Thats my list. Again not familiar with offerings so I am happy to look at suggestions. I am not well studied in equine health so if someone has suggestions in what should be expected in a supplement I am happy to hear thoughts also.
Can you define “nicer” and “high end”?
So far I have found Eq-Well by Arenus, and Platinum Performance. Are there others-- maybe some that are available through the main retailers? TIA
for me, PP is an over-priced, under-fortified v/m supplement, not comprehensive, doesn’t contain appreciable amounts of many things it does have.
Plat Perform is also ok but has molasses.
Such a teeny tiny amount of molasses. Minerals taste icky, so often need something good-tasting to help make them reasonably palatable.
Minerals are hard to absorb, so those need to be a more bioavailable source. For example magnesium glycinate, citrate work. Magnesium oxide is commonly used, is cheap, and has high content but it is not accessible.
Amino acid chelation does not make a mineral more bioavailable. There are few studies of these in horses, more in people, but MgOx has been studied in foals and found quite high bioavailability. MgOx also has the most elemental Mg, so when comparing bioavailability (if we had reliable numbers), something with lower BO but high elemental Mg is going to provide more Mg
Vitamins— a good complex containing at least ABCDEK
Why B, C, D, K, when the horse either makes them very well (B vites, C) or there are few/no documented deficiencies barring extreme situations (D, K)? Vit E is cheap to add, and even then not typically necessary if there’s enough fresh grass (same for Vit A)
Something with a basic protein analysis
Define “basic”
Trace minerals
they all have trace minerals, even PP. The amount matters. 14mg copper (in PP) is a pittance. Iron in a trace mineral - do you want that in your ideal product? Or must it be absent?
Pro/prebiotics bonus but not required.
It gets difficult to stuff the X billion CFU really needed for results, in small serving sizes, along with all the other things you’re asking for.
California Trace is a “mini” v/m supplement, mostly used IME by people who need a convenient source of copper and zinc with just a few other minerals.
High Point Grass from HorseTech checks a lot of your boxes, other than the protein/amino acids, so is not a “complete” v/m (but again, what does that mean?).
Uckele has several good ones, like Sporthorse Grass, and U-Balance Foundation
Vermont Blend and Arizona Copper Complete are 2 more.
It sounds like you really want a ration balancer.
8 Likes
@JB Can you weigh in on this? You are the best one I know to answer these questions.
ETA: JB, LOL you were typing same time as me!
2 Likes
:lol: :lol:
Thanks for the suggestions. I am interested in the study(ies) on magnesium oxide. Are you able to link or pm it to me?
What Is your thinking that a ration balancer is better suited? What would it provide vs a supplement?
Also, can you give your analysis of the Arenus product instead of PP? PP was listed as an example. That would be much appreciated.
Thanks
