Help w/supplements. Newbie.

[bmille40]

Hello. I have just acquired a grey shire cross (drum?) gelding, 12. I have had horses in the past, but was under 18 and my father did it all. ( pretty sure no supplements)

He is at a boarding facility and she asked me to get him supplements. I have been researching, but I would love some other responses. Can you guys help with direction or should I wait until the vet comes out? She mentioned senior stuff.

To my current knowledge, he only has two issues, roaring and needs floated.
But the poor guy was moved in November and then is being moved the end of this week to me ( He is not in my care until Sunday/Monday). Vet comes @ the start of the new month to float and look over.

I plan on doing light riding, until we check out the roaring, and I imagine never any type of endurance stuff. Ive been told he was 17-18 HH, and 1700-1900 pounds. What do you think? I will post a link. http://imgur.com/a/JG6pD

[bmille40]

Trying to edit with no sucess… IDK if it will help but he will be stall board, with daily turnout of at least 8 hours. 12x12. The food they feed is local hay, and Nutrena SafeChoice Original Horse Feed, https://www.nutrenaworld.com/product/safechoice-original-horse-feed

[S1969]

I don’t feed supplements as a rule. A complete feed should be enough nutrition for a typical horse. Supplements are for horses deficient in something…or with special issues. I personally think most people supplement unnecessarily.

12 seems young to put on a Senior Supplement - is there a specific issue (arthritis, for example?) What specific issue does your barn manager think needs addressing?

If you can’t identify one; I’d wait and talk to the vet.

[Mango20]

Agreed. If your horse is healthy and he is getting the appropriate amount of a balanced feed, he shouldn’t need additional supplements.

[ladymcts]

I have two clydesdales … always happy to meet another big-horse owner!

From the picture, I’d say he looks a little thin, or more particularly that he doesn’t have much muscle tone. So I would start with logging his measurements. This link below is about getting a weight estimate off a draft horse, and for my guys I add in a third measurement around the middle of the belly because that’s where they change the most. I don’t use it in calculating weight, but use it as a guage as to how they are doing.
https://www.ruralheritage.com/new_rh_website/resources/horse_health/calculate_equine_weight.shtml

Then re-measure each month. If in 2-3 months with whatever his normal feed and exercise is going on, he hasn’t gained anything or doesn’t have more beef to those flanks, then maybe you want to consider a weight gainer of some kind. My first go-to would be rice bran in pelleted form, Maxi-glow I think is what I’ve used in the past.

Otherwise, if you don’t have anything specific to treat like arthritis or poor hooves, then save your money. Literally, pick some supplements you COULD buy now, figure out what they will cost for his size (remember you’ll be almost doubling just about everything), and put the money in the bank, because as he turns senior, you’ll be needing the money down the road. Just a fact of life that seniors cost more, whether cats, dogs, or horses.

Don’t forget to double-up on dewormers, or actually if you think he’s around 1700lbs, then you’d need a tube and a half. I used to dose my one guy then give the half tube to a pony owner. Now I have 2 guys, so I buy 3 tubes and split the 3 across both.

[Posting_Trot]

I’d agree that he looks a little bit thin. You should find out when he was last de-wormed and with what. If he hasn’t been de-wormed with something that targets tapeworms recently, you should talk to your vet about doing that first of all.

You should ask the barn owner why she is recommending supplements? In other words, does she think that this particular horse needs something? Or is she just saying that she thinks all horses need supplements? In general, if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it with supplements. Good feed and hay will help the weight issue.

Having said that, though, in the winter in particular, and with drafts and draft crosses in particular, you might think about adding some Vit. E. Also, you should talk to the vet about possibly adding selenium (Vit E supplements sometimes have selenium added as well).

Don’t add selenium unless the vet says it’s ok, since too much can be toxic.

Have fun with him!

[Scribbler]

I expect that the barn is not feeding enough of the commercial feed to get the recommended vitamins and minerals from that feed. You need to feed a lot of those feeds to get the RDI, and that is often more calories than a horse needs.

Before you start shopping for supplements, you need to know:

What feed the horse is getting, and how much (by weight). And then the nutrient profile of that feed (you can get this online through the feed companies).

Look up the RDI table for horses (can find online) and do the math. Is the commercial feed as fed meeting the RDI? then you don’t need any vitamin/mineral supplements.

Find out what kind of hay is being fed, and how much (by weight, ie in pounds, not flakes). If possible, get a hay test. This will tell you if there is any big gap in the nutrients there.

Read Julie Getty’s “Feed Your Horse Like a Horse”: good basic information that is in line with current best practices.

I would take the chance to talk to the vet about what he thinks of the horse’s weight and condition. Vets however often don’t have comprehensive nutritional training. It would be useful to talk to an equine nutritionist in your area about what might be lacking in the soil and hay in your region, and what your local hay is typically like. For instance, due to the climate in the PNW where I am, the hay tends to be very high NSC and low minerals. It would be different in different places.

IMO the biggest health risk for recreational horses that I see is obesity, not being underweight. Your horse is a bit undermuscled but he is not thin, and he does not need to have calories poured in.

You can also ask the BO why she thinks you need supplements. She might not have been saying you need supplements. She might have just been telling you to get some if you want them included in the feed.