This seems like a dumb question, and information that I should be able to find elsewhere, but how do SmartPaks work? I am hoping that it is something like this - I pick the supplements I want (salt, flax, farrier’s fix), SmartPak puts them all in one indivdulaized packet, sends me 28 of said packets, and my boarding barn gets to rip open one packet a day to dump in my horse’s feed.
Yes? No? Sort of?
You would get a strip of packets that are linked together. If he gets 3 supplements per day, that’s three packets in a strip with a single pull tab.
Got it; thank you!
You got it!
Smartpaks keep the supplements separated until the time of feeding. But each feeding dose is one strip of cells.
Random internet photo:
I will say that three supplements does not necessarily mean three cells in the Smartpak. Sometimes the amount needed for a supplement is more than will fit in one cell so a supplement takes up two cells.
When you order supplements in smartpaks you get a discount per dose, so be sure to take that into account when figuring out cost.
I started using Smartpaks when I learned that Mr. Trub thought every supplement used the same scoop. That explained why I would run out of one supplement early and one supplement late.
So even though my horses are at home I still use Smartpaks. It also gives me a discount on other Smartpak brand products.
Your monthly shipment can include other autoship items too. Like horse treats. 
I will add that if you’re considering them for cost, know that the cost of the strips is sometimes more than the cost of buying by the bucket, on a per-serving basis. If the cost difference is negligible, then the strips to make things very easy for everyone.
If the cost difference is more significant, then you can DIY by using tupperware-like containers with screw on lids, and can put most if not all of the various daily supps in there yourself, 1 per day (or per feeding), and fill them weekly or so.
I actually found that everything my horse gets is cheaper in the smartpaks.
I just want to add that I love SmartPak and the company has exceptional customer service.
Yes, sometimes it is cheaper!
But many times it’s not. For example, Cosequin is $1.19/day if you buy the 280gm bucket (and gets cheaper/day as the size bucket goes up), but $1.46/day in a SP
SmarFlex Ultra is the same/day for the SP and the small and medium bag sizes, but cheaper with the biggest bucket.
It just pays to see what, if any, cost difference there is, and see how significant that is over X horses per month.
Good to know! The convenience factor seems to be a pretty huge benefit.
Yes, that’s what I do re: buckets. It’s much cheaper for what I get & also reduces waste. While smartpaks are technically recyclable, that includes (a) extra fuel & resources to run trucks that pick it up & do the recycling and (b) an assumption that recycling pickup is offered where you live & they accept that class of plastic.
I scoop out servings into reusable containers for each day. I refill once a week (my horses are at home). This also allows me to keep the bucket in climate controlled house, so the max time anything sits out in the shed is 6 days.
At one point I weighed the amount of plastic in a months worth of supplements, buckets versus cells. The buckets had far more plastic than the cells did. Three supplements, five cells versus three buckets. I assume people will recycle the buckets too so the whole truck/recycling point does not really work. I guess if you (or the company if you have your recyclables picked up at your house) only ever recycled the cells then the extra fuel resources point would apply, but I assume most households are recycling far more than just the cells so all fuel would be used anyway.
I think making your own containers of supplements is a great thing too. I am not against that.
That’s really interesting and something I’d never considered! It makes sense when you think about it though. Reminds me of the study where they looked at how many times you needed to use a reusable shopping bag to offset the increased amount of plastic needed to make the bag reusable.
Since the recycling service at my barn is lackluster and my suburb has excellent recycling, I keep a shopping tote in the feed room for the smartpak wells and every few weeks switch it out, taking the wells home. I can’t rescue all the recycling and it’s an extra step but it’s at least what I contribute and then some.
Okay, another question that seems nitpicky. If I want to divide the supplements into doses over two daily feedings, are the Smartpaks organized in a way that makes that easy?
You can do custom doses if that’s what’s you’re asking. So if the maintenance dosage in Smartpaks is like 1 scoop, you can set the custom dose to be like X amount of scoops fed twice a day. I’m pretty garbage at explaining it but I think you would get half a scoop twice a day so then it evens out. If that makes any sense?
On each supplement’s product page, there should be something below Packaging Option and Shipping Frequency called Custom Dose. Then you can select the number of scoops and feeding frequency
Thank you!
Yes. You can have AM and PM Smartpaks.
If you can get someone on their online chat they will answer any specific questions you have.
They have always been very helpful to me.
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