My horse is suddenly turning up her nose at the Uckele pelleted copper and zinc - alternatives??

[Dr_Doolittle]

My 8 year old black mare (who is boarded at a great farm - but one with high iron levels in water and forage) has been getting supplemental zinc and copper for the past 4 years - I provide supplement baggies for my BM, who feeds it to her with an RB (McCauley’s 30.) Her iron levels were very high per a blood test from about 3 years ago, so between that and her tendency to bleach, the copper and zinc are obviously necessary; she is in great health, wonderful feet, doesn’t bleach too badly - though it helps that she’s only out at night.

Just last week she started to refuse her feed, but will eat her other supplements from my hand - or mixed in with some of the RB.

:ambivalence:

I feed the pelleted, so can’t imagine why she is suddenly “off” it…

Anyhoo, I am looking for alternatives to try and was poking around the internet; found Accel Lifetime (a general vit/min supplement, but this may be too LITTLE of the c and z, and too MUCH of the other vits and mins considering she is getting an RB?) It contains zinc 1,400 ppm, copper is 440 ppm. The Uckele has 670 mgs of zinc, 310 mgs of copper.

How does this compare (for those of us who flunked chemistry?)

@JB??

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, TIA!

[ThreeFigs]

Looks like there are lots of copper and zinc products available. Ask your vet for suggestions. Manufacturers of the supplements might send you samples to see if your mare will eat them. Just ask.

My gelding refuses to eat his metabolic support supplement. I found a similar product by Ultra Cruz that he will eat. Good luck with your search for a palatable supplement!

[Dr_Doolittle]

@ThreeFigs

Looks like there are lots of copper and zinc products available. Ask your vet for suggestions. Manufacturers of the supplements might send you samples to see if your mare will eat them. Just ask.

My gelding refuses to eat his metabolic support supplement. I found a similar product by Ultra Cruz that he will eat. Good luck with your search for a palatable supplement!

Thanks - don’t think my vet would be much help in this, though :lol:

I looked at Ultra Cruz; great company with fantastic CS!, I get my Vitamin E supplement from them, and she likes it. They didn’t have anything that specifically contained these minerals that I could see - but worth calling them (and maybe Horse Tech? HT does custom blends IIRC.) Any other suggestions? I tried to poke around Google but got mostly links to general vit/min supplements, which is NOT what I need…

Thanks for the suggestion - I would never have thought of it (having them send samples), good idea for Ms Pickypants :encouragement:

[rememberthenight]

I don’t have time to compare for you, but I love horsetech’s blackenall and black3 supplements. I switched from blackenall to the black3 for the added glanzen3 two years ago and have really been impressed on the black shiny coats, hooves and well-being of my friesians.

My guys have said it was much more palatable than other zinc/copper/paprika’s I have tried.

[Dr_Doolittle]

@rememberthenight

I don’t have time to compare for you, but I love horsetech’s blackenall and black3 supplements. I switched from blackenall to the black3 for the added glanzen3 two years ago and have really been impressed on the black shiny coats, hooves and well-being of my friesians.

My guys have said it was much more palatable than other zinc/copper/paprika’s I have tried.

Thanks, will check it out

[rememberthenight]

@Dr. Doolittle

Thanks, will check it out

i am pretty sure if you call, they offer palatability samples.

[JB]

You’re really likely going to have to feed those pellets. An alternative might be California Trace.

1400ppm is 39mg per oz, and Accel is fed at 1-2oz.

So yes, not nearly enough, and it’s really just a Meh v/m supplement - kind of a jack of all trades, master of none.

HorseTech doesn’t list the cu/zn analysis on their label (odd for them), so have no idea how it compares.

[IPEsq]

Ultra Cruz’s hoof supplement has some copper and zinc. It’s a pellet. Although honestly doesn’t smell much better than Uckele’s pellets.

[DinkyDonk]

Try adding 1/2 - 1 oz liquid Cocosoya and stirring it in. My guys will eat ANYTHING with a touch of it added…must make it taste like candy.

[Heinz_57]

Custom Equine Nutrition has a zinc/copper pre-mixed blend… I have a bag in my barn but haven’t opened it yet so I can’t speak to whether it smells appetizing or not :lol: but if it matches the numbers you’re after, it’s economically priced. I think it has brewer’s yeast added for taste, so might be more tolerable than the straight minerals?

I feed their Vermont Blend and have been very happy with it, but it has extras that you probably don’t need on top of a RB.

[Dr_Doolittle]

Thanks guys!

I have tried the Cocosoya in the past (not recently), and meh…It did not tempt her. She is SO persnickety! :no: Worth another try, of course - but I have tried EVERYTHING under the sun for her “episodes of persnickety”, and she turns her nose up at it.

SIGH

Will check out the other options and call around on Monday.

I did my “experiment” again (put all of her individual supplements in separate baggies and hand fed them to her - she ate everything else, but NOPE! Was NOT interested in the copper and zinc - even when it was mixed with a handful of the RB AND some Fibregized. I have no idea what turned her off to it???

Uh, horses…

[vali]

I get Arizona Copper complete from Horsetech and have them add molasses flavoring for free. Even the picky ones eat it.

[MegBackInSaddle]

I don’t know where you are, but Mad Barn Amino Trace has high copper and zinc. My mare would always nibble it alone. She went off feed for a bit late this spring, but she’d changed barns and was on (basically) 24hr turnout with grass coming in. She’s cleaning up again now.

[Interstellar]

Is there a really tasty grain that maybe she doesn’t need but loves the taste of? Enough to get her to eat the supplements mixed in? RB don’t seem to be the most appetizing for horses since they keep the calories down. I use a handful of tasty performance grain (that I have for my in work OTTB and appendix QH) with my easy keepers to entice them to eat all their V/M supplements.

[Dr_Doolittle]

@Interstellar

Is there a really tasty grain that maybe she doesn’t need but loves the taste of? Enough to get her to eat the supplements mixed in? RB don’t seem to be the most appetizing for horses since they keep the calories down. I use a handful of tasty performance grain (that I have for my in work OTTB and appendix QH) with my easy keepers to entice them to eat all their V/M supplements.

Ha! Already doing that “trick”; she gets a couple of handfuls of Fibregized (https://www.nutrenaworld.com/product…ega-horse-feed) which she loves - mixed in with her RB and the supplements. Obviously this increases the palatability, and adds some moisture to the powdered Equishure and MSM which otherwise will sink to the bottom of the feed tub. She usually cleans everything up, leaves the feed tub clean as a whistle…

I can get her to eat all of her other supplements out of my hand with a little RB mixed in, I add a little bit of the “grain” to the powdered stuff and she licks it all up. But the copper/zinc?? I tried to “hide” it in a big handful of the grain and a little of the RB, all mixed around - she sniffed my hand, and turned disdainfully away :lol: :nonchalance:

OY!

So tomorrow’s project will be searching out these other options ^ ^ ^, and seeing whether I can find something that meets with the approval of Princess Pickypants. So odd that she would suddenly reject something that she’s been eating for 4 years, but it happens.

Thanks everyone!

[JB]

UltraCruz hoof supplement has 48mg zinc and 14mg copper in a serving

ACC has MUCH more. It also contains manganese which is not needed in a lot of the country - definitely not needed in a lot of the East. It also comes with 2mg selenium, so be aware of thare.

Mad Barn Amino Trace is very similar to ACC in these things. Both of them - ACC and MBAT - are much more comprehensive “super” v/m supplements, and not something you’d add to a regular fortified diet.

[Dr_Doolittle]

@JB

UltraCruz hoof supplement has 48mg zinc and 14mg copper in a serving

ACC has MUCH more. It also contains manganese which is not needed in a lot of the country - definitely not needed in a lot of the East. It also comes with 2mg selenium, so be aware of thare.

Mad Barn Amino Trace is very similar to ACC in these things. Both of them - ACC and MBAT - are much more comprehensive “super” v/m supplements, and not something you’d add to a regular fortified diet.

Good to know, thank you JB! (I can always count on you for this stuff, which was why I TRIED to tag you initially - not sure why that didn’t work in the new format? )

Sooo, would you recommend that I call Horsetech and ask about the amounts? @vali - do they also have a zinc supplement?

Call Custom Equine??

[rubygirl1968]

The zinc and copper from California Trace aren’t nearly as stinky as Uckele, but they are powder. I have to add enough water to my guys food to mix everything in or he won’t eat it.

[Heinz_57]

Dr. D, for reference the Custom Equine copper/zinc has 200mg of copper and 550mg zinc per 6 grams, which is 1/2 of a tablespoon (1.5 teaspoons).

”‹

[Color_of_Light]

@Dr. Doolittle

has been getting supplemental zinc and copper for the past 4 years - Her iron levels were very high per a blood test from about 3 years ago,

When is the last time you tested her levels of zinc, copper and iron? After 4 years of daily zinc and copper her levels could be high, so the supplement is no longer appealing to her. She might still need extra zinc and copper due to the high iron levels in the water and forage, but maybe not the same daily dose.