Platinum Performance CJ?

[Amy3996]

I’m toying with the idea of putting my 18 y.o. WB gelding on Platinum Performance CJ. I like the idea of being able to feed one supplement and cover most (if not all) of my bases for him. Wondering if I could use the PP CJ in place of some of the supplements he’s currently on.

He’s currently being fed:
3 lbs ProForce Fuel
1/2 lb TC 30% Ration Balancer
1 cup TC Ground Flax
Absorbine Flex Max Joint Supplement
SmartBreathe Ultra
AniMed Muscle Up

I’d like to consolidate that if I can. The Platinum Performance seems like a comprehensive solution, and the sticker shock isn’t quite so bad when I balance it against being able to eliminate some other components of his feeding program. Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that the PP could potentially compensate for the Muscle Up, Flex Max, Flax, and (maybe) the TC 30?

Yes, no, maybe? Thoughts/reviews?

Thank you!

[mydogs]

A boarder used to feed PP and while she liked it, the price was a bit high and didn’t have everything she wanted. Her and I both switched to having a custom supplement made by HorseTech. I was tired of spending a decent amount of time making baggies with 5+ supplements. When I tried to find something off the shelf, nothing had everything that I wanted and I didn’t want to overdose on something my horse didn’t need.

[Posting_Trot]

I briefly used the PP CJ with my previous horse. I was also looking for a single supplement to do multiple jobs and convenience was an issue. And I’ll admit that PP has a great website and does a great job selling its products.

That said, I came to the conclusion after using it for 4 months (more or less) that it was expensive for what it was, and it didn’t have some of the things I was looking for.

In particular I wanted 100 mg of HA (CJ has 90), 10,000 mg of MSM (CJ has 8,200), and a full1 mg of selenium (CJ has 0.8). I also wanted more Vit. E, and my horse had never responded well to the ASU that’s in CJ.

Ultimately, I used Reitsport HA for my horse and adding a Vit. E/selenium supplement, although now Horsetech makes Sportwerks that is more comprehensive (https://horsetech.com/equine-supplements/multi-purpose/sportwerks).

I swapped out to the SmartFlex Ultimate Pellets and a Vit E/Selenium supplement in Smartpacks to accommodate my barn.

[beowulf]

I think for what it is, it is a good deal - supplements are expensive, especially when you start getting into the comprehensives and the convenience of it; if you were feeding MSM, HA, Gluco, Cetyl-M, Vit E and Biotin all separately, I think it would about even out – maybe a little less individually. What I like about it is, as a boarder, you can do Plat-Paks and that way it’s a guarantee the entire ensemble is fed to the horse… whereas sometimes barn staff can miss a supplement when you have more than 5 for the horse a day…

For me, that convenience was worth the extra bit of money.

That being said I used it on a horse that was on lay-up for an absolutely nasty collateral ligament rupture. He healed unusually rapidly and vigorously (confirmed by before/after ultrasounds) and while I won’t ever know for a fact that it was a direct result of the CJ, the vet’s first exclamation was “what are you FEEDING this guy?” The CJ did keep his inflammation down significantly while he was on stall-rest, and his coat and hoof health did change for the better.

I did discontinue using it, but not willingly — the horse healed spectacularly, and then sat for a few months while I moved across the country. I’ve considered starting him on it again but may try something else because he doesn’t need something as heavy hitting as CJ anymore.

[stb]

I am currently using CJ on my 18 year old QH. I had his hocks injected over the summer and the sports medicine vet suggested I put him on it. He is feeling and moving great, and obviously feeling very good.

Truthfully, I don’t know how much is due to the injections and how much is due to the CJ, but something is working. My horse looks amazing. His coat is the prettiest it has ever been. Also, his long standing diarrhea has resolved since being on the CJ. It is expensive but it seems to really be working for my horse.

You may want to call Platinum and ask what you could drop if you went to CJ. It is a pretty comprehensive supplement. They have great customer service.

[MissAriel]

To get a real answer, you need to get out your spreadsheet, put in all your current feed/supplements and add up all the nutritional components, as well as the total cost/day, then compare that to what you would get with PP-CJ vs the daily cost of CJ. Or maybe try FeedXL.

You could probably drop the flax - much of the bulk of CJ is flax (meal and oil), and it has decent Omega levels.

You could probably drop the Flex Max - similar profiles of the heavy hitters - glucosamine and MSM. CJ has 2000mg ASU, Boswellia extract, 300 mg Cetylated FA while FM has none, but FM has 1200 mg Chondroitin, while CJ has none.

It looks like you are feeding about half the recommended amount of both the ProForce and the TC 30%RB. I don’t think you will make the nutrition in either of those up with the CJ either, but you might want to consider feeding a full ration of either the ProForce (5-6 lbs for 1000lb horse in light exercise) or the RB (1lb for 1000lb horse). ProForce is 20% NSC and 1600 Cal/lb. TC RB is 1266 Cal/lb. You will be feeding far less sugar and calories with the RB to get the same nutrition, but it will depend on your horse’s caloric needs. Maybe the half and half approach is just right, or maybe a standard complete feed or senior feed is a better single choice. Regardless, I don’t think you will want to drop either feed and replace with CJ.

As far as the Muscle Up, the CJ will cover some of the electrolytes, but doesn’t have any of the fancier ingredients (Gamma Oryzanol 1000mg, Creatine 1000mg, DMG 900mg). I don’t know where the data falls for any of these, but I would be inclined to try dropping it and see how it goes.

[Amy3996]

Thank you for all the insight!

@MissAriel - the Nutrena website recommends 3.0-6.0lbs of Fuel for a 1200lb horse at maintenance, and the TC 30 webpage states “for balanced diets where current feeding rates fall below the minimum for that diet, add .5 lb. to 1 lb. per 1000 lb. of body weight along with the diet being fed.” So 3.5lbs total would be the minimum quantity appropriate for his size. I should have also mentioned that he’s getting 15-20 lbs of grass hay, and 5lbs of alfalfa daily. The Fuel is really just to give him a small boost in energy levels, since he doesn’t need any additional weight right now. 5-6lbs of Fuel would send him through the ceiling energy-wise, and he’d gain too much weight. I had him on the full ration of TC 30, and his energy levels were lacking. The small quantity of TC 30 (which should maybe be closer to 3/4 lb), is just to make sure that there’s no shortfall from feeding the bare minimum of the Fuel. Good point about the Muscle Up, thank you!

[Amy3996]

Update:
My “will-eat-anything” horse has decided that PP must be poison, and will not touch it under any circumstances. Tried all of the flavored samples they sent, horse promptly snorted into his feed bucket before flinging it across the stall with his nose and kicking the stall wall to express his aggravation that his perfectly good grain had been ruined. Tried adding just a pinch of PP - no luck. Tried covering it up with Jello or brown sugar - nope.

Thankfully another boarder uses it and offered to buy the bucket I had purchased before I realized they offered samples (stupidly thinking that it would be fine because my horse had literally never turned his nose up at a supplement in the 3 years I’ve had him). So it’s not the end of the world.

How does the COTH crew feel about SmartCombo Ultra?

[beowulf]

@Amy3996

Update:
My “will-eat-anything” horse has decided that PP must be poison, and will not touch it under any circumstances. Tried all of the flavored samples they sent, horse promptly snorted into his feed bucket before flinging it across the stall with his nose and kicking the stall wall to express his aggravation that his perfectly good grain had been ruined. Tried adding just a pinch of PP - no luck. Tried covering it up with Jello or brown sugar - nope.

Thankfully another boarder uses it and offered to buy the bucket I had purchased before I realized they offered samples (stupidly thinking that it would be fine because my horse had literally never turned his nose up at a supplement in the 3 years I’ve had him). So it’s not the end of the world.

How does the COTH crew feel about SmartCombo Ultra?

Try giving it in small amounts first at the bottom of the bucket (don’t mix it). Don’t top-dress a pinch.

Just about every horse I’ve put PP CJ on has turned their nose up to it at first; putting it in small amounts over multiple feedings and gradually increasing it, and also soaking it helps.

[BlueDrifter]

Just fyi, but I spoke to PP rep at horse show over weekend, they are no longer including chondroitin because they don’t feel it is effective. too big a molecule to be processed by gut.

[joiedevie99]

@BlueDrifter

Just fyi, but I spoke to PP rep at horse show over weekend, they are no longer including chondroitin because they don’t feel it is effective. too big a molecule to be processed by gut.

Are they lowering the price as a result? Or adding another ingredient?

[BlueDrifter]

@joiedevie99, I have no idea as I am not a current PP user, but my guess is “no,” lol. I have a hard time convincing myself that feed-thru joint supplements work. Adequan/HA injectables, yes, but jury still out on feed-thru for me. But I know glucosamine/chondroitin were the two biggies, so thought it interesting that one was dropped.