I’m looking to see who feeds any of the SmartPak Colic care eligible supplements-Smart Digest Ultra in particular…I’ve been giving it to all 8 of my horses for several years now as a preventative measure …knock on wood haven’t had any major Colics …my husband did the math today and boy does it add up over the years …he estimated that we’ve spent over $17k on just the SmartPak supplement over the course of 5 years…so he wants me to stop giving it Due to the cost, and asked if it’s really necessary?? I’m afraid to stop for fear they now might start colicing ?? Thoughts?? Is it worth it??/necessary??
I have also had this thought… and am also too afraid to stop it for fear of colic :lol: I think there is some data to support it. The ingredients all have data showing hind-gut support, and it certainly isn’t hurting. I only have one horse, though, so it hasn’t been 17k out of my bank account.
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Look at it this way - if you had paid for insurance for these horses all this time you would also be out that money.
My horse had mortality with colic surgery insurance for a good long time and we never needed it (thankfully). The amount of money I would have in the bank now if I had not paid for that insurance would be nice. At the time I knew I could not afford to replace that horse if something happened so the insurance made sense.
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I guess I should say what do people do that have more than only 1 Horse to supplement or even insure for that matter ??
They either pay a fortune or they figure out what is actually effective in their supplements and figure out a way to provide it more cost effectively.
As an example you can buy bulk minerals, bulk amino acids, etc.
I think smart Pak is designed for the one horse owner who needs something convenient for the barn help to administer. I also think they really advertise and oversell effectively.
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The thing about this program is you have to have teeth done once a year (we always do), vet “directed” vaccinations which means you can give them yourself if you keep good records but I don’t know if Smartpak would allow the owner to give shots then cover a colic surgery bill. I took both of my horses off their program but still keep them in Smart Digest just not the ultra. I make up baggies for one horse as he gets stuff not available in Smartpaks and my other guy gets Smart Digest and Tri Amino that comes to over $40 so I get the SP shipping and discounts.
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The prices have also increased too over the years -it used to be under $30/month …it’s now up to $42…
The price of everything has increased over the years.
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You might switch to just the Colicare supplement itself, and use something more cost effective for the joint and hoof supplement aspect of the ultra. I personally have done this while going through some tougher times financially, using the powdered Smart Digest or whatever the least expensive Colicare one is ($38) and using Animed joint and hoof supplements (in this case Remission for hoof and etc). Kept costs down and horse supplemented the way I want her to be!
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I had a horse on it and he did colic…and I’m Canadian so wasn’t eligible for their Colic Care program. Despite our best efforts to keep them safe and healthy horses will colic/get injured… my current mare is on a hoof supplement at my farriers recommendation, and I’ll keep her on it but I think feed through supplements are very well marketed and don’t have as big of an effect as we would like to think. Just wanted to share my experience!
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There was another thread on this some time back, someone’s basic comment was “there isn’t a supplement on earth that will prevent a colic”, true that.
I took mine off it. No worries. The only thing in it I supplement on my own is yeast, which I can easily buy very cheaply.
I’ve had one horse off it for a year (too old, wouldn’t put him thru surgery anyway) and finally took my new horse off of it just recently.
Never saw any difference in the first horse, doubt to see any in the new one.
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