Basically what the title says. I’m revamping my horses feed and it’s gotten me thinking about supplements. What supplements have you guys used that you saw a difference with?
*im not asking for my horses. I’m just curious about what you guys have used that worked really well. Joint, coat, hoof, calming, muscle, etc. I have my own supplements that I think work great 
What would you like to address or fix by using supplements?
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Equinety. It’s an amino acid supplement. Has helped with all kinds of problems in all my horses. Gives lazy horses evergy and energetic ones focus, better hooves etc. Wonderful all around supplement
You need to look at your horse and his diet.
Identify a problem. Is he thin, fat, lacking top line, weak hooves, etc?
Anyalyze the diet as best you can. Get your hay analyzed if possible or at least find typical values for your area.
For instance hay in my area tends to be low mineral and low selenium. This isn’t true everywhere.
Once you have an idea of the problems and the diet you can start to fix things.
If the horse has for Instance no topline and weak hooves and you are feeding a very low protein hay, you will want to see increase protein. I would suggest in general adding alfalfa hay rather than a protein supplement. Alfalfa also increases calcium.
In general if you can get the result from a better quality diet rather than an expensive powder, that’s advisable.
But just asking what supplements work is an empty question because we need to know, work for what?
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As the OP stands, it sounds like you’re looking for a solution to a problem you aren’t even aware of
Re-vamping a diet shouldn’t ask the question you did. It should start with the ideal of a forage analysis, add in your hard feed (if any), and see where that falls wrt to the NRC guidelines for your horse’s age, weight, and work load.
That might require a change in the feed to something with much better fortification (amount and/or balance), or adding some nutrient supplements like amino acids or some trace minerals (usually copper and zinc, occasionally calcium if you forage is low enough).
Every supplement that adequately fills a nutritional gap, or has proven effects that aim at whatever issue your horse is having, will “work”.
Adding supplements that contain next to nothing of an ingredient, no matter how scientifically proven that ingredient, does’t work - 1mg of green mussel isn’t going to help arthritis. Adding supplements that contain ample amounts of necessary nutrients won’t work if the horse isn’t deficient - adding magnesium won’t calm a horse down if his “hotness” is due to a B1 deficiency.
it doesn’t really help you to know what others supplement with, if they are targeting symptoms your horse doesn’t have.
I’ve changed my OP. I’m not asking for my horses, I’m just curious about what other COTHers use and love. I’m aware of nutritional supplements and filling forage/feed gaps.
For me personally, I used assure plus on a sand colic prone horse when I lived in a sandy area. It actually removed the sand and he didn’t sand colic again.
I also know a geriatric horse that goes lame when not given his MSM.
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Use and love are two different things.
If a nutrient works to fix a problem I will use it, but that doesn’t mean I love it as in have undying brand loyalty.
I’ve used probiotcs to fix diarrhea that seemed to be getting chronic (over one week). I found a Canadian brand that was effective on my horse that I would recommend to other people. But I also realize the effective probiotic can be different for different individuals and problems so if this one brand failed id certainly try something else. I also see no need to feed it prophylactically.
I use a local vitamin mineral supplement that is the best value for the money in my local market. When I went up from half a dose to a full dose I saw an improvement in hoof quality.
But I have also seen improvements in hoof quality from using hoof boots strategically and starting to do my own tidy up rasping.
I use flax and maresy has a shiny water repellent coat and no skin problems. I’ve never experimented with taking her off it to see how much is genetics and how much is flax. I also use minimum shampoo on her, but hose her often in the summer months (because she loves a warm shower). I think too much shampoo could strip hair oil.
I have to say, getting the hay right has been as important as any supplements.
Every once in a while I do something experimental. I went through a litre of herbal slippery ulcer aid once to see if it helped maresy’s girthiness. I thought there were mild sustained improvements, but I also started giving her a flake of hay before I ride which is the best way to stop stomach acid sloshing around.
Maresy loved the liquorice flavor but I didn’t see a need to continue.
For our bouts of impaction colic last winter the big preventive was getting water into her, so I started feeding two very wet mashes a day and giving her a wall bucket of water near the hay drop in addition to her big water bucket in the corner. I also stopped feeding alfalfa hay because I thought there was some correlation. That might just be coincidence and superstition on my part
I did buy a tub of psyllium husks thinking that might improve the water absorbency of the mashes but it didn’t have that much impact. Giving sweetened water was more of an incentive to drink.
In other words solving problems required thinking about overall feed and management not just supplements.
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So you’re looking for the go-tos?
Santa Cruz for Vit E
Triamino or nutriamino for lysine etc
Seroquine for magnesium/calming (best price at State Line Tack or Horse.com)
Springtime Garlic for ticks
EquiVM for basic vit/minerals
Triple Crown Flax for general bloom and shinyness
Uckele GUT for stomach maintenance
Nexium for active ulcers
Select the Best MSM
Poly copper/poly zinc from Horsetech
Bulk oil from CostCo
These are the things I reach for first for the problems/holes in the diet that these specific things address. Some are pretty constant in the feed room, others come out once in awhile.
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Feeding loose salt in a measured dose vs just providing a block has solved my mares drinking issues - she would barely drink any water and not touch the salt lick for days, and then gobble half the block and drink 20 gallons or more overnight. Not healthy! I now give 2tbsp of salt once daily and provide a salt block as well. She drinks consistently and appropriately now and I know she’s getting the right amount of sodium.
Raspberry leaves have given me an obvious improvement in my mares heat cycles. I dont have her on them right now and regret not starting them in march like I usually would.
MSM seems to have knocked down her allergy-ish spring cough that required menthol cough syrup last year. She started, I started the MSM and it stopped instead of lingering for weeks. So that’s nice because it’s much cheaper to buy straight MSM than to buy cough syrup.
Flax has made her coat really nice and I’m pleased with that too.
I have seen good improvements in coat with flax, and I have improved my horse’s hooves by supplementing with biotin, Cu, Zn and amino acids, although I have tried a few different products with similar analyses and couldn’t say one was better than another. SmartHoof in bulk is among the more cost effective combination hoof supplements, for the amounts of the ingredients. CA Trace is another.
I did start adding vitamin E earlier this year, because my horse gets no fresh forage - just hay and grain so I wanted to add this. He has been significantly better under saddle, but it is hard to say if it is because of the vitamin E, a new work program or the fact that he is nearly 5 and starting to mature.
I’ve used these with success and would recommend:
Absorbine flex + max
Exceed 6-way
Smartflex supplements (Senior, Herb Free Senior, and Ultra)
Elevate (vitamin E)
Smartcalm Ultra
Cocoysoya granular
Tribute Essential K
ground flax
Favorite supplement manufacturers: Smartpak, Kentucky Performance Products, MVP, Tribute, Uckele
I put my money in the hard feed, and my go to brand is Triple Crown. Hay is even more important, but I have some easy keepers who get a mid quality slightly mature first cutting, so it’s not “the best” quality hay. If I get a race horse that needs better hay, I’ll get some better hay.
Flax and msm cover a broad spectrum of stuff like skin, coat, joints, allergies, etc. Plus they are cheap. My easy keepers get quiessence.
I break everything down into a daily cost. I feel that if you are using the right hay and a good hard feed, you don’t need too many supplements, specifically since many of them cost $1 a day and up.
KISS courtesy of COTH:
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds - each horse gets a Tablespoon±size (more than 1, less than 2) scoop with their grain AM & PM.
Resulting in soft, shiny haircoats year-round.
Even the Winter yakfur is soft.
My vet always comments on their coat condition.
& I have neighbors who are 3rd Generation breeders who have now added BOSS to their feed after seeing my guys bloom.
Cheap additive, with the bonus of the occasional volunteer sunflower in my manure pile.
Flax would do the same, with a better ratio of Omega 3 to 6 if that matters. On such a small amount it probably doesn’t.
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Whole flax
MSM (I haven’t noticed a difference between brands so I usually buy whatever is on the shelf at the feed store)
HorseTech High Point Grass/Mixed Vitamin and Mineral Supplement
HorseTech Nutramino
Thanks guys! I love hearing about what others use
Bug Check. My mare is super sensitive to flies and a horse fly magnet. We didn’t start until late summer, but I saw an almost immediate response. It’s early days yet for hot weather this year, but on the few we’ve had where flies drove her pasture-mate crazy, she’s been fine.
TX @Scribbler But being the Lazy Horseowner, I prefer the BOSS that will not spoil over time to the flaxseed that will.
But whole flax has a shelf life of a couple years?
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Green Mountain Hoof Beat. My pony that had crappy feet for 20 years finally has nice strong hooves with almost no chipping, cracking or splitting.
