Why are horse people so obsessed with supplements?

[Simkie]

A whole lot of people board their horses, and have very little control over the big parts of their horse’s diet. Nearly everyone KNOWS that hay is #1 but most horse people are not involved at all with the purchasing of the hay their horse eats. Many really don’t have much of a say in how MUCH their horse even gets.

And then add on that a whole lot of people don’t have their horses in ideal (for horses) housing, and may be making compromises on turnout time/space/etc due to dollars or a balance of amenities or location or whatever.

So, when a company comes along and says a little scoop of something is going to solve your problems, particularly the ones that could be solved by more hay, different hay, hay fed in a different way, or more turnout, bigger turnout, different turnout…but that can’t be done because…reasons? A lot of people open their wallet. Supplements are a piece that any owner can really CONTROL, especially in an environment where there are a whole lot of pieces that are not under the direct control of person who actually owns the horse.

[ayrabz]

sigh. horses are not meant to be stalled, ridden, in horse shows, etc, etc, etc. Supplements DO have their place and need educated and informed owners to know /ask/work with levels, etc. so many issues are also ‘not solveable, but can be managed with their diets’ and finding that magic combo is hard. I’m sorry but it comes off as if your knowledge and concern you validate in your supplements…(like I said, it just SOUNDS that way, so its hard to hear from one who uses them but asks such a blanket judgement on ‘all horse people’ otherwise.)

[NeedsAdvil]

Hi my name is NeedsAdvil and I am a former supplementaholic. To be fair, it was when I had an older horse who was a hard keeper and I was willing to throw anything at him that might help. Now with a younger, generally healthy horse, I am focused more on good nutrition for him rather than adding supplements. The only “supplements” I give now is ground flax and electrolytes. I hope to be able to continue that for a long time!

[FatDinah]

What’s the opinion of MSM? My old guy has chronic desmitis in a hind leg, and the vet suggested it?

[quietann]

@ayrabz

sigh. horses are not meant to be stalled, ridden, in horse shows, etc, etc, etc. Supplements DO have their place and need educated and informed owners to know /ask/work with levels, etc. so many issues are also ‘not solveable, but can be managed with their diets’ and finding that magic combo is hard. I’m sorry but it comes off as if your knowledge and concern you validate in your supplements…(like I said, it just SOUNDS that way, so its hard to hear from one who uses them but asks such a blanket judgement on ‘all horse people’ otherwise.)

Ah yes, horses need huge lush pastures in an area where a 1 acre lot costs $250,000 or more… There are people here who say we just shouldn’t own horses then. Not to mention the horses who cannot be on pasture full time because of the risk of foundering. Many of us, close to big cities, make compromises, where a supplement helps make up the difference.

In other words, I agree with you.

[Cindyg]

My guys can’t graze, and 99 percent of their diet is one thing (Triple Crown Timothy Balance Cubes). Yet I wish for them to have a wide variety. So, yeah, I give them a little bowl of supplemental herbs, seeds, etc. I enjoy doing it.

[ChestnutArabianMare]

Because we’re susceptible to advertising campaigns and it makes us feel like we’re doing something good for our horses. I think a lot of supplements are not necessary with quality hay and good grain fed at appropriate quantities or a ration balancer if the horse is an easier keeper.

My mare has been prone to skin crud in the past, although she’s otherwise healthy and an easy keeper. I live in an area with high iron and low selenium, so I do feed zinc and copper and a vitamin e/selenium supplement based off vet suggestion. Her occurrences of skin crud have dramatically improved since starting both supplements.

[173north]

My trainer works very closely with our feed rep and has also taken extensive courses in equine education. None of our horses get supplements and they are all sane, sound, fat and happy. If a horse has a balanced diet and is getting the right vitamins/minerals and no major issues (ie ulcers) I feel there is generally no need and it’s just more money and work for everyone.

[Texarkana]

@Red Barn

That, and the fact that boarding barns seem to be increasing cheap with hay, and owners seem increasingly ignorant of what forage is all about.

I think this is one of the biggest factors.

The supplement market seems to be heavily patronized by people who have others care for their horses. A lot of boarding and training barns eschew best husbandry and nutrition practices for convenience/affordability. Ex: lots of cheap grain, not enough forage, or not enough turnout.

As a result, some horse owners turn to supplements to try to correct the issues created by an unhealthy lifestyle.

I think in the US, there is also an undercurrent of distrust of experts, medical professionals, and pharmaceuticals that bleeds into the horse world. There seems to be a faction of horse people who repeatedly believe supplement marketing claims over the claims of professionals. People who think, “why do I need to pay for your expertise when google says this supplement will do the same thing?”

[ABookworm]

I’ll be honest that my horses are kept at home and I’m a supplement nut. My grass isn’t the best, thank you Central Florida sandy soil, so I use several different supplements and unlimited, high quality hay to try and ensure my little herd has the best nutrition possible.

They’re all on Triple Crown Balancer Gold as their feed base after the hay along with TC Senior Gold for my two oldies who need the extra calories. Then I have everyone on the following supplements for the following reasons.

Solitude IGR to try and minimize the fly population. Small acreage means I’m close to my neighbors so I feel obligated to try and control the population. (probably trying something else after this season)

Iodized salt to encourage extra drinking and to help my large pony because she can’t enjoy the free choice pan during the day thanks to her grazing muzzle.

Actiflex for their joints and MSM to help with my ASBs allergy inflammation response and joints. (Might be changing them to Cosequin after seeing an amazing change in my arthritic dog)

SmartHoof because my ASB and small pony have terrible feet and I have a high iron level on my property. So I’m trying to correct that ratio.

There’s also a strong possibility that I’ll be changing my large pony to California Trace or Mad Barn AminoTrace to help balance her nutrition but get her off the TC Balancer to cut calories as she is the true definition of an air plant. She’s the only horse I’ve ever know who can get fat off a balancer.

Overall, I know I’m probably the prime target of a marketing scheme for supplements but when I did the math I’m comfortable with what I’m spending. Things like their joints and their feet are elements that I really don’t want to cause damage to if it can be avoided. I know they’re probably eliminating more than they’re absorbing but they give me so much that the least I can do is try and keep them healthy.

edited to add my vet is very involved in my feed program as my small had laminitis when I brought him home and my large with her air plant tendency is a risk for it. Everything I use is run by her before adding it and is something she is comfortable with me using or something she recommended. While the research isn’t in full support of horses absorbing all the supplements 100% with the health quirks of my horses she is not of the opinion that I am harming them in any way by feeding this.

[atl_hunter]

@Pony Someday

It’s interesting that we’re usually much more skeptical about what a supplement can do for us as humans. We pay attention to where our supplements are sourced, and we’re aware that we increase our risk of toxicity, or at best, wasting our money, the more we supplement since the industry is unregulated. Thoughts, opinions?

Full disclosure, I do feed U-Gard or SmartGut Ultra, or a fat/rice bran supplement, depending on the horse. I just see so many posts with so many different supplements being idealized as a magical panacea, and sometimes it makes me roll my eyes a bit. I get this is not every horse owner, but is this something that COTH has noticed, too?

Does this come from our own anxiety that urges us to find a way to fix the problem quickly, and most importantly, are we too often overlooking what might actually be much more effective?

What is your definition of supplement? Anything non-prescribed that you are adding to feed?

Here’s why I feed supplements:

• Some actually work: [LIST]
• Duralactin as a long-term substitute for Equioxx, for example. It's kinder to the horse's renal system and can be fed daily. My sister is a vet and recommended that one as an anti-inflammatory and we've both seen is successfully help two older arthritic horses. It's made from hyperimmunized cow protein and has honestly surprised us both.
• Ulcereraser - my horse travels regularly and I like the support this product provides for horses regularly taking long trips - you feed SamrtGut Ultra so I'm sure you "get" that one.
• OneAC - helps with some horses who have anhidrosis (never worked for my guy, however, but it did help another horse in the barn)
• Vitamin E for horses on stall rest with no access to pasture

Some bring us peace of mind because they are covered by SmartPak ColiCare and who doesn't want that $10,000 reimbursement if sadly ever needed? [/LIST]

[FjordBCRF]

@atl_hunter

What is your definition of supplement? Anything non-prescribed that you are adding to feed?

Here’s why I feed supplements:

• Some actually work: [LIST]
• Duralactin as a long-term substitute for Equioxx, for example. It's kinder to the horse's renal system and can be fed daily. My sister is a vet and recommended that one as an anti-inflammatory and we've both seen is successfully help two older arthritic horses. It's made from hyperimmunized cow protein and has honestly surprised us both.
• Ulcereraser - my horse travels regularly and I like the support this product provides for horses regularly taking long trips - you feed SamrtGut Ultra so I'm sure you "get" that one.
• OneAC - helps with some horses who have anhidrosis (never worked for my guy, however, but it did help another horse in the barn)
• Vitamin E for horses on stall rest with no access to pasture

Some bring us peace of mind because they are covered by SmartPak ColiCare and who doesn't want that $10,000 reimbursement if sadly ever needed? [/LIST]

Real live case study on the question!! I’d be curious if anyone could speak more to the SmartPak Colicare products; I just looked it up on their site and am interested to know if they are worth more than peace of mind? Why am I thinking about it? Answer; I am willing to consider adding a supplement if there is a real benefit that could help him live a long happy life.

[Red_Barn]

@Texarkana

I think this is one of the biggest factors.

The supplement market seems to be heavily patronized by people who have others care for their horses. A lot of boarding and training barns eschew best husbandry and nutrition practices for convenience/affordability. Ex: lots of cheap grain, not enough forage, or not enough turnout.

As a result, some horse owners turn to supplements to try to correct the issues created by an unhealthy lifestyle.

I think that’s true, especially in the behavioral realm. You even see it in the ad copy for this stuff. Words and phrases like “stress,” “nervousness” and “rigors of training” are constantly repeated, and “calming” supplements meant to address amorphous conditions like “lack of focus” seem to multiply by the day.

Would a reasonably healthy horse really find ordinary life that psychologically exhausting if he had regular turn out, decent forage and a sensible work schedule? I kind of think not.

I think in the US, there is also an undercurrent of distrust of experts, medical professionals, and pharmaceuticals that bleeds into the horse world. There seems to be a faction of horse people who repeatedly believe supplement marketing claims over the claims of professionals. People who think, “why do I need to pay for your expertise when google says this supplement will do the same thing?”

That’s true too.

Americans also seem very skeptical of science generally, so if you ask them whether there are studies behind this or that currently fashionable supplement, they tend to get very defensive about the whole thing, insisting that they “don’t need studies” when they can see results “with their own eyes.”

That sounds pretty stupid at first blush, but, when you think about how lax the US is in regulating the overlap of business and “scientific” research, it’s actually kind of understandable. Why trust the FDA if it’s run by a guy from Monsanto, or some study done by XYZ University whose labs are funded by Purina? It really is a terrible mess.

[Renn_aissance]

My horse has up to 8 feed additives depending on the season so I guess I’m one of “those people.” Almost half of them are prescription or OTC medications (Cushings, thyroid, allergies.) One is a nutritional supplement recommended by his bloodwork and confirmed effective by follow-up labs. The rest are supplements: anhidrosis, respiratory support, Platinum Performance in the winter when the grass is dead to support his macronutrient intake as he doesn’t get what he needs from half a quart of TC Senior, and a joint supplement I refer to as “I can’t believe I’m giving resveratrol” (SmartStride Ultra.) In sum it’s a non-negligible collection! Every one of those additives is either prescribed or recommended by my vet after reviewing his clinical condition or his twice a year bloodwork. And as for the joint supplement, I’m not equipped to do a double blind study, but he can swap his lead left to right on the first try while he’s had his SmartStride and he can’t when he doesn’t have it. I did take him on and off of it to test. (My vet was pretty enthused that I was giving resveratrol.)

Like most other parts of keeping an animal alive, including the human mammal, it’s a walloping “it depends” on the variables contributing to that animal’s condition. My own bloodwork and medical history has me on a couple of macronutrient supplements, too.

[four2farm]

With my horses at home, the only year round supplements I feed are flax seed meal, BOSS and one (the EPSM horse) gets added Cool Calories. Everyone gets beet pulp but I feed different brands to different horses because it is what works best on that individual. So I actually use Purina, Nutrena, Spiller and Triple Crown The hay is mixed grass, and when there is no green on the ground, I add a little alfalfa. In the early spring I add a multivite with heavy Vita A, that seems to keep Rainrot at bay and electrolytes during the dog days of summer.

Before they came home and were boarded, I had Smartpaks for my Smartpaks. While boarded my horses did not look as good, I had rougher coats, more skin problems, higher worm loads in the fecals. It makes sense, boarding barns are a business. Nutrition is based on the the average horse, higher populations and more shared equipment are almost required to keep that business at break even.

There is also subtle peer pressure that says if the boarder who has it all together feeds"Sea Snail Snot", then maybe I will try “Sea Snail Snot”, it can’t hurt, can it? Supplements say you care about your pony…In many cases “Sea Snail Snot” might be filling in some gaps in the one size fits all horse feed that is being fed at the boarding barn.

IMHO, The joint supplement and gastric supplement revolution is owners trying to protect their financial and emotional investment. These supplements do work for some horses and not for others. Same as in humans. If you are blessed enough to have the space to provide constant movement and forage you can skip the gastric and wait a bit longer on the joint supplements. If a horse is traveling, has limited turnout or forage, or is in a stressful situation, prophylactic gastric and joint supplementation is a wise choice.

I do not think of Rx meds as supplements.

I do know people who feed horses upwards of 25 different supplements because some rider got paid to say that they won because they use “Snake Oil Serum”. So Puffy the Pasture Pony gets all these supplements and the owner is afraid to stop any one of them because Puffy might be somehow “less”.

Every thing in Moderation. If my horse is slick coated, bright eyed, moving well and cleaning the bucket. I call that a win. If I don’t have to get Smartpak involved, I call it a win-win.

[HereComesZach]

I’m most likely one the people you’re thinking of :o

Even though I do think there is too much unnecessary supplementation, and I even agree that most horses don’t need them, my own horses always seem to end up on them. For me, it’s because they (anecdotally) work.

My retiree struggles with arthritis, a poor immune system, and weight; so he’s on joint and weight gain supplements, and some extra mineral supplementation that should help his immune system.

My pony struggles with arthritis and cushings; so he’s on joint supplements, Equioxx, Prascend, and chasteberry, along with the occasional antihistamine.

My mare, my main riding horse, struggles with OTTB feet, and some wear and tear on her joints; so she’s on a joint supplement, and minerals and vitamin e for her feet.

Where I live the horses have plenty of pasture and hay, but they don’t test high in certain areas, so I like to fill in those gaps :shrug:

[candyappy]

I have had horses since 1976 and I can count on 1 hand the number of supplements I’ve fed over all those years. Clovite, grow colt, ShoGlo, Redcell( briefly) and currently I do feed my mare MSM.

Out of all of those I did see an obvious result and that was the MSM which I am also feeding to my Boer buck and it has helped him tremendously:D and my mare has benefited too.

I don’t think I would classify drugs prescribed by a vet as supplements. Just the edible / feed additives you can get at the tack/ feed stores.

To be honest my horses have always had good feet, good health and shiny coats and plenty of energy on good hay alone. I sometimes supplemented with feed (for my broodmares (obviously) and my riding horses if it was needed, but it was more like a treat after working.

[ASB_Stars]

I feed a number of supplements to my horses, and I always have. They have varied over the years, depending largely on their issues, but there are some that I just feed everyone.

These include fresh ground flaxseed (twice daily), magox (once daily), MSM- if the horse is older, etc. I also like Diamond V yeast, and a number of other fun things. My horses look awesome, and I simply like feeling I am supporting their issues.

Some folks may look at it as wasting money, but I am OK with that. I just look at my horses. :winkgrin: