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Just What Are Custom Horse Supplements?
There’s a lot more to buying a horse supplement then just going into a tack shop or feed store and taking one off the shelf. It’s an important decision that if not researched properly can cost you a small fortune, your piece of mind and most important cause your horse to lose valuable time by being on a supplement that gives him no results.
An education doesn’t cost anything. But if you don’t learn about supplements before you select one,
it could cost your horse his health. Your goal should be to purchase a supplement as an educated horse owner. That way, you cannot only make an informed purchase, but one that will benefit your horse’s health.
How are standard horse supplements and
custom horse supplements different?
You see standard horse supplements are just that “standard.”
That means they’re based on an average (built around an imaginary horse based on what the manufacturer assumes is standard) or at best are based on a shotgun approach to what the manufacturer guesses the biggest majority of horses need. Or even worse they expect you to figure out what the correct and proper amounts and types are. The bottom line is regular supplement companies never find out what your horse really needs.
They never attempt to understand what your horse’s current diet is or what the long-term effect of a misguided or a down right wrong nutrition program may affect your horse.
THE VERY FIRST THING you need before you do anything is find a bench mark, a place to start, a way to really know what your horse is lacking and how it effects him before you start pumping him full of supplements.
The standard horse supplement companies miss this important step when developing supplements for horses. They are more interested in selling you a supplement regardless if it works for your horse or not. They produce generic supplements for all horses and hope they work. It’s one of the big reasons people are constantly switching or always asking what other people are doing in an attempt to find something that works.
It’s kind of like baking a cake and guessing what the right ingredients are or the right amount of ingredients to use. It just doesn’t work or it doesn’t work well.
Custom horse supplements are made individually based on something specific about your horse.
How that is done is by using a process called equine nutritional therapy and two tools; hair mineral analysis and/or ration analysis. With these two tools we are finally able to see what your horse’s individual nutrient needs are and individual body chemistry. This allows us to identify and solve your horse’s chronic health problems and enhance his already good health. Because of this detailed information we can design and formulate a custom horse supplement that works with horse’s own body chemistry to improve and enhance his health.
Equine nutritional therapy assesses your horse’s body chemistry and life stage. Hair mineral analysis and ration analysis can help with this assessment. Once the results are obtained we can build a biochemical picture of how your horse’s body is functioning. Food, custom supplements and other things are used to improve the biochemical balance of your horse’s body. With equine nutritional therapy the focus is more on your whole horse’s body.
In equine nutritional therapy your horses own self-healing ability is remembered at all times. Ill health is considered the result of imbalances that impair the natural healing capability of your horse’s body. Therefore focus is on strengthening your horse’s own body defenses by improving energy and helping to restore biochemical balance.
How is a hair mineral analysis helpful in formulating a custom horse supplement?
A hair mineral analysis reflects another view of your horse’s body.
Your horse’s hair grows continually, but slowly, and is composed of the essential minerals and toxic minerals that are present and bio available in your horse’s body. Toxic minerals that can accumulate overtime and can cause a variety of terrible problems in your horse, including skin abnormalities, allergies, intestinal problems, fatigue, poor stress tolerance, compromised immune system leading to increased infections, infertility, breeding problems, tying-up, laminitis and inflammations.
Blood tests and hair mineral analysis test for different things. Blood tests reveal acute information about many different enzymes, hormones and other important activities in your horse’s body that is going on at that moment.
Hair mineral analysis helps us evaluate mineral levels that have accumulated in your horse over time. It gives us information that can help find a cause for a health problem, pinpoint a toxic mineral that may cause a gradual deterioration of your horse’s health or enhance your horse’s already good health and keep it that way. It can also indicate a mineral deficiency or excess in the body, or an inability of your horse’s body to absorb or utilize minerals.
When we know what‘s actually out of balance, we have a better idea of what ingredients to put in your horse’s custom supplement.
Hair mineral analysis is a safe and noninvasive procedure for your horse.
How is a ration analysis helpful in formulating a custom horse supplement?
Ration analysis looks at your whole horse.
The ration analysis process is based on the nutrient requirements of the horse established by the
 . These established requirements are based on the horses’ life stage, age, weight, activity, diet and condition.
The different life stages established by the NRC and used in ration analysis are:
- Maintenance Horse – this is your horse at rest no physical work that could tax his body.
A horse laid off from work.
- Breeding Stallion – this is your horse in breeding season.
- Pregnant Mare – this is your horse in one of the three stages of pregnancy.
The first stage is 1-9 months, the second stage is 10 months and the third stage is 11 months.
- Lactating Mare – this is your horse in one of the two stages of lactation.
The first stage is foaling to 3 months and the second stage is 3 months to weanling.
- Performance Horse – this is your horse in one of the three stages of work. The first stage is light work the second stage is moderate work and the third stage is intense work .
- Growing Foal– this is your horse in one of the five stages of growth.
The first stage is weanling at 4 months, the second stage is weanling at 6 months either moderate or rapid growth, the third stage is yearling at 12 months either moderate or rapid growth, the fourth stage is long yearling 18 months in either training or not training and the fifth stage is a two year old at 24 months in either training or not training.
- Senior Horse – this is your horse 15 years old or older.
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The nutrient requirements established in the NRC are energy (DE), crude protein, lysine, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), iodine (I), Sodium (Na), vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E.
By knowing what your horse’s nutritional requirements are we are able to find the correct custom supplement for your horse. We take your horse’s existing diet – grain, hay and supplements and see how those nutrients compare to the NRC’s nutrient requirements. This will show us what nutrients your horse is deficient and/or excessive in. Then we balance your horse’s diet using this information and recommend a custom supplement that is right for your horse.
In most cases if your horse is being fed a diet of grain and hay or just hay they will be lacking the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for a balanced diet.
By using the nutritional therapy system and two-analysis tools hair mineral analysis and/or ration analysis done on your horse this helps us reduce the guesswork involved in designing a custom supplement program for your horse. A Hair mineral analysis of your horse also allows custom supplement programs to be based on a deeper understanding of biochemical causes of ill health.
Why are custom horse supplements recommended?
Custom horse supplements are used because we want your horse to have optimum nutrition that will directly impact his health and well being. Higher doses of supplements can be recommended for your horse for a number of reasons:
- Your horse’s diet alone does not meet the NRC’s requirements for horses.
(Find out if your meeting the minimum requirements for your horse. Take the free test and find out for sure right now.)
- Your horse’s feed is grown on de-mineralized and worn out soil.
(When was the last time your pasture was fertilized to meet proper nutrient standards?)
- Refining and processing of your horse’s feed removes more nutrients and can add toxic metals.
(Over heating is common in manufacturing and destroys nutrients.)
- Absorption or nutrients maybe inadequate due to low levels of digestive enzymes or toxic metals in your horse.
(With out proper enzymes proper digestion doesn’t happen.)
- Stressors from air and water pollution (acid rain or toxic metals) often increase the need for certain nutrients for your horse.
(Horses can be more sensitive to environmental pollution than people and specific nutrients are critical for them to stay healthy.)
- Your horse may need certain nutrients more than others.
(Certain life stages have increased nutritional needs including growing horses, senior horses, pregnant and lactating horses and high performance horses.)
- Medications can drain and deplete the body’s store of essential nutrients.
- Manufacturers of commercial feed often add chemicals to increase production that
are toxic to your horse.
(Anti-caking agents are used to prevent build up so less down time in their processing machines but are made with toxic metals that you eventually feed your horse and don’t even know it.)
- Improper diet and supplementation can result in mineral excesses and deficiencies.
(Too high or too low can be dangerous.)
- It’s unusual to find elevated levels toxic levels of aluminum, cadmium, lead, arsenic and beryllium in areas once considered rural. Most people can accept these dangers in larger metropolitan areas but have a tough time believing their horses can be exposed.
(Fact is pollutants are now being found in the North and South Pole.)
- Physical and emotional stress can suck out certain minerals while acting as a barrier to prevent absorption of necessary nutrients.
- Your horse may even have an inherent predisposition to these imbalances.
(It’s not uncommon to see these imbalances passed from mare to foal.)
These are all important reasons for your horse to use custom supplements.
What kinds of ingredients go into a custom horse supplement and how can a
custom horse supplement help?
Supplements used to balance body chemistry may include multiple-vitamins and mineral products, individual vitamins and minerals, digestive aids, glandular supplements, and specialty supplements (antioxidants, immune builders, herbs, anti-inflammatory, joint supplements)
A custom horse supplement in a Nutritional Balancing program can consist of Multi-vitamins and minerals suited to your horse’s metabolism type and/or life stage:
- Multiple vitamins and mineral supplements provide a small quantity of all the basic nutrients. Often a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement is recommended according to your horse’s metabolic type.
- Additional chelated (organic) minerals and vitamins are recommended to balance specific levels and ratios, alter the mineral balance, as well as to correct deficiencies and help eliminate toxic metals.
- Individual vitamins in extra quantities are given to balance mineral levels and ratios, to enhance energy production and to help eliminate toxic metals.
- One or more digestive aids. Digestive aids are helpful to slow metabolizes. They tend to have low levels of digestive enzymes. Acidophilus, herbs and other supplements for the digestive system may be recommended based on symptoms.
- Glandular suited to the metabolism type or to aid in elimination or other functions. They help in stress recovery. The use of these supplements is based on symptoms.
- One or more specialty supplements maybe recommended based on your horse’s hair analysis or symptoms which do not fit into any of the other categories.
Herbs can provide minerals, vitamins and other compounds to support body function. Some herbs can be taken over a long period of time and others should only be taken when needed. Antioxidants and immune builders support your horse through detoxification and help to strengthen your horse’s own body defenses. Joint and ant-inflammatory supplements to improve joint health and reduce inflammation.
Below is a custom horse supplement sample for our client Deb and her horse Tuffy.
Custom horse supplements are also helpful in balancing the critical mineral ratios and the metabolism rate of your horse. These are the primary steps in correcting your horse’s body chemistry. The 4 important ratios are:
- Sodium/potassium – balancing this ratio improves sugar and carbohydrate metabolism.
- Calcium/potassium – balancing this ratio increases energy.
- Sodium/magnesium – balancing this ratio also increase energy.
- Calcium/magnesium – balancing this improves sugar and carbohydrate tolerance.
What kind of results will my horse have using a custom horse supplement?
Studies show using equine nutritional therapy and custom horse supplements will:
- Increase your horse’s energy and vitality for performance.
- Help your horse gain and maintain weight.
- Improve your horse’s exercise tolerance and recovery times from stress.
- Improve your horse’s immune system to decrease susceptibility to infectious diseases.
- Regulate mood swings and aggressiveness in your horse.
- Reduce inflammatory disorders and lameness; laminitis, Cushing’s, arthritis, and ringbone in your horse.
- Reduce allergies, coughs and nasal discharge in your horse.
- Reduce skin and coat abnormalities in your horse.
- Reduce infertility and breeding problems in your horse.
- Eliminate bloating, diarrhea and colic in your horse.
- Improve your horse’s appetite.
- Stabilize blood sugar patterns.
- Reduce carbohydrate intolerance.
- Safely and effortlessly improves your pregnant mare’s chances for a healthy foal.
- Reduces growth abnormalities in your young horse for a fit, strong, more powerful adolescent.
- Improves and balances hormonal levels.
- Increases stamina and strength.
- Reduces joint pain and inflammation.
Equine nutritional therapy coupled with a custom horse supplement based on your horse’s individual body chemistry and/or life stage will improve your horse’s health, condition and performance in ways that will absolutely amaze you.
So if you’re ready to do something positive for your horse and give custom horse supplements a try click here.
Contact one of our equine nutritionists right now.
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