Vitamin/Mineral Supplements

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ohmt

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Hey everybody!

Because of the poor quality hay this year and also because we only feed oats for grain I have decided to start buying supplements for the horses. I was looking in this catalog that we get and they have so many that I'm not sure what to get. I was wondering if anybody could help me out a bit and maybe tell me what has worked for you and what hasn't? I will put a list of products I was thinking about getting, but any other supplements that you are using that you swear by please let me know! We feed grass hay and oats and that's it so we are in desperate need of it. Especially our babies! I used Equine JR last year but we only had one baby. It's too expensive to use for all 5 of our babies this year. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!! I was also looking at something for our show horses. We are just starting to show and would like to know what you feed your show horses?

Accel (vita flex)-for the show horses?

Included entire B complex, chelated minerals, electrolytes, amino acids, and probiotics.

Horse Sho-Glo (manna pro)- For all of the horses

High potency vitamin and mineral supplement.

Vita-Plus (Farnam)-for all the horses

Says it contains all the important vitamins and nutrients needed for condition and performance w/polyunsaturates for skin and hair. Also has blood building nutrients.

Mare Plus (Farnam)-for broodmares

Rich in vitamins A,D, and E, as well as calcium, phosphorus, and iodine. Specifically for broodmares.

Mare and Foal supplement (Vita-Key)- for mares and foals

For broodmares and foals up to a yearling. Says it has all the nutrients for proper growth in foals through yearling year.

Drive (omoc, inc)- for all the horses including the show horses

10 essential amino acids for proper growth, feed utilization, stamina, and energy. Low calcium to phosphorus ration, digestive enzymes, and levels of selenium.

Maxum Crumbles (horse health)-for all the horses

32 vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and electrolytes. Complete mixture of nutrients lacking or insufficient if a horse's regular diet.

Thank you so much for your time!
 
I don't know many of the brands you listed, but I do know Maxum and it's a very good supplement. We used to use it several years ago until we started feeding a grain that included a supplement.

Hopefully other folks will pop in with some knowledge on some other brands.

MA
 
It just seems to me that if you're trying to add supplements and vitimins into your horses' diet, then you need to know what's missing, right?

What I ended up doing was having my hay analyzed at Dairy One Forage Labs to find out what exactly was in my hay. From there, I worked with an equine nutritionist to see if there was anything "missing" that my horse needed. It really took out a lot of the guess work.
 
Blue Seal Sunshine Plus
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I agree with analyzing your feed. But short of getting your feed analyzed, there are some resources that would be great places to start. Your local vets know much about what is missing from the ground in the area that you live, so ask them what they would recommend. For example, selenium can be an issue where I am at. For this reason we get vitamins that have extra selenium in them and which are formulated for our area. (I LOVE Horse Guard!) Anyway, you can also check with your local feed store and ask them for advice. They often have people that are trained in equine nutrition and will also have a good guess as to what will be best for your area. Remember, what one uses here in the area where I live may not be what your horses need where you are at.
 
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I swear by the Vita Plus by Farnam.That is the greatest stuff i have used.I have used it for about 10 years.I love it.I wish u good luck in the future of choosing what you want to buy.
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By feeding only oats and hay your horses needs have a higher possibility of being shorted in some form or another. Having your hay tested is a good idea but failing that I would go to a complete feed and just feed them some of the hay to alleviate their boredom. I have never been a fan of all of the supplaments available in the tack shops and feed stores. I use a mixed feed in conjunction with the hay which has been tested. I can adjust the feed up or down to provide for their needs.
 
We've started (well, several months ago) using Feed-Rite's PMU mineral (other companies have a similar product; they are pretty much the same, just slightly different levels of each mineral). It's been formulated for horses that are on a diet of grass hay & plain oats. Quite a few mini owners in Manitoba & Saskatchewan use this mineral mix, with good results. This mineral can be fed free choice, or top dressed on the grain.
 
I certainly agree with having your hay analyzed where possible, but for many people who buy hay in small amounts, that is impractical. If your horse's main forage source is pasture, however, your local Agricultural Extension Agency can help you with a pasture analysis that will provide some ideas re: what nutrients your pasture is providing. Because this agency is local to your area, it may have some ideas on supplementation as well.

It is important to supplement a grass/hay/oats diet, for precisely the reasons mentioned -- it's not a bad diet, but there are holes which need to be patched, especially for your growing horses.

From your list, Accel would be at the top.

You might also look at Select II balanced for grass hay (Select I is balanced for alfalfa). This product, as noted, has been designed to be fed where grass and grass hay is the primary forage. It is also a very good product for the money, offering some of the best nutrition at a reasonable price. This product received very high marks on a Horse Journal report on supplements.

Vita-Key (just plain Vita-Key) is another good one (a little harder to find and not on your list).

And Hooflex makes a new supplement that has a very nice ingredient list.

You're also dealing with the feeding of two different classes of horses: 1) young, growing, and 2) mature. Ideally they would benefit most from having individual supplements, i.e. a mare/foal type for your young growing horses and any of the above for your mature horses.

If you'd like to go to a ration balancer (most major manufacturers have one available now), that would meet the needs of both your mature and your younger horses and is designed to be fed with oats. They can also be more cost effective than supplements by the tub.

Become a label reader and compare ingredients. Horses manufacture a lot of their own vitamins when they have access to sunshine and grazing. What is most important is the mineral profile. And, as mentioned above, familiarize yourself with your region's selenium status. If it is high, avoid products that are high in selenium (I think Horseguard now makes one that has reduced selenium).

Robin C
 
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I have used Manna Pro's Sho Glo and liked the results very much. My one gelding, who is a little picky, didn't like it much at first but got used to it. I also like Farnam's Super 14. My horses look great on it!

You could, however, just buy some quality hay from my Dad
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We're not too far away....
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