Feeding the right horse supplements can be crucial in keeping your horse in good health, performing well, and living for as long as possible. Nutrition gaps can sometimes be a fact of life, whether your horse is a performance animal, recreational trail partner, or has earned his way into retirement in the pasture and adding a supplement to fill those “holes” may be warranted.
But even with good intentions, a lot of horse owners make the mistake of incorrectly adding supplements to their horse’s diet. These errors can reduce, even manhandle, the efficacy of supplements. Knowing what to steer clear of will help ensure all the goodness is passed on to your horse.
1. Supplementing Without a Clear Nutritional Need
One of the biggest mistakes is adding horse supplements when it has not been proven that a particular horse requires those supplements. Not every horse needs added vitamins or minerals beyond what is in a balanced diet. Excessive supplementation of certain nutrients can lead to imbalances or toxicity, with fat-soluble vitamins and minerals (e.g., selenium or copper) being particularly hazardous.
Be sure to evaluate your horse’s current level of work and feeding program, age, and health. Before adding any new product to the diet, a visit with an equine nutritionist or veterinarian might be a good first step.
2. Ignoring the Importance of Quality and Formulation
Supplements for horses are not all created equally. Some have empty fillers, inferior ingredients or unbalanced nutrient profiles that give you little return on your investment. When selecting supplements, it’s important to choose high-quality, well-packaged options that have been formulated for specific health areas (joint health, digestion, and immune support).
NZ horse owners have an ever-expanding selection of scientifically proven horse products available to access from reputable sources offering great horse nutrition. Websites like HorsePlay NZ are an example of a service that provides a curated range of tailored products to meet the changing needs of horses, including natural supplements, metabolic enhancers, and performance boosters, offering owners credible sources they can trust to ensure responsible horse management.
3. Mixing Too Many Supplements at Once
Tossing in a handful of different supplements to your horse’s diet without any information on how they interact can result in overlapping nutrients and reduced absorption, or even a downright dangerous combo. If there’s too much calcium, for instance, it can inhibit the absorption of other minerals like magnesium or zinc.
Rather than purchasing several different, individual products, you are more likely to find that a suitable all-round supplement will be the better option for your horse. Be sure to read the label of any supplement before taking it, and include it in your diet plan.
4. Failing to Monitor Changes or Adjust Doses
After introducing a supplement, it’s critical to monitor your horse’s response. If behaviour, performance, or physical condition is not monitored for then continued usage may occur even in the case of an ineffective product (or worse).
The second place where mistakes can be made is with dosing. Using the incorrect scoop, neglecting a horse’s body weight, or not modifying the ose when other feed sources change can all interfere with results. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations at all times and re-evaluate if the supplement is still working for your horse.
5. Overlooking the Role of the Base Diet
Supplements are meant to supplement the diet, not replace it. Even the best horse supplements have limited effect if a base diet is deficient in good-quality forage, clean water, and balanced concentrates.
Before you go pouring tons of supplements into the horse, we need to be sure his basic nutritional needs are covered with a good forage-based feeding system, hydration, and other typical care. Supplements are then promoted to further ‘tweak’ a diet suitable for an individual horse’s needs, whether this be for hoof support, metabolic assistance, or post-exercise recovery.
A Thoughtful Approac to Equine Supplementation
With their proper usage, horse supplements can lead to healthier and better-performing horses throughout all stages of their life. It’s also what not to do that can benefit your horse from potential risks, and offer a better return on your investment by avoiding mistakes like over-supplementation, lack of attention to quality, or overlooking outcomes.
By selecting quality products, being informed, and working with equine professionals (whose job it is to be knowledgeable), horse owners should be making sound choices for the good of their animals. Above all, make sure the focus is on a balanced approach – where supplementation simplifies instead of confusing your horse’s daily nutritional program.
