Why Supplement?
An Explanation of Why and How to Choose Feed Supplements
DR PETER HUNTINGTON
Horses need supplements to make up nutrients required for performance, breeding or growth that are not supplied in the basic feeds that go into the feed bin. As the basic feeding programs vary considerably, a diet analysis is required before you can determine accurately what extra nutrients are needed, and how to supply them. Blood tests offer very little guidance as to the need for supplementation with particular nutrients as there are too many factors that influence results, so a ration evaluation is required to accurately assess the need for supplementation. Use of the Kentucky Equine Research computer program Microsteed allows a ration to be evaluated so the need for supplementation can be determined and the impact of various products assessed.
There are many feed supplements on the market and it is difficult for the horse owner or trainer to determine what they need and how to supply it. Unfortunately some products supply only small amounts of nutrients a horse needs, whilst others supply heaps of something they already have in abundance. This article will serve as a guide to supplement selection, but is no substitute for a full ration evaluation.
ENERGY & PROTEIN
If a horse is too thin it needs more energy in its diet or less work. The best energy supplement is fat and you can add fat to the diet in the form of oil, sunflower seeds or rice pollard. Oil contains 3 times as many calories as oats so you can get the condition on without a feed bin full of grain. Many hard working horses are underfed energy and performance suffers accordingly.
Protein deficiencies are unlikely in racehorses as protein is needed for growth and most racehorses have stopped growing. If a horse is meeting his energy needs that usually means they will meet protein needs as well. Lucerne or clover hay is a great source of protein as are lupins, peas and beans. In a protein deficiency you can use one of these feeds or soybean meal which has the best amino acid balance. Some supplements supply protein and amino acids as well as minerals and vitamins but you need to assess the intake level as well as the protein %. A biscuit of lucerne supplies over 25% of a racehorse's protein needs
CALCIUM & PHOSPHORUS
Bone strength is dependent upon the right intakes and balance of these 2 minerals. A diet analysis will tell the story and if you just need calcium add lucerne or limestone, but many diets need both minerals and it's safest to choose a supplement containing both calcium and phosphorus. Many mineral supplements don't contain meaningful amounts of phosphorus so check the label carefully.
ELECTROLYTES
The key electrolytes are those lost in greatest quantities in sweat - chloride, sodium and potassium.
If you feed enough hay and chaff you'll go a long way to meeting potassium needs, but many trainers don't. All horses should have access to a salt block for free choice salt replacement, but unfortunately you can't rely on a salt block in a hard working horse and need to add electrolytes. Choose the product, which supplies a significant quantity of these 3 electrolytes and make sure you match intake with sweat loss. Many products are full of glucose, vitamins and fillers and supply only small amounts of the working horse's needs. Read the label before you buy!
IRON
Unless a horse has lost a lot of blood it will not be lacking iron - poor blood counts are due to other factors so don't waste a lot of time and money on iron supplements. Excess iron can interfere with other minerals and vitamins and will do more harm than good.
OTHER TRACE MINERALS - COPPER, ZINC, MANGANESE, IODINE, SELENIUM
Deficiencies of these nutrients are far more likely than iron as many feeds contain low levels of copper, zinc compared to the needs of the horse and many areas are deficient in selenium particularly coastal regions. A supplement for a hard working or growing horse should contain at least 120 mg copper, 400 mg zinc, 300 mg manganese and 2 mg of iodine and selenium. Sometimes the label lists amount per kg so you will need to calculate what each dose contains. Other times several supplements are added that contain these trace minerals and that contributes to an oversupply or supplements are added on top of a premixed feed that already contains enough minerals. Chelated minerals are a form of trace mineral that is more readily available to the horse and several products contain this form of trace mineral. Remember selenium and iodine toxicity can occur - avoid levels above 20 mg selenium and 50 mg iodine per day in adult horses. The major risk is excessive supplementation with seaweed meal, which contains very, very high levels of iodine
CHROMIUM
This is a new trace mineral that is of interest to racehorse and performance horse trainers. It can be accessed as a standalone supplement or in combination products. It’s usually better value to buy it in a combination product eg NRM Performa.
VITAMINS A, D AND E
Vitamin A is present in green forage, but is rapidly lost as hay and chaff age so a supplement is usually required. Vitamin D comes from the sun, but many horses have little access to the sun so some extra D in the diet is beneficial. You need about 40000 - 50000 IU per day of Vitamin A and 4000 - 5000 of Vitamin D, but both these Vitamins can be toxic so be careful if you double up on supplements or premixed feeds containing these vitamins.
Vitamin E is a major supplement need and the hard working horse needs around 1000 IU per day. Most stand-alone vitamin E products recommend this amount, but general vitamin supplements have variable amounts ranging from none to 1000 IU per dose. Vitamin E is an important and expensive vitamin so pay some attention to the Vitamin E content of a product. Vitamin E and selenium are major antioxidants and often come as combination products eg NRM Equi Jewel.
B VITAMINS
Hard working and stressed horses need extra B Vitamins for energy metabolism, production of red blood cells and maintenance of appetites. The major B Vitamins of interest are thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), B12 and folic acid. The B Vitamin needs of the hard working horse are less well defined than for other nutrients, but again some products contain adequate amounts whilst in others it is merely window dressing!
SOLVING PROBLEMS eg POOR HOOVES
Some products are aimed at prevention or treatment of certain problems and these products need to contain the correct nutrients given at the right rate. For example, in supplements aimed at hoof growth or strength the product must supply at least 15 mg biotin for a 450 kg horse, but some don't. Combination products of biotin, zinc and methionine eg BIO-BLOOM work better than products containing just biotin, but the most important thing is to feed the supplement for long enough. You need to allow the horse 6 - 9 months to grow a new stronger hoof.
POWDER, PELLET, LIQUID OR FEED?
You can add supplementary minerals and vitamins in various forms and getting the horse to eat the supplement is critical - you can be feeding the best supplement in the world but it's no good on the bottom of the feed bin or blowing away in the wind. For that reason, pelleted supplements can be useful as if the horse eats the pellet you know it's got the supplement. Liquids are often expensive but if they are a low enough dose they can be given directly into the horse's mouth by syringe. Some powders will mix up in water so they can be put in a drench or syringed into a horse's mouth. Most powders have no palatability problems, whilst others are sometimes rejected by the horse.
Use of a concentrate feed eg NRM Equine Balancer which contains energy and protein from grains with vitamins and minerals from a premix is a very effective way of ensuring your horse gets a simple, economical and balanced diet. With these feeds, like all supplements you need to feed the recommended amount to get the benefit of the added minerals and vitamins. The same situation applies to premixed feeds e.g NRM Coolade and NRM Sweetfeed, which are properly formulated and if fed at the right rate should supply all supplement needs except electrolytes in summer.
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