Best supplements for horses

Best supplements for horses: Change of coat, digestion, immune system: There are many additional feeds on the market that can positively affect the horse. Here you will find an overview of which additional feed can support the horse’s health and wellbeing.

The administration of additional feed is common practice in riding stables. Read here when supplementary feed really makes sense and in which areas you can support your horse with an adapted feeding.

Minerals in concentrated feed

Many concentrate mixes are already vitaminized and mineralized. Often, the horse’s supply with the most important vitamins and minerals is already guaranteed by the normally concentrated feed ration. It looks different when it comes to grazing. In large areas overgrown with many different plants, herbs, and bushes, horses – as nature intended – can largely cover their needs themselves. However, we rarely have such areas.

Horses can normally absorb sufficient energy in the pasture, provided they are not exposed to great stress in sport and breeding. However, to ensure a sufficient supply of all the necessary substances, there are specially prepared mineral feeds specially designed to pasture this additional feeding.

Determine individual needs

The need for additional mineral feed depends on the content of the remaining feed ration. Substantial hay and concentrated feed cover a greater part of the requirement than old or rainy hay, one-sided grasses in the pasture, or pure oat feeding. Also, other factors make the addition of additional feed useful:

• increased power requirement
• Age
• Diseases
• season

Both growing horses and old horses have a higher need, as do sport and breeding horses. Again and again, it is important to adjust the feeding individually to each horse.

Complementary feed for every area

The selection of additional feed for horses is large. However, if a targeted additional feeding of individual substances is a question, this should only be done in consultation with an expert such as the veterinarian. In some cases, an overdose can be just as harmful as an undersupply. So before you reach for the little remedy, talk to your vet, and get competent advice.

Most additional feeds should only be fed to the horse as a cure. The feeding recommendation of the manufacturer should be observed and not exceeded.

Additional food for the musculoskeletal system

A healthy musculoskeletal system is a basis for the horse’s wellbeing. The musculoskeletal system, tendons, skeleton, and ligaments belong to the musculoskeletal system. The following additional feeds can support the musculoskeletal system:

• MSM: organic sulfur compound; supports joints, fur, skin, and horn
• Devil’s Claw: for joint, tendon, and cartilage problems, it also supports digestion
• Willow bark: for joint and metabolic problems and inflammation
• Mussel powder: for tendons, joints, and cartilage
• Biotin: strengthens tendons and joints, promotes hoof growth
• Silica: also supports the musculoskeletal system, skin, and fur
• ginger

Supplementary food for the immune system

Especially in winter and in cold and wet weather, it can be useful to support the horse’s immune system. The following feed additives have a positive effect on the immune system:

• Rose hips as a source of vitamin C.
• Black cumin: strengthens the immune system, supports the respiratory tract, skin, and coat
• Brewer’s yeast: additionally supports metabolism and digestion, improves feed conversion
• Garlic: strengthens the organism, promotes resistance
• Selenium: for the immune system and muscle metabolism
• zinc
• ginger
• Aloe Vera juice
• Hemp oil

Supplementary food for digestion and metabolism

Best supplements for horses

The digestive process in horses is very complicated and sensitive. To support the horse’s digestion and metabolism, you can use the following additional feed (Best supplements for horses):

• linseed oil
• Brewer’s yeast: improves feed conversion
• Flaxseed: a high proportion of mucilage supports the digestive system
• Milk thistle oil/seeds: for liver and metabolism
• Flea seeds: supports the intestinal self-cleaning function
• Nettle: promotes kidney activity, also supports the skin, joints, and blood circulation
• Willow bark: for metabolic problems and inflammation
• Black cumin: also stimulates the immune system, supports skin, coat, and respiratory tract
• Seaweed meal: stimulates the metabolism, supports the body’s own detoxification

Supplementary feed for performance and muscles

Horses, in which particularly much power is demanded, have particularly high-quality food offered. In intensive training phases, adding the following feed can additionally support the horse’s performance and shorten the regeneration time:

• linseed oil
• Rice germ oil
• selenium
• zinc
• Electrolytes

Read Also: Body language of horses: This is what he tells you about stress and pain

Additional food for more nerve strength

Stress and nervousness put a strain on the horse and reduce its willingness to perform. The administration of magnesium calms the nerves and reduces the horse’s stress. In a large-scale study, a team from Charles Stuart University in South Wales (Australia) demonstrated this effect on thoroughbred horses.

Magnesium is also found in flaxseed, wheat bran, and brewer’s yeast.

Additional food for skin and fur

The horse’s skin and coat are an important indicator of its general health. More and more horses suffer from sweet itch, muck, mane and tail rubbing, dandruff, or poor wound healing. The administration of supplementary feed can also help when the coat changes. Have a positive effect on the horse’s skin and coat:

• linseed oil
• MSM
• Black cumin
• linseed
• zinc
• Milk thistle oil
• garlic
• Biotin
• Hemp seeds/hemp oil
• Omega3 oil
• Best supplements for horses

Supplementary food for the respiratory tract

Best supplements for horses

The horse’s airways are divided into upper airways (nose, nostrils, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, and larynx) and lower airways (trachea, lungs, bronchi, and alveoli). Respiratory diseases are among the most common internal diseases. The following additional feeds are suitable to support the airways:

• Black cumin
• Breathing herbs (thyme, ribwort, licorice root, fennel, ribwort, marshmallow, mallow flowers, rosehip, lungwort)

Additional feed for healthy hooves

The horse’s hoof is central to its health. He bears the entire weight of the horse. Healthy hooves usually grow six to eight millimeters per month; the horn is elastic, firm, and not brittle. In the case of dry and brittle hooves, the following supplementary feed can provide positive support:

• MSM
• Biotin

Supplementary feed for mares

The administration of monk’s pepper is suitable to stabilize the mare’s cycle. Monk’s pepper helps regulate the horses again, both in permanent horses and in the absence of horses. During the steeds, the monk’s pepper relieves the mare’s irritability. If the mare is pregnant, the monk’s pepper may not be fed.

Monk’s pepper can also be fed to stallions or later geldings. Here, too, it regulates the hormonal balance.

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