As horse owners, we can spend a fortune on vitamin and mineral supplements and are loath to stop any in case that was just the one that was doing some good. Supplements can cost as much, or even more, than the regular feed. But, do horses always need vitamin and mineral supplements?
The horse’s natural diet is forage. Their daily greens are full of vitamins and minerals, the oils they contain are high in essential omega 3 and the fibre, especially in younger plant material, is easily utilised by the amazing gut microbes.
When forage was not available in sufficient amounts to meet the needs of working horses, a concentrated form of energy was needed. Of all the cereal grains, oats were chosen as being “ideal” as they have more fibre and oil than the other grains. Really, we should say that oats are the least bad, rather than the best! Oats are not as easy to grow as other cereal crops and are more expensive, so more horses are now fed wheat, barley and by-products of oil production, for instance, rather than oats.
All cereals lack the vitamins and minerals found in forages. They also lack calcium but have surplus phosphorous. When cereals and other by-products are used as the basic ingredients of a horse’s feed, supplementation is necessary to make up for their deficiencies. If a horse is good doer and does not need recommended amounts of a feed, further supplementation may be needed.
So, if we go back to the beginning again, the forage fed horse shouldn't require supplementation. Modern drying methods ensure that spring and summer growth can be dried quickly, preserving the nutrition for the winter when it is needed. The only exception being salt, which should always be available. Leaving a Salt Lick Tub in the field or stable is an easy way to allow horses to self-regulate their intake. You can also add Summer Salt to a bucket of water, but do ensure that plain, unsalted water is always available alongside.
The best option if you suspect your horse has a deficiency is to have it diagnosed by your vet and act accordingly. It could save a lot of money spent needlessly on supplements.
A quick recap on vitamins: Green food is a wonderful source of Vitamin E and beta carotene, which the horse can convert into Vitamin A; B group vitamins and Vitamin K are made by the gut microbes; horses make their own Vitamin C in their liver; Vitamin D is made by the horse in sunlight and is in hay.
The levels of essential omega 3 can decline in even the best made hay, so there can be a case for supplementing with a good source of this important nutrient (Instant Linseed). Shallow rooting grasses may not be able to access sufficient minerals, in which case, topping up with a good quality seaweed (Pure Ocean Seaweed), nature’s own mineral supplement, can bridge this gap. Adding stabilised yeast (Traditional Brewers Yeast) can help support the gut microbes as well as being a good source of nutrition. For a top-up of all of these, consider adding Total Eclipse to the diet.
These are all natural sources of “supplementation” which are easily digested and well assimilated. It is also beneficial to consider adding deep-rooting legumes to the diet, such as lucerne or sainfoin. These forages provide variety, have their own unique benefits for horses, (lucerne with it's acid buffering calcium and sainfoin with it's condensed tannins, which can aid the digestion of protein) and, they take up more nutrients from the soil than shallower rooting plants, such as grass.
As previously mentioned, do contact your vet in the first instance if you suspect a vitamin or mineral deficiency. Often the vet will undertake bloodwork investigations to aid diagnosis. It may also be necessary to conduct a mineral analysis on what they eat the most of i.e their hay or grazing, as this will be the main source of intake and so will have the greatest effect on deficiencies.
For dietary recommendations, Simple System's Feed Line can be reached by phone on 01278 604 008, by email to info@simplesystem.co.uk. Alternatively, you can request a free Feed Plan by completing the online form here.