Supplements, balancers and compound feeds
Supplements
A supplement is normally fed to horses that need a source of vitamins and minerals, but are obtaining sufficient energy from their forage and maintaining their weight, so do not need additional calories. Supplements exist in a wider variety of forms than regular feeds – from powders, liquids, small pellets and herbal blends to pastes.
Feeding is becoming more and more complex as each generation of supplement is brought out so it is important to read the labels and consult Veterinary Surgeon or a qualified nutritionist if you are unsure of which supplement to feed, or if you need one at all.
Supplement versus additive
A supplement forms part of the nutritional content of the feed and helps to balance it according to the horse’s needs.
An additive is added to an already balanced diet and may not even be a nutrient. In fact, an additive may unbalance the diet. An example of this is wormers.
There are two forms of supplement available: broad spectrum and specific.
Broad spectrum supplements contain a range of vitamin and minerals to support the horse’s general health and wellbeing. Specific supplements may contain only one nutrient, or a select few and are suitable for treating specific conditions. Examples of these are hoof supplements and electrolytes. Customers should be advised to take care when feeding these specific supplements as due to the concentrated amounts of specific nutrients it could be easy to overdose. Supplements can do more harm than good if fed incorrectly and should be used to balance a diet or treat a specific need, for instance the competition horse requiring increased energy, or the veteran requiring joint relief.
Herbs
Herbs have been added to feeds for centuries and although there is little scientific evidence to back up their effectiveness this does not mean they are ineffective. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence for the benefits of herbs but as with all supplements, you need to use them wisely. In the wild, on natural grasslands, horses would selectively graze a variety of herbs and grasses, but with increasingly managed grazing the horse is unable to do this so supplementation may be beneficial.
Some common herbs and their uses:
Arnica – has mild anti-inflammatory properties, used for joint stiffness and swelling.
Burdock – used for skin irritations, respiratory disorders, rheumatism and blood disorders.
Chamomile – mildly sedative, helps to relieve pain.
Comfrey – used to treat bone and soft tissue injuries.
Dandelion – a diuretic.
Garlic – natural antibiotic and antiseptic, also has insect repelling properties.
Linseed – soothes inflamed intestines and airways, also improves coat condition.
Nettle – helps with poor condition, boosts appetite and relieves heart and lung disorders.
Valeria – a sedative.
Balancers
A feed balancer is fed to horses that can maintain weight from their forage but might be deficient in protein as well as some vitamins and minerals. These are generally associated with conditioning, top line and show ring shine.
Blue Chip Original is one of the well-known brands, but TopSpec is also popular and many other manufacturers are making their own brands of feed balancer. Blue Chip Original contains a mixture of supplements, as well as probiotics, vitamins, minerals and oil.
TopSpec Feed Balancer contains a comprehensive range of micronutrients as well as a number of supplementary benefits, probiotics and yeasts.
If you decide a feed balancer is required you should not feed further supplements. The balancers should contain all of the required nutrients for the average horse, but if circumstances are unusual, for instance if the horses suffers from a very specific condition requiring supplementation, then nutritional advice should be sought. Feeding supplements as well as a balancer is not only unnecessarily costly but is also potentially harmful.
Compound feeds
A feed is given to horses that cannot obtain sufficient nutrients from grass alone. This is usually because they have a high work rate, a poor body condition or a specific nutritional requirement. Horses in their natural state can thrive on grass alone, but most horses are in regular work, compete or are on poor quality grazing, so for many a concentrate feed is required. For many horses, compound feeds provide a suitable, balanced diet, so why may they need supplementing? The answer is generally they don’t. Reputable compound feeds should be balanced, whether in mix or pellet form. Some people still feed straights, which is an art in itself, and these may well require supplementation. Horses on compound feeds may require supplementation for specific problems, for instance probiotics for digestion but again professional advice should be sought.
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