Horse Supplements or Horse Sense?
Anyone who owns, rides, or cares for equines should have a basic understanding of horse supplements. These supplements can benefit the health and physical appearance of any horse when used wisely.
Horse supplements include a variety of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients that can be added to the animal’s regular diet.
These supplemental agents are specifically designed to boost the health and vitality of a horse in much the same way that certain nutritional substances can benefit humans.
Horses can be subjected to a variety of stressors. This stress can affect their immune systems and physical condition. Instead of maintaining peak performance levels the horse can become weak and this will leave the animal susceptible to a number of illnesses and diseases.
The stress of long rides, show-ring performances or travel are just a few reasons that some horses are being depleted of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. This makes them very vulnerable to a variety of physical and emotional upsets. Horse supplements are one way that a responsible owner can ensure their animal is receiving the healthy diet that they need and deserve.
The judicious use of horse supplements can reverse, slow or prevent the development of many equine health problems. For horses that are already suffering from some type of health issue the proper use of horse supplements can mean a speedy recovery.
Unfortunately most of the deficiencies that affect equines are not very obvious, especially in the early stages. It is important to realize that the use of some simple supplements may be all that is needed to resolve these types of problems.
Horse supplements can be added to the diet if the animal is suffering from health issues that involve the joints, bones, hooves or muscles.
There are even some dietary horse supplements that are designed to improve the animal’s level of performance, behavior and physical appearance.
If you have a horse that frequently suffers from digestive upsets such as gas and colic then a yeast supplement is generally recommended. Improving the level of ‘good’ bacteria in the animal’s GI tract can help them process the roughage and fiber in their regular diet. A properly functioning digestive system will reduce or eliminate problems such as bloating and colic.
Understanding horse supplements and how they work will enable you to quickly provide viable solutions to a variety of common health issues that affect equines of all ages.
For instance biotin is a nutritional supplement that produces stronger connective tissue. Feeding a horse a biotin enriched diet will promote stronger hooves, a glossy coat and healthy skin.
Essential vitamins, nutrients and minerals are recommended for any horse that needs to have their overall diet improved. The addition of these important nutrition sources can be of great benefit for any horse, but they are especially useful if the animal has a poor quality diet, an illness or a vitamin deficiency.
Metabolic problems, injuries to soft tissues and sensory problems are just a few of the health concerns that can be addressed with the proper dosage of high quality horse supplements. The amount and type of supplements that are needed will depend upon the conditions that are being addressed.
Vitamins include anti-oxidant compounds, bone strengthening nutrients and other essential building blocks that are required for optimal equine health. Among the vitamins most often included in quality horse supplements are Vitamins A, D and E.
Many horses are able to obtain Vitamin A if they are fed green forage and healthy hay. Since this vitamin is not water soluble it can be stored for future use. A lack of hay and fresh forage is the usual cause of Vitamin A deficiency for horses. This dietary deficiency can be easily corrected with supplements.
Supplemental feeds or dietary supplements such as roughage, grains, cereal and oils can provide the animal with the necessary amount of Vitamin E. This vitamin is necessary for a strong circulatory system and healthy skin.
Horses can obtain much of their required Vitamin D from hay that has been cured outside underneath the UV rays of the sun. Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and joints and is also available in horse supplements that contain cod liver oil.
Octacosanol is a horse supplement that is found in alfalfa, wheat germ and natural food oils. This supplement is being used for horses when additional energy, vigor, endurance and strength are desired.
In order to improve the overall performance, energy and health of a horse many owners have begun to discover the potential benefit of adding horse supplements to the animal’s regimen. MSM is being suggested as a compound that can alleviate joint and muscle discomfort. This dietary compound has also proven useful at triggering healthy growth of new hoof tissue.
Understanding horse supplements and how to use them properly could help you improve the health and comfort of your own animal. The key point to remember is that you should use these dietary supplements only as recommended.