Supplement Your Horses Diet

Just like humans, horses need to supplement their
diet with minerals and vitamins needed for
optimum health and well being. Most of these
will be found naturally in their feed and
forage, but during winter months and poor
nutrient forage they will need supplements to
maintain their mineral balance. The following
are some suggestions as to what your horse might
need

Horses Under Stress

Horses under stress need greater vitamin
supplementation than ones that are simply
grazing and foraging. These include race horses
with demanding training and racing schedules and
horses that are used for work such as trail
rides, hauling, patrol work, and so on.
Sometimes these horses can benefit from
supplementation such as vitamins, minerals, and
electrolytes added to their feed. Some of these
supplements are discussed further below.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is known to be a vitamin associated
with health and vitality. This has been
demonstrated in humans, where it has been seen
to have anti aging effects and to foster a sense
of well being. The same applies to horses and
other animals. Adding vitamin E to feed is a
good way to bolster a horse's vitality and
energy and this supplement is often employed
with race horses and other horses under high
energetic demand. Vitamin E is a fat soluble
anti oxidant. Therefore it should be served with
fatty feeds for optimum effect. The anti oxidant
quality of the compound is very important for
health.

Vitamin C and Beta Carotene

Vitamin C also has an anti oxidant quality and
helps horses in many of the same sorts of ways
that it helps humans. More specifically, it
benefits the insides of cells while vitamin E
benefits the cell membrane. Vitamin C helps
horses to fight off disease, and beta carotene
does as well. Both of these vitamins can be
added to horse feed to bolster their immune
systems.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes can be added to the horse feed in
small amounts when horses face high physical
demand such as sporting events and so forth.
Electrolytes are also used during competitions
and high exertion periods to keep horses from
getting dehydrated. As a horse sweats, which is
necessary for the animal to keep cool during
exertion, he or she loses various salts and this
can lead to exhaustion and dehydration.
Electrolytes are needed for an animal such as a
horse to retain water and thus can be used along
with water to get the horse back into hydrated
condition.

Minerals

Minerals are necessary for horse health as
well. They play a part in the health of the
nerves, skeleton, and muscles. Calcium, sodium,
potassium, phosphorus, chloride, magnesium,
copper, and zinc are some examples of minerals
that horses need and which can be bolstered in
the form of supplements. Balanced Diet and
Exercise

All of the supplements for horses above should
occur in the presence of a balanced horse diet
of the right grain feeds, hays, proteins, water
and so on. Horses also need plenty of exercise
of a vigorous sort (i.e. cantering and
galloping, possibly even jumping) and should be
allowed to wander and graze whenever possible
rather than being kept in pens. The key is to
find a balance of these basic elements and then
supplement them.

If there is any unfamiliarity at all on the
part of the horse owner concerning what to feed
a horse and how to supplement their diet, the
horse owner should talk to an experienced
veterinarian or horse nutrition expert to make
sure the horse is getting the right nutrition.

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This article was resourced from the leading horse
food manufacturer and equine supplement provider
in the United kingdom
http://www.dodsonandhorrell.com

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