No matter what activities you like to do with your horse, you need to be sure your four-legged friend is always in peak health. According to equine nutritionists, this means you need to feed your horse a balanced diet of the right foods to ensure proper nutrition and overall horse health.
However, just like with people, diet doesn’t always fill in all the nutritional gaps required for top performance. Fortunately, we have a solution in the form of nutrient, vitamin, and mineral supplements, which can help fill in all the missing pieces of your horse’s diet.
This buying guide is meant to introduce you to the best horse supplements on the market, and to help you understand which products might be right for your horse. Read on to learn more!
The Best Horse Supplements and Their Uses
In general, dietary supplements are designed to fill in gaps in our diets or to produce some specific beneficial effect. A horse supplement does the same thing. Dietary gaps include vitamin and mineral deficiencies or inadequate amounts of certain proteins.
In terms of benefits, we might want to improve our horse’s joint health or coat quality. In that case, we would provide our horse with supplemental glucosamine (for joints) or Vitamin E (for the coat, mane, and tail). In this case, we are not filling in a deficiency but instead seeking a specific benefit through diet supplementation.
In all cases, we have to be sure we are giving the right amount of supplements to have healthy horses, but not so much that there could be adverse effects. Pay close attention to serving details to get the best results for your horse.
1. Farnam Horsehoer’s Secret Extra Strength Connective Tissue and Hoof Supplement for Horses
In those cases, it might be helpful to add the Secret Extra Strength Tissue and Hoof Supplement into your horse’s diet. This supplement includes 25 mg of biotin per serving, which helps ensure your horse’s hooves stay tough, flexible, and moisturized. When hooves dry out, they’re prone to cracking.
Another thing to consider when finding the best horse supplements is your horse’s genetic predisposition to hoof injuries. Not all horses are created equally in this regard. Some horses (just like some people) or more prone to injure certain parts of their body. For a horse with injury-prone hooves, you want to do everything you can to reduce the likelihood of cracks or breaks. One way to do that is with this supplement.
In the unfortunate situation that your horse’s hoof does break, this supplement is designed to support hoof growth and repair.
This supplement also supports healthy tendons and ligaments, which are also prone to damage on some horses, depending on genetic factors and work load. Supplementing biotin, methionine, and lysine helps limit the possibility of serious injury.
Serving Directions:
- Feed 4 ounces (2 scoops) daily for 6 to 8 months, then 2 ounces (1 scoop) daily for maintenance
Specifications:
- Primary Use: Hoof and tendon support
- Product Weight: 7.5 pound-bucket
- Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 9.6 inches
Pros
- Can help strengthen hooves, ligaments, and tendons
- Helps repair cracked hooves and supports hoof hardness
- Improves hoof moisture for optimal health
- Tasty nuggets are easy to eat
- Designed by expert Ph.D. nutritionists
Cons
- Some users report terrible smell
- Some users claim taste is so bad horse will not eat it
2. Custom Collagen Equine Support
The key ingredients that support these benefits are biotin (mentioned above) and collagen, which is a protein made by almost all mammals to give our skin, tendons, bones, nails, hair, and joints mobility and elasticity.
As mammals age, collagen production decreases, which is why we get wrinkles in our skin and why we become more prone to bone and tendon injuries.
If you have a horse that’s getting up there in years, there’s a good chance that its collagen production is not what it once was. You can help to turn back the clock a little bit by supplementing their diet with collagen to help make up for the deficiency. As a result, your horse will have healthier hooves, tail, mane, and coat.
A great feature of this product is that it’s made from 100% pure biotin and gelatin (the source of collagen). There are no fillers or grains included in the formula.
Serving Directions:
- Sprinkle 1 ounce (per 1000 pounds of body weight) on your horse’s food each day
- Example: If your horse weighs 900 pounds, feed 0.9 ounces per day
- Example: If your horse weighs 1700 pounds, feed 1.7 ounces per day
Specifications:
- Primary Use: Repair joints, restore brittle bones, and supports shiny coats
- Product Weight: 20-pound bucket
- Dimensions: 16.0 x 11.4 x 16.1 inches
Pros
- Strengthen hooves and joints
- Adds shine to horse’s coat
- Restores brittle bones
- All-natural and grain-free
- 100% pure gelatin
Cons
- Some customers complain that the bucket is too difficult to open
- Should include bucket opening tool
3. Formula 707 Calming Equine Supplement
However, some horses are the opposite. They are anxious and prone to nervousness and excitability. Sometimes they’re so anxious they can’t do their training or whatever work might need to be done.
If your performance horse has a tendency to get nervous, you might want to consider adding the Formula 707 Calming Equine Supplement to your horse’s diet.
Don’t worry, these aren’t drugs for your horse. This supplement uses three all-natural components to help your anxious four-legged buddy to chill out.
The first component is L-Tryptophan, which boosts serotonin and reduces anxiety. The second element is Thiamine (B1), which helps balance out metabolic and nutritional gaps. The third element is magnesium, which is known to elicit calm and muscle relaxation (which is why people often take baths with Epsom salts).
This product is made by the John Ewing company, which has a long track record of creating high-quality and highly effective nutritional supplements for horses. The brand is trusted by horse owners around the world.
Specifications:
- Primary Use: Calm down anxious and excited horses
- Product Weight: 5-pound bucket
- Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.9 x 8.2 inches
Pros
- Helps a nervous horse relax
- Improves concentration for work or training
- Supports balanced nervous system function
- Improves metabolic and nutritional deficiencies
- Formulated by the John Ewing Company, in business since 1946
Cons
- Some customers report no effect, or that it stopped working after a few days
- Some customers report that picky eaters refused the supplement due to the taste
4. Kentucky Performance Products Elevate Maintenance Powder
This product is also helpful for work or sport horses that have higher stress levels. If your horse has a high work or training load, he will likely have stress levels that are higher than a horse that is ridden recreationally or just kept as a pet.
Stressed horses require a greater amount of vitamin E for optimal health.
This Kentucky Performance product is 100% vitamin E, which means there are no other supplements or fillers included in the formula. This is useful because it allows you to mix in just the right daily dose of supplement into your horse’s feed.
Other supplements often include a blend of vitamins and minerals, but you may not be satisfied with the ratios. In this case, you can adjust the ratio to meet your horse’s exact needs based on your judgment, as well as the recommendations of your vet.
Specifications:
- Primary Use: Healthy muscles, nerves, and immune system
- Weight: 10-pound bucket
- Dimensions: 10.5 x 10 x 9.5 inches
Pros
- Helps maintain healthy nerve function
- Supports strong immune system
- High levels of Vitamin E helps reduce oxidative stress
- Single ingredient, so easy to blend with other supplements
- Suitable for hard-working horses of all ages
Cons
- High price
5. Flex+Max Joint Health Supplement Pellets
The final best horse supplements option on our list, this all-in-one product by Flex+Max is a powerful blend of these nutrients, all packed into a tasty, alfalfa-flavored pellet your horse will love. Remember, this is an important factor in supplementation. If the taste is so bad that you can’t get your horse to eat it, the supplement is useless.
This supplement also includes flaxseed, which is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids support overall health and performance along with joint health, especially if you have a senior horse.
Another great feature of this product is the type of chondroitin used. Some joint supplements will use a type of chondroitin with a large molecular weight, which means it’s difficult for your horse’s body to absorb.
With this product, the chondroitin molecule is five times smaller, leading to greater bioavailability. This means more nutrients get absorbed into your horse rather than passing straight through.
Serving Directions:
- Fill scoop to ½ cup line (scoop included) and administer once daily
Specifications:
- Primary Use: Joint health and mobility
- Weight: 10-pound bucket
- Dimensions: 11.5 x 12.1 x 7.5 inches
Pros
- Helps improve overall joint health
- Highly concentrated formula for extra effectiveness
- Horses love the taste
- Includes proven ingredients such as glucosamine, MSM, and chondroitin
- Special chondroitin type improves bioavailability
Cons
- Some customers stated the price was too high
Best Horse Supplements: Considerations Before Buying
While all the products listed here are safe for any horse, we still felt we should add a list of some things to double-check before giving your horse a new supplement product.
1. Consult a Vet
You know your horse better than anyone, that’s for sure, but it’s always important to get a consultation with a vet before trying to diagnose or treat any condition related to your horse. There may be some underlying factor you’re unaware of that’s causing the problem. Remember, supplements are supplementary, they can’t repair a serious medical condition.
2. Characteristics of Your Horse
Which supplement you give your horse will depend on many factors. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to supplements. You need to consider your horse’s age, breed, and class, among other factors.
In some cases, adult horses can have very different dietary and supplementary needs than adolescent horses.
However, the supplements we list here are generally for all-purpose use, but just keep this in mind as you continue shopping and consider other brands and products.
3. Amount Per Serving
On this list, most products are available in several sizes. Keep this in mind as you compare the products on this list or other products elsewhere. Make sure you’re comparing prices per serving, rather than the overall product price.
Also, be sure you’re comparing quality ingredients. Sometimes, products are cheaper because they use inferior ingredients to cut costs. Make sure you check the list of ingredients prior to purchase.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a number of brands and products on the market that are well-suited to help optimize your horse’s health. Carefully consider the dietary needs of your horse before making any purchases.
We hope you have found this guide helpful, and that it has introduced you to the market for the best horse supplements. This should help get you started as you figure out what’s best for your horse.