There are many health supplement products available on the market for the growth of the horse. It is difficult for the horse owner to determine what supplements their horse needs. Each supplement works for a different purpose. Depending upon the horses needs, you will require a different supplement. Some health supplements deliver the nutrients in a lower dose. In this post, you will see the reasons why you need to give supplements to your horse:
Energy and protein
A horse needs to consume more dietary energy or carry out less work if they are too lean. You can add the best supplements to the diet, including vegetable oils, rice bran, pollard, or sunflower seeds. The oil in the supplement product contains three times as many calories as oats, thus helping your horse to gain weight on less grain. Many hard-working horses may suffer from a lack of energy.
The adult horse mainly suffers from protein deficiency. Protein helps the growth of the horse. Some ingredients like Lucerne, clover hays, lupines, peas, and soybeans are rich protein sources. Some health supplements supply proteins, minerals, and vitamins. Before giving the supplements to your horse, they should be assessed to determine the level of proteins, vitamins, and minerals in the daily diet. As the horse owner, you must remember the contribution of legume forages to protein requirements. Feeding your horse with a biscuit of alfalfa hay gives 25% of the daily protein requirement for an average mature horse.
Calcium and phosphorus
These minerals will help your horse increase bone strength. One flake of alfalfa hay supplies half of the calcium to your horse, while grains supply the phosphorus that your horse needs. Many diets of the horse are low in both minerals. The other minerals for the horse will be achieved through the supplements. Some supplements do not contain the required amount of phosphorus. So check the label of the container before buying supplements for the horse. If your horse has digestive issues, you need to purchase a gut horse supplement that promotes a healthy gut.
Electrolytes and iron
The essential electrolytes are chloride, sodium, and potassium needed for your horse. These electrolytes are lost in the horse due to sweat. Often potassium is required in a minimal quantity. A hard-working horse should consume sufficient electrolytes from supplements. It is better to choose the supplement that supplies a significant amount of these three electrolytes. Some supplement products have glucose, vitamins, fillers, and only a tiny amount of solid electrolytes. You need to discard the supplement which lists sugar as its first ingredient.
Sometimes your horse may suffer from a lack of blood because of iron deficiency. To overcome this problem, you need to buy supplements rich in iron. These supplements will promote an increase in the blood level of the horse and thus helps your horse to lead a healthy life.
Other minerals
A hard-working horse needs at least 120 mg copper, 400 mg zinc, 300 mg manganese, 2 mg iodine and selenium per day in their diet. You need to check the above minerals on the label of the supplement container, which provides several benefits to your horse. Many supplements are there that contain adequate mineral fortification, which avoids over-supplementation.
When buying supplements that contain chelated and trace minerals, they are more readily digested and absorbed by your horse than typical trace minerals. For the young horse, you should not feed an overdose of iodine and selenium. This overdose will cause a severe risk to the horse’s health. You can also provide your horse with standalone supplements or in combination with other minerals.
Vitamins
Vitamins are essential nutrients for a horse’s growth. This vitamin can get through the green grass. But sometimes you will not get the grass after the season dries away the grass. At this time, your horse will suffer from a lack of vitamins. Mainly vitamin D is manufactured to withstand the hot sun, but many horses have little access to the sun. The overfed vitamin will be toxic to your horse. At that time, it is better to consume a gut horse supplement which helps clear the issues. So be careful while buying supplements. You can double the supplements with the veterinarian’s opinion.
Final thoughts
For better growth, a horse needs all types of nutrients. If your horse does not get enough nutrients, it is better to move towards supplement products. Hopefully, with the help of the above points, you have learned why you need to give supplements to your horse.
