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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
  
Location: Missouri | question/discussion - when you are looking for a daily supplement, what do you look for as far as ingredients or do you just take the word of someone else who uses the product? Me, I used to look at what others used but I have learned a lot about ingredients so I have changed the way I do business?
Just wondering, I know several on here are very knowledgeable and others not so much! (I was one of those not so much!)
edit! this is not a post to sell your product or whose product is better that whose! lol Thanks
Edited by another has been 2016-12-12 3:26 PM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 595
Location: North Dakota | I used to look at ingredients that I knew worked for the end goal I was going for. After several years of using some of the best products with the best ingredients.. I still had a lame horse and my copd mare was still in distress.
I think sometimes we have to open our eyes to other options, not just traditional ingredients. I took a chance on a line of herbal products that I found here on BHW. I looked at the ingredients but had no idea why they would help my horses because it was all new to me but I took the word of the people here and the results they had seen and I took the jump.
So I guess the results people see are very important to me. Ingredients are not always created equal. Even though one product can have more volume of an ingredient doesn't always mean it will be better from what I have found.
Side note: If my horses didn't have specific needs I don't know if I would feed a daily supplement. If my horse had no major health issues just good feed would be all I would do.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 999
Location: Sunny So Cal | I do a little of both. If someone recommends a product I will look into it to see the ingredients also what the company is about. I perfer a company who has science behind the products and I prefer products that are natural and holistic. I also look for certain ingredients in products that I know help with whatever I am looking to address. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | An ingredients list means nothing to me.
Like baking a cake. All cakes have flour, sugar, eggs, etc. The same basic ingredients, but as we all know not all cakes are created equally. Lol! There is an art to it.
Just like I will take recommendations on who bakes THE best cakes, I will put more weight on recommendations for horse products than just what's on the label. |
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Expert
Posts: 2122
Location: The Great Northwest | Most of the time you don't need to add supplements! When you have the hay checked to see how much vitamins and minerals are there, all you may need to add is Omegas and E especially in the winter. Selinium may need to be added too depending where your hay comes from. Protein is good but remember that Alfalfa will provide complete protein. All you need is quality hay. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 364
| skye - 2016-12-12 8:08 PM
Most of the time you don't need to add supplements! When you have the hay checked to see how much vitamins and minerals are there, all you may need to add is Omegas and E especially in the winter. Selinium may need to be added too depending where your hay comes from. Protein is good but remember that Alfalfa will provide complete protein. All you need is quality hay.
This. Test your hay. Don't waste your money on supplements if you don't need them. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| Several recommendations here.
1. Not all supplements work the same for every horse.
2. As far as cost goes, figure it on cost per day, not the cost of the container.
3. Chose a supplement based on your horse's needs. Joint, calming, ulcers etc.
As far as hay goes, remember
1. Quality hay is not always available.
2. Many people buy hay at a feed store who in turn buys it from various suppliers and therefore testing is not feasible.
3. Round bales lose their nutritional content fairly fast if sitting outside.
I grew up on a farm/ranch. My dad had a commercial hay baling operation. We had the best hay of anyone around but still kept loose minerals out for cows and horses. |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | streakysox - 2016-12-12 9:32 PM Several recommendations here. 1. Not all supplements work the same for every horse. 2. As far as cost goes, figure it on cost per day, not the cost of the container. 3. Chose a supplement based on your horse's needs. Joint, calming, ulcers etc. As far as hay goes, remember 1. Quality hay is not always available. 2. Many people buy hay at a feed store who in turn buys it from various suppliers and therefore testing is not feasible. 3. Round bales lose their nutritional content fairly fast if sitting outside. I grew up on a farm/ranch. My dad had a commercial hay baling operation. We had the best hay of anyone around but still kept loose minerals out for cows and horses.
This is some of the best advice I have seen. Testing hay is not always feasable and depending on what kind of field it is out of can make a difference from one bale to the next even though you got it all off the same truck. We have some alfalfa in some of our meadows, and one corner may get more rain so has more vs just 20 feet away. We stack that entire part of the meadow in one hay stack so the nutrients may be night and day different. We keep loose salt & mineral out to all our critters too.
I believe very highly in supplements. I have seen too great of results not to believe in them. But I never hesitate to be honest here either. I have anywhere from 10-20 horses at any time and only a handful are on any supplements. Usually those stuck in the corral on a bale of hay. Or ones I am using hard or keeping in to treat an illness/lameness. So it is true that not all horses need supplements. But horses that are at the top of their game-Triple Crown contenders, NCHA finalists, NFR barrel horses, etc. I bet you'd be surprised at all the extras these horses are on. They are athletes at the highest levels. Even human athletes take a bundle of supplements.
I tried THE years ago because of so many on here. They talked me into trying it on some horses I had with issues. I had used some other things and they just weren't working. When I started to learn about the ingredients, and the importance of organic vs synthetic ingredients, I was really glad I made the switch. Price is also a big deal to me. I'm obviously not going to go with the cheapest, but I will compare and if they cost about the same, I will go with the one that has better ingredients. THE has a delivery system that makes sure the ingredients you are paying for, are absorbed and utilized by the horse. I'm not going to waste my money on a supplement that says it has all these great things in it, just for the horse to pee them out. Human vitamins are very similar, just because it says it has "this and that" on the label, doesn't mean your body is actually absorbing it. |
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feeding supplements