Supplement for Overweight Horse?

[TransitionsGalore]

Does anyone know what would be a good supplement for an overweight horse?

We've done the basics like cutting back feed & increasing exercise, etc.

She's currently getting MSM & Grand Complete in her grain...was thinking maybe there was a better supplement out there...?

Thanks!

[Equibrit]

Why exactly would you want to be supplementing an overweight horse?

[TransitionsGalore]

I see your point, but her owner wants her on a supplement for her joints and hooves specifically. She's not obese, just has a few extra pounds, so she's getting little grain at the moment..

I'm wondering if there is a supplement out there that's sort of multi-use that's made for horses who are overweight or seniors, etc. Or a supplement that someone knows of that doesn't contain "extra" things like rice bran, sugars, etc. Just looking to get a few suggestions.

Sort of a "does this exist" question more than a "what should I do" question...

Thanks.

[dalpal]

You can really cut down on a horse's grain with a product like Linpro...another great supplement for an overweight horse is Quessience.

Both are made by Foxden Equine...you can research them on their site.

[JB]

We've done the basics like cutting back feed & increasing exercise, etc.
And is that working?

She's currently getting MSM & Grand Complete in her grain...was thinking maybe there was a better supplement out there...?

Thanks!
Better for what? Just joints and feet that you mentioned? What "grain" is she getting? If she's overweight, she doesn't need ANY grain, but then again, some people define 1c of alfalfa pellets as "grain" generically ;)

Are there issues you are treating (ie arthritis) or are you in prevention mode? Big difference in what you might use. *I* would use MSM or Cosequin as "prevention" for arthritis issues. I would use a vit/min supplement with added lysine for the nutritional aspect of the diet (and I do use that - Dynamite). I'd use a cup of a-pellets or beet pulp as a mixer. That's it.

[Equibrit]

You may find this http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/liteingredients.php a viable alternative. It has Biotin for her hooves and with MSM should have it covered. It also has probiotics which would ensure that she makes the most of what little you may feed her. Southern States dealers carry it.

[PNWjumper]

I would have a vet do a workup on the horse first to determine why she's overweight.

But having said that, I picked up a pony who had a thyroid issue when I first got him and so I supplemented his [handful of] rolled oats with Thyro-L and Quiessence (which is basically a magnesium supplement--great for many overweight horses). That worked for about a week before he decided that he wouldn't eat the Quiessence pellets and so I ended up having Horsetech make me custom Glanzen Lite with the same amount of magnesium as the Quiessence has in it. After about a year I weaned him off of Thyro-L and now he just gets the Glanzen with the higher-than-normal amount of Magnesium.

But again, I would rely on a vet and bloodwork to tell you what's going on with the horse before trying to decide what to add (or subtract) from the diet.

[avezan]

The horses that I have switched to a ration balancer in place of "grain", all did phenomenally well in terms of coat and hoof condition. The problem with overweight horses is that they often don't end up getting all the vitamins, minearals and amino acids they need on their limited diet. The ration balancer provides the needed nutrition in a small amount of grain with very low calories. Then if you need to add a joint supplement to that, you can. Or LinPro is great, as already mentioned.

[Summerwood]

I agree with the above post...I have a very overweight welsh pony who actually had fat rolls and dimply cellulite looking stuff on her. I called Buckeye and they told me to give her 1/2 lb of Grow N Win (ration balancer) twice a day. She was nursing at the time so she still needed to get the right amount of vitamins. She did very well on it. Obviously, nursing the foal helped too.:winkgrin:
Call your feed dealer/manufacterer-they may be able to suggest something for you.

[deltawave]

Her joints will be much better off if she isn't overweight. :) It is astounding how people can be surprised about joint problems if they or their horses are overweight. Ideal "prevention" is being slim and lean and fit. Off soapbox. ;)

IMO all hoof and joint supplements are pretty much variations on the same thing, so I'd say whichever one suits the owner is fine.

But if I were her owner I'd try to figure out if the diet is meeting all her needs (get the hay analyzed and do the math, it's so simple) and make any additions or subtractions based on that. She may not need any grain at all, maybe just a multivitamin/mineral/amino acid supplement to balance what the hay/forage is lacking.

[carrievalentino]

When I got my horse a year ago he was not just over weight he was in danger - this was cause for drastic measures.

We reduced his feed to the minimum and slowly increased exercise (obvious). But the vet told me that the danger with easy keepers is overtime they "cease to thrive" from a chronic lack of nutrients.
So he eats Purina Equalizer instead of grain - makes him think he is eating with the others but it is actually a supplement in pellet form with minimal calories.

Every feed company offers a similar product, I chose this one because it is convenient to me.
Now my horse is a healthy weight but I continue with the same feed and just allow him to have free access to grass hay.
Cost for 1800lb horse is $25/month for Equalizer.

[Estelle]

If your horse is an air fern and has the cresty neck try Remmission, the stuff is awesome, I used to use Quessience, but found the Remission works better and costs less.

Does anyone know what would be a good supplement for an overweight horse?

We've done the basics like cutting back feed & increasing exercise, etc.

She's currently getting MSM & Grand Complete in her grain...was thinking maybe there was a better supplement out there...?

Thanks!

[JenRose]

I also like Remission.

I 100% agree with Avezan's ration balancer post.

I would go with Adequan for joints. My sound & healthy 15 year old get a monthly injection of Adequan as a preventative (per our vet's recommendation).

[fourmares]

If you can get LMF Feeds where you are they make a feed called Super Sup. just for fat horses. They have formulas for horses fed grass hay, and for horses fed alfalfa.

[murphyluv]

I would rule out Insulin Resistance. I seem to recall something about glucosamine not being good for those horses, but someone here may have found research to prove or disprove that.

[Cindyg]

I picked up a pony who had a thyroid issue when I first got him and so I supplemented his [handful of] rolled oats with Thyro-L and Quiessence (which is basically a magnesium supplement--great for many overweight horses). That worked for about a week before he decided that he wouldn't eat the Quiessence pellets and so I ended up having Horsetech make me custom Glanzen Lite with the same amount of magnesium as the Quiessence has in it. After about a year I weaned him off of Thyro-L and now he just gets the Glanzen with the higher-than-normal amount of Magnesium.

Yes, magnesium is often recommended for easy keepers.

My horse is on a product called Red Cal High Mag. My farrier swears by this stuff for hooves, for insulin-resistance, and for whatever ails you. I'm not personally saying it's the greatest stuff on earth; just saying my farrier thinks so. ;)

[Thomas_1]

I see your point, but her owner wants her on a supplement for her joints and hooves specifically. She's not obese, just has a few extra pounds, Best thing to reduce stress on joints and hooves is to get the weight off her rather than giving her supplements.

so she's getting little grain at the moment.. She shouldn't be getting any grain if she's carryng extra pounds.

I'm wondering if there is a supplement out there that's sort of multi-use that's made for horses who are overweight or seniors, etc. Erm why?????? oh why????

Sort of a "does this exist" question more than a "what should I do" question... A horse that's carrying weight needs to reduce it's food intake and increase it's exercise if its sound enough to make that bit possible.

You shouldn't feed vitamin or mineral supplements unless you know the diet is in some way deficient and the horse's condition and/or health is suffering as a result.

[JB]

You shouldn't feed vitamin or mineral supplements unless you know the diet is in some way deficient and the horse's condition and/or health is suffering as a result.
As I believe we have discussed before, it seems that your land over there is better than ours, in general. Over-farming, and under- and poorly fertilized fields means most of our grasses and hays are not sufficiently populated with enough of many nutrients. It's RARELY a bad idea to add a vitamin/mineral supplement for a horse who's not getting the minimum recommended amounts of a fortified grain product.

Besides, a horse doesn't have to visibly appear to be suffering a deficiency for him to have a chronic, long-term mild deficiency that rears its ugly head years down the road.

[Thomas_1]

We've a piddling small island that's been farmed for centuries. However the appropriate word is "farmed". That means that the land has appropriate nutrients put on to it and the hay is tested and ONLY if it's deficient would you supplement the animal that's eating the deficient hay.

What you don't do is supplement by guess work. Its NEVER a good idea to add a vitamin/mineral supplement to a horse's diet without knowing what it's actually getting in it's food already.

So it's dead simple. If you have your own land get soil analysis done and put nutrients and fertilizer on the fields to counteract any deficiency. Or else have the hay tested and if it's deficient, supplement then.

What you don't do is go providing food supplements to a fat horse!

[JB]

We've a piddling small island that's been farmed for centuries. However the appropriate word is "farmed". That means that the land has appropriate nutrients put on to it
And as I said, that is not often the case here. So many farmers just add the standard NPK type fertilizers. Well, last I looked, there was MUCH more to growing nutrient-dense plants than N, P, and K.

So it's dead simple.
In theory, yes.

If you have your own land
Which is not the case for the VAST majority of horse owners

get soil analysis done and put nutrients and fertilizer on the fields to counteract any deficiency.
Where do you propose getting magnesium to put back into my pasture? What about selenium?

Or else have the hay tested and if it's deficient, supplement then.

Of the vast majority of horse owners who don't have their own land, MANY of those get hay from co-ops or feed mills where hay comes from various cuttings of various fields. It is not feasible to test hay that way. It's feasible to test if you have the room to store 3+ months worth of hay from the same source, sure. But many people don't, and buy bales 10 at a time, whatever's available. Ideal? Absolutely not. But it's a HUGE reality for many, many owners.

What you don't do is go providing food supplements to a fat horse!
Who said the OP was looking for a *food* supplement? She said the horse's owner was looking for a joint and hoof supplement specifically.

Besides, it's already been said, several times, that any grain should be dropped, and a more suitable supplement carrier found if necessary.

[sublimequine]

JB; Well said. So many folks harp constantly about getting hay tested and all this.. and while it's a good idea in theory, if you're at a boarding barn that gets hay from various sources, you really have zero control over the hay anyways. Testing it would be pointless; it'd be totally different hay the next month anyways.

The OP was asking for a good hoof and joint supplement, plain and simple. She was asking if there was perhaps one designed for the pudgy horse or not. I don't see why everyone is getting so huffy over this! :eek:

[deltawave]

Does anyone know what would be a good supplement for an overweight horse?

We've done the basics like cutting back feed & increasing exercise, etc.


That was what the OP said. She/he did elaborate, but on an initial read it sure sounded to me like what was wanted was a "supplement" to help with weight loss, which of course is bass-ackwards. :)

Every place I've ever boarded has gotten their hay from ROUGHLY the same area, if not the same farmer. One can still get a wealth of information knowing what is in the hay, even if the cutting and location varies. At least it's a place to start. :yes:

[LarkspurCO]

My fat horse went on some supplements specifically to help with weight loss and metabolism. She never got any grain to speak of before -- only a bit of soy ration balancer along with grass hay and pasture. Simply removing her from pasture helped a little with the weight, but it was not enough.

After she developed laminitis, I discontinued the RB and replaced it with alfalfa pellets and a handful of a low-carb pellet, Sho-Glo (vitamin/mineral), ground flax, Forco, and a few things that have shown evidence of improving insulin resistance in humans and/or horses:

Vitamin E, 4000 IU per day
Magnesium proteinate
Milk thistle seed
Goat's rue

She has lost about 150-200 pounds in three months, fat deposits are down, crest is shrinking. One of the vets she saw insisted that I discontinue the alfalfa, even though the horse was losing weight. She recommended one of the new Purina low-starch products. First ingredient on the tag was alfalfa.:rolleyes:

Sometimes I think it takes awhile to get a horse dialed in with the right nutrition. But then, I don't really have any "normal" horses.

[JB]

That was what the OP said. She/he did elaborate, but on an initial read it sure sounded to me like what was wanted was a "supplement" to help with weight loss, which of course is bass-ackwards. :)
Started out that way, yes, but further elaboration said specifically joint and feet.

Every place I've ever boarded has gotten their hay from ROUGHLY the same area, if not the same farmer.
You're lucky :)

My old barn got their hay from the same farm in SC for years and years and years. But, they got hay once a month or so, and the farmer had quite a few different fields from which his hay came. Not terribly feasible to test each month.

One can still get a wealth of information knowing what is in the hay, even if the cutting and location varies. At least it's a place to start. :yes:
Absolutely! It's just *not* feasible for a lot of people. And location can make a HUGE difference in some cases. In my area there are drastically different soils in neighboring lots which can make a huge difference in the levels of certain things. I have raging red clay. My neighbor has nice black topsoil. My 10 acres was cattle-farmed for eons. Hers was timber, heavily wooded, largely hardwoods, until she bought it 10-ish years ago. HUGE difference in what's in the soil. Not that she or I grow hay, but that's just a sampling of how my area can vary so dramatically in the soil.

[deltawave]

All I'm saying (in defense of hay testing) is that it might actually be worth testing hay multiple times per year. I know my feed (grain) bill went down by about half once I started doing this (didn't need all the crap I was feeding) and at the cost of about $25-30 for a basic test, well, that's about one month's worth of the Supplement du Jour, roughly, right? :) Unless the barn is literally buying random types of hay on a monthly basis, the most you'd have to test would be perhaps half a dozen varieties of hay, maybe?

Maybe it's that I've never boarded anywhere that didn't make arrangements for LARGE shipments of hay from single farmers or sources. Even if the hay came from different fields, it's quite possible to do sample averaging.

What can I say . . . data make me happy. I like numbers, facts, and things I can hang my hat on. :)

[JB]

Sure, testing 3-4 times a year is great, assuming you can at least get enough hay for 3-4 months at a time that is ALL from the same batch (same field, same cutting). That would be wonderful, and I'd recommend it.

But I'm not taking about those situations where I talk about testing not being feasible. People who buy small batches from feed mills can't usually get hay held while they send a sample off for testing (and that's even if the mill allows them to drill a few bales!). And if they're buying in small batches, they usually don't have a large place to store, so if they bring the 30 days worth (or less) home, by the time they send a sample off and get the results, 1-2 weeks worth is gone, and it's pointless.

Yes, there are times when testing is feasible, and people should take advantage of that. But many times it's just not.

[haunani]

The horses that I have switched to a ration balancer in place of "grain", all did phenomenally well in terms of coat and hoof condition. The problem with overweight horses is that they often don't end up getting all the vitamins, minearals and amino acids they need on their limited diet. The ration balancer provides the needed nutrition in a small amount of grain with very low calories. Then if you need to add a joint supplement to that, you can. Or LinPro is great, as already mentioned.Ditto. I have two boys who are always 'battling the bulge'. I feed them a ration balancer and am happy knowing they are getting the vit/mins they need.

They're both also borderline IR, so I have them on an IR supplement in the summer (SmartPak's in-house one) and LOVE the results I see from it.

[TransitionsGalore]

My thanks to those who actually answered my question, and gave me a valid suggestion.

As to some of the other comments...her owners are hardly the first people, and will certaintly not be the last who have a healthy horse on a hoof and joint supplement.

The horse is not obese, as I stated before, just carrying a few extra pounds. She is on pasture board, which means she has access to a round bale, and plenty of grass. The only reason she even gets grain is because all of the other horses in the pasture get grain, and if she doesn't get her handful, she throws a fit.

Her owners and I have increased her excercise, and I'm sure that will eventually help her with her weight issue.

My question may have been incorrectly phrased before. I was just looking for a suggestion to the type/brand of supplement to use for a horse that was slightly overweight...i.e one that didn't have a lot of "extra ingredients". So many of the supplements I've seen have rice bran, alfalfa, sugars, etc. Things she certaintly does not need.

Anyway, thanks to all who gave their suggestions. I appreciate the advice. Hope everyone has a good Holiday season!