Supplements for show hunter- Smartpk, Platinum Performance or?? Help!

[SUET1999]

Going to put my new horse on supplements. Not sure if he was on any before. He is 8, in pretty heavy work ( 4 times a week, starting to incorporate 3ft). He has a little teeny bit of slipping out behind so I wanted to give him something to help. More preventative and maintenance.
Some people say Smartpak, but I find all of the options confusing, and other Platinum Performance. Suggestions?!

[mypaintwattie]

I have had my horse on Platinum since the day I brought her home, and have been VERY pleased with the results. Can't say enough great things about the product or the company. I just switched over to the platinum paks, which is their version of the daily individual serving. OTOH, I also use Smartpak for my other supplements. If you have any questions about which of their supplements to use you can call them and they will help choose the right one. In the end, it is what works the best for your horse. Give each company a call and get more information so that you can make an educated choice for your individual horse.

[outofthepocket]

I have used Peak Performance Nutrients for most of my horses needs with great success. Started on their products because of my IR horse, as they do not use any sugars or fillers, but began feeding all of my horses these products after a while. 3 of my 6 horses were like night and day when i used their Ex-Stress to calm them. I also used the Perfect Balance Electrolite and Pro VM w/ EFA's(multi vitamin). Awesome products that show results

[whbar158]

Does he not eat enough fortified grain and you are looking for a vit/min supplement? Want a coat supplement? It depends on what you are looking for. Being ridden 4 days a week is NOT hard work. Smartpak is easy and love the flat shipping if you need other things.

[GotSpots]

4x/week, just up to 3', isn't actually all that hard of a work schedule for your average horse - particularly this time of year. So the key question is actually not to put him on supplements just because others do, but think about what it is you're trying to remedy or help. When you say he's slipping out behind - is there a hock issue? Stifles? How are his feet? What kind of footing are you on? Is there some arthritis there? In other words, think about what the cause might be, since just throwing supplements at him won't do much good (though unlikely to do much harm, either). Otherwise, most supplements are yet another expensive way to feed dollar bills to your horse.

Depending on what he's eating, you might add a ration-balancer or a multi-vitamin. We keep ours on an electrolyte during the season. If his feet aren't great, you might think about whether Farrier's Formula or the equivalent might be helpful - though it takes along time to see results. If he's ulcery, you can think about something like Succeed (though I think ulcer stuff is one that is very helpful to talk through with a vet). For a joint supplement, I've personally never seen alot of benefit from an oral and prefer to save my money for Adequan and Legend, but some folks like things like Cosequin.

[SUET1999]

I should clarify the heavy work as he was out in a field for 6 months and is now being brought back.(his owner was pregnant and decided to sell him due to illness). I am a little concerned that its the right stifle- he vetted fine but I had one before that did that and it was stifle related.

I guess I was looking to put him on something partly because everyone else does so i figured i should too, but also looking for something to help if my suspicion is right on the stifle. His feet are fine- he has glue-ons in the front for now. I was told our pellets have enough biotin in them that I would be wasting my money to put him on farriers formula, etc.

[flyracing]

Given your updated post, I would suggest SmartTLC-herb free from smart pak. General supps like platinum performance will not do anything for loose stifles or arthritis.

But more importantly, I would have the vet out to give you a diagnosis of what doing on. You may be seeing an early injury! Since you did not know this horse before you can't know if this is normal for him or not and definatly warrents a vet visit! And since your vet doesn't have a baseline on this horse it is important for him to block anything he sees as he too does not know what normal movement is for this horse. When I moved half way acrossed the country, my horse came off the trailer not quite right. It took 5 vets in two states to finally get the diagnosis! Only the fifth vet trusted me that the horse was evenly short stepping by 6 inches on both side! and spent three hours blocking both hind legs one block at a time. He had previously been treated for SI problem, subluxed pelvis, EPM, and whorl bone pain! None of those treatements worked because the injuries were in the lower legs not the back or nervous system.All other vets diaganosed by symptoms with out nerve blocking. Once the nerve blocks brought him completely sound and moving like a warmblood again an MRI showed a torn ligament in the RH and notable navicluar swelling (believed to be caused by protecting the other leg) in the LH.

Good luck with your new horse!

[lauriep]

Or, because he has been in the field so long, it could be just plain unfitness. Bringing him back with slow, steady work, lots of hills, lots of trotting, should get you where you want to be.

Don't throw your money away supplementing just because. If there isn't a specific demonstrated need, and a substance PROVEN to work, you are just wasting time and money. Save it for showing!

[Flash44]

Hills to strengthen the hind end. This will help a lot with the stifles; much moreso than anything you can feed.