Horse Guard Megadose

[Elfe]

Has anybody used this product ?
http://www.horseguard.com/shop/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=display&ref=Mega+Dose+Details
Feedback ?
I started all my horses on it, weanlings, yearlings,youngsters and broodmares, and was wondering if it's the right supplement. My horses get hardly any grain, free choice low carb hay and pasture when available.
Thanks !

[JB]

Where are you? It contains 3mg Selenium, so if you're in an area where there is PLENTY, that might not be advisable

It claims a "mega dose" of lysine, but .7gm is hardly anything.

[Indy-lou]

I use the regular Horse Guard. I like that it has organic selenium vs selenite that the vast majority of supplements use. We live in an area known to be selenium deficient, and feed local hay. I've had my horses tested for selenium levels and they were all good using the Horse Guard.

[Elfe]

Where are you? It contains 3mg Selenium, so if you're in an area where there is PLENTY, that might not be advisable

It claims a "mega dose" of lysine, but .7gm is hardly anything.

I live in Western Washington State, where selenium is deficient.

[JB]

It might still be a good idea to check the Se blood levels just to be sure, since 3mg isn't insignificant. A deficient area doesn't automatically equate to deficient blood :)

[Indy-lou]

The makers of Horse Guard claim that organic selenium from yeast or plant sources is far less toxic than the selenite versions, which come from mining. But, I'd check to make sure the levels are in target range anyway.

[Grataan]

I find the amount of biotin to be laughable. (for a supplement that claims to be mega dosing it)

You need 30-50mg per day to affect hoof growth, mega dose contains 16.

[Elfe]

Thanks everybody.
Since this stuff is not exactly cheap, anything better I could get ?
My horses are all easy keepers, so I can't feed them enough grain to meet their vitamin/mineral needs. I don't want a supplement or ration balancer that is based on soy.
Thanks again !

[Grataan]

What are you looking for? Just a vitamin supplement or a hoof supplement?

I would go with a regular vitamin supplement and for those with poor quality hoof add a hoof supplement.

When my parents lived in WA (I was 10 or 11 when we moved) they fed something called Northwest Vitamins or something-it was specifically designed for the soil deficiencies of that area. Do they make anything like that nowadays?

[Indy-lou]

I feed the Horse Guard because I've found it to be comparable or better in some aspects then all the other general multi-vitamin/mineral supps I've looked at, and cost-wise I keep coming to the same conclusion. You might just go with the regular vs the "Mega". As far as the rest of your feeding program, your hay plus vits should be suff for mature idle horses, but you'd add energy/calories for work, and for your preg/lactating mares and growing horses, just the "low carb" hay might not provide enough protein for those classes of horses in their various stages. That's just a broad brush: having an equine nutritionist look at your program might save money in the long run.

[Blacktree]

When my parents lived in WA (I was 10 or 11 when we moved) they fed something called Northwest Vitamins or something-it was specifically designed for the soil deficiencies of that area. Do they make anything like that nowadays?

I think you're thinking of 'Northwest Horse Supplement', and they do still make it (Cenex carries it). I haven't used it myself, but would be interested to hear if anyone has - and what they think of it:
http://www.nutritionalservicesinc.com/

We live in western WA, and we use the regular Horse Guard supplement for our guys. We had one of our babies tested for vit E/selenium last month and he was well inside the ideal range having been fed this. So unless you need the extra stuff in the mega-dose, the regular seems to do fine in our area. :)