Do Your Research Before Selecting a New Supplement For Your Horse
Feeding your horse a highly nutritious diet rich in fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates is key to maintaining your horse’s health. However, it can be difficult for horses to get the balanced nutrition they need with hay and grains alone. Supplements are often added to a horse’s diet to help fill any nutritional gaps.
While there are many horse supplements on the market, not all are made equal. It’s important to do your research to determine if the product contains natural ingredients, meets an accepted standard for nutritional benefit, and offers the advantages you’re looking for in a health supplement.
When shopping for a new supplement, consider the following:
- What are Your Expectations?
Supplements are not miracle cures for illnesses or injuries. Instead, they are designed to deliver nutrients not being consumed in sufficient quantities through food. Horses may need supplements for a variety of reasons, such as a vitamin deficiency. Some horses need more supplements than others, such as athletic performance horses who engage in high-intensity exercises regularly.
While some owners choose a general multi-vitamin supplement, these products are not intended to address your horse’s specific needs. Consider what areas your horse needs help with, such as stiff joints or a dull coat. Consult with your vet to ensure that your horse is not suffering from underlying issues that could be causing their problem. If your horse is otherwise healthy, a supplement can help support proper health and wellbeing.
- Is the Quality Up to Par?
It can be hard to determine the quality of a supplement before buying; however, there are some measured you can take to ensure that the product is both safe and high quality. Start by looking at the company selling the product. Is it a reputable brand that offers an established address and phone number? Is it easy to reach out to the company via email, or social media? Does the company offer educational material to help you care for your horse’s health?
Next, review the product’s label. It should clearly list all ingredients, as well as how much of each active ingredient is delivered to the horse per serving. The product should also have an expiration date and lot number that can be used to track products for quality assurance. Finally, the product should have the manufacturer’s information listed, along with a way to contact the company if the buyer has a question or concern.
- Does the Product Make Unrealistic Claims?
False or unrealistic claims are a major problem in the supplement industry. While manufacturers are prohibited from marketing supplements that are unsafe or contain unsafe ingredients, there is little recourse when marketers make exaggerated or unrealistic claims. For example, a supplement may claim to “cure” a chronic illness or have “guaranteed” results.
It’s important to evaluate supplement claims to weed out fraudulent or illegitimate products. Avoid supplements that use testimonials to “prove” a product works. Instead, rely on the results of carefully controlled scientific experiments as evidence that a supplement is effective. In other words, if a claim seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Is the Supplement “Too” Cheap?
When shopping for supplements for your horse, price should always be a consideration. However, horse supplements that are too cheap may be a cause for concern. There are certain red flags to look for when comparing cheaper supplements, such as a lack of label information, lack of contact information for the manufacturer, and no evidence of quality-control measures or real customer reviews.
When it comes to improving the health of your active or aging horses, you don’t want to use just any supplement. Elite Equine offers a 100% organic rosehip supplement for horses that supports the animal’s own anti-inflammatory process and aids in cartilage health and immune system support. Made from 100% rosehip powder, this supplement is free from additives, pesticides, and bulking agents, and is safe for use in all competition settings.
