Supplements are all the rage in the horse industry and some owners or trainers are giving upwards of five plus supplements per day to any given horse. What is the purpose? Do you know why you are giving those supplements or are you just following recommendations from a fellow horse owner, social media, or some news group? If you understand what you are trying to accomplish, then the results come much quicker for your horse.
In any given consultation with a horse owner, the horse themselves has a problem. Sometimes it is a health issue while in other cases it is a lameness or soundness concern. The bottom line is that there is a problem. Now, when I dive into the case and the history, it is not hard to see that over-supplementation in the horse is occurring and many times, in truth, the owner has no idea why they are giving the products. They just sounded appropriate or suitable to their horse’s condition, or maybe their veterinarian or barn mate recommended them.
Given this, it is important to ask why you are giving any supplement, let alone 4 or 5 of them. Second, it is important to determine if you are seeing results with that chosen regimen. I don’t mean results in 6-12 months, but I mean results that are evident much sooner, generally within 30-60 days. This is what I expect of our supplements, when properly chosen or selected, and it is what I expect of other companies. Not always the case, and many owners are giving supplements to their horse and in actuality, the situation is either not improving or sometimes getting worse.
What is the purpose of supplements in your horse?
Let’s first look at generalities. Everything is a ‘disease’ today, but what is that? There is a definition and this definition states, “a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that has a known cause and a distinctive group of symptoms, signs, or anatomical changes.”
If we look plainly at the word, ‘dis-ease’, it implies a lack of ease. A lack of contentment, peace, or harmony.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine are all about this definition and based on their philosophies, which are true when you really look closely, all disease stems from an imbalance of lack of harmony in the body. This could be stress related, a dietary created imbalance of deficiency or excess, an imbalance in the feet leading to an altered gait, an improperly fitting saddle, or even an imbalance created through improper supplementation.
So, the goal with supplementation is to RESTORE balance and harmony in your horse. But in order to do this, we have to understand the current imbalance, and then address it. When we do this, the results are much better and quicker.
Herbs, like the ones we use in our Cur-OST formulas, are very important in helping us to restore balance, but not every herb is correct for every horse. Every herb has an energy and quality or nature to it. Some are warming, some are hot, while others are cool or even cold in nature. Some build moisture, some are drying and bitter. Some are ‘moving’ herbs to help resolve pain and improve circulation, while others are more nourishing and restoring to the body. Some herbs have all of those qualities in small amounts.
The Down Sides to Improper Supplementation in the Horse
The obvious pitfall to improper supplementation in the horse is that instead of creating more harmony or balance, you add to the problem that exists and just create more of the same. When you do this, not only does the problem not improve, but many times it gets worse.
Let’s take two scenarios. One is a heavier Quarter Horse with metabolic problems and another is a leaner Thoroughbred that is used as a jumper.
The average QH with metabolic issues is on many supplements. Most times the owners are giving them because someone else told them to or they have heard that such and such herb or nutrient is good for metabolic issues. Two things here that are common. First, the owners are usually giving some sort of synthetic based vitamin-mineral supplement and second, many are giving some fat supplement like Flax, Chia seed, beet pulp, or rice bran. So, what happens? They get more of the same, the condition progresses. Why? Because the synthetic based vitamin-supplement is very cold in nature and bitter, which means it is drying and irritating to the digestive system. This is easily demonstrated in a fecal culture. Then, the fat supplement they are giving is adding fat and more calories to the situation, which a metabolic horse does not need.
The average TB jumping horse is also on a lot of supplements, but many times they are on grains as well, especially if they are in the racing industry. This breed is prone to ulcers. Why? Because it is in their nature to be a little more high-strung and with that comes anxiety. With anxiety, there is an internal heat that is produced in the body, which must dissipate or it will irritate. The anxiety is actually associated with what is termed ‘yin deficiency’ in TCM, which means that the heart and even the mind are not being nourished properly. This Yin component is also cooling and moisturizing to the body, so when in a state of deficiency, the body does not cool, heat builds, as does anxiety. The supplements here are also of the synthetic-nature and given this, they are cooling but they are bitter. Bitter means they will drain the body and dry things up, adding to the Yin deficiency state. Then, the grains they are giving are heating to the body. Grains require more energy to breakdown and ferment and thus this increased energy creates heat internally, like a pot steaming. Add those things together along with a stalled lifestyle, and BOOM, you will have ulcers if not something worse.
These are two very common scenarios but mirror others such as horses with EPM and immune dysfunction, allergy horses, tendon complaints, and other lameness issues.
The bottom line is that you are trying to restore balance in your horse, not disrupt it. I generally tell owners that I expect a positive change when I recommend a regimen, within 30-60 days. Sometimes it is sooner. Sometimes, actually, the owner sees a dramatic change just by stopping what they are doing currently before adding in the blends I recommend in a equine consultation. The reason is that by stopping what they are doing, they are no longer irritating the situation. We begin to see truly what is there in front of us and many times, it is not as bad as what we thought.
Know what you are doing and why, when it comes to supplementing your horse. Your goal may be to win that competition, that race, or just enjoy a nice trail ride, which is fine, but the only way to achieve that goal is through a restoration of balance in your horse.
Author: Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN