[gottaquarter]

Looking for recommendations for an add-in vitamin/mineral supplement that will do the job without costing me a fortune; I've weaned my two off sweet senior feed and they are not getting the vitamins in the food i give them now ( renew gold, beet pulp and a combo of alfalfa and timothy pellets as well as grass hay(Burmuda)). A friend suggested a few that range from like 35.00 for a 10lb bucket to hundreds of dollars for a 50lb of a certain supplement. I'm used to the feed providing what they need so other than a salt block im not familiar with add in supplements for them. They do light work, ridden maybe 3 times a week on trails, and now get fed 2x a day to help keep weight on them with it being winter. Thanks in advance for the advice!!

 

[QtrBel]

You can go with a pelleted ration balancer that you would feed a pound roughly per horse. They are usually palatable and work well if you aren't conserving calories and can be mixed with the pellets or fed alone. The other option is a granular that you feed by the ounce. They are top dressed on pellets and aren't calorie dense so good for those that don't need extra. Cost wise they can be reasonable to really pricy. I've fed the Purina Free Balance for those easy keepers I had on pasture/hay with alfalfa pellets or cubes and was pleased with the results.

 

[rambo99]

Using horse techs fuel for grass mixed hay. 25 lb bag is 91$.

Three scoops a day so 180 grams ,I devide it into 2 feedings. I mix it with Timothy pellets & alfalfa cubes mixed.

Horses seem to like it, an doing well on it .

 

[QtrBel]

Never did come back to add that now everyone is getting Moormans GroStrong. The Purina is $65 for basically 6 months wort (1 horse) and the Grostrong is $48 for 6 months (1 horse). Both are 25lb bags. The pelleted are more expensive per serving. The Purina Enrich Plus is around $40 for a months supply (that is fed at closer to a pound and a half per serving).

 

[ACinATX]

I like Farnam Vita Plus for my horses. I think it has really made a difference, especially in the winter and especially with Teddy (who no longer eats poop and who no longer has much rain rot).

I chose this particular product because it is higher in iron and lower in selenium than the others I found. Where I live, we have high levels of selenium and low levels of iron, so I needed to balance that out. You don't want to mess up either of those things. I would recommend choosing something the complements what your horses are getting from forage and hay. I didn't have to test my soil or forage, just looked at online maps of mineral levels.

 

[walkinthewalk]

If you aren't dealing with insulin issues, and none of them are over weight, I agree with a quality ration balancer. It generally only takes one pound for a horse to receive the guaranteed analysis on the bag

I feed HorseTech's High point condensed vit/min supplement for grass fed horses. It is great for insulin resistant horses and horses who need their weight watched. It costs about 86 cent per day per horse.

If you go with a condensed vit/min supplement, be sure to read the ingredients list so you aren't paying for needless fillers

 

[Jolly101]

The absolute best option would be to first test your hay and check up on the highs and lows for nutrients within your area. Depending on your area, hay testing can be a tad expensive at first (mine ran about $100 CAD), but is absolutely worth it because you know what you are supplementing is beneficial and not messing up any other vitamin and mineral balances ( which can create subtle or more chronic issues long-term). In that way, you’d actually be saving money because you would not be paying for any “excess” that is not going to be functional in the horse’s diet.

The next best thing ( without hay analysis) is to understand high/low vitamins and minerals present in your area’s soil analysis reports ( usually available online). Now, this is not entirely accurate, but will give you a small picture of what to reduce or increase in your horse’s diet (within reason). Then, finding a vit/min to compliment those general values.

For premade supplements, I really like Horsetechs hay balancer, but again, only when complimentary. That vitamin/mineral supplement is a decent price for what they are offering. They also make custom supplements too.

 

[ClearDonkey]

I really like Buckeye Gro 'n Win, I've been feeding it off and on to my horses for over 10 years at this point.

HorseTech is also an awesome supplement brand - they can make you a custom mix specifically for what your horses may be lacking.