Essential requirements for balanced gut health and overall vitality for your horse

  May 25, 2022       Animal Health

Horses that are not subjected to hard work or extreme conditions usually have more than adequate amounts of vitamins in their diet if they are receiving fresh, green, leafy forages. Sometimes a vitamin/mineral supplement is needed when feeding low-quality hay, if a horse is under stress (illness, traveling, showing, racing, etc), or just not eating well. Grain has a different balance of nutrients than forage, and so requires specialized supplementation to prevent an imbalance of vitamins and minerals.

BIOTIN is a vitamin essential for many functions in a horse’s body, including fatty acid synthesis, protein and energy metabolism and cell proliferation. For horses, biotin is best known and most used to improve hoof quality. While supplementing with BIOTIN will improve hoof quality, it is equally important for the animal to have a completely balanced diet. Minerals like copper and zinc and good quality protein all need to be in the horses’ diet to grow a quality hoof.

Minerals are required for maintenance and function of the skeleton, nerves, and muscles. These include calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and chloride and are commonly found in best-quality feeds. Horses also need trace minerals such as magnesium, selenium, copper, zinc, and iodine. Normally, if adult animals at maintenance levels are consuming fresh hay or are on pasture, they will receive adequate amounts of minerals in their diet, except for sodium chloride (salt), which needs to be provided, preferably adlib. Some pastures are deficient in certain trace minerals, including selenium, zinc, and copper, and in such situations, health problems, including deficiency diseases, may occur if horses' trace mineral intake is not properly supplemented.

Arduous work increases the need for minerals; sweating depletes sodium, potassium, and chloride from the horse's system. Therefore, supplementation with AMILYTE may be required for horses in intense training, especially in hot weather. The combination of the nutrients in AMILYTE is also effective in alleviating stress, and assist in recovery after injury, illness, or disease