I am concerned about oversupplementation and imbalances in my feeding program. Is there any place that I can send my feed bag tag and list of supplements that each of my horses get for review? I want to know if there are imbalances or if I am oversupplementing any chemical, mineral or herb. Thanks, G

Dear G,
You left out one important component of your horse’s diet: his forage, whether grass or hay. If you are going to spend the time and money to analyze what your horse is getting from his feed and supplements, you have to include what he is getting from his forage as well, since that is the bulk of his diet.

Also, ration analysis can tell you the levels of protein, various carbohydrates, fat, macro and microminerals, and vitamins that are in the feedstuffs your horse eats. However, they typically do not analyze for herbs, so you will have to look elsewhere for that information. If you are working with a holistic veterinarian to design your horse’s health and nutrition program, he or she may be able to point you in the right direction.

After you receive the results of your ration analysis, you may want to consult with a veterinarian or nutritionist to help make sense of all the numbers. If you have a veterinary or agriculture school in your state, I suggest starting there. Sometimes county extension offices can be very helpful. Depending on the brand of grain you feed and how many horses at your barn are on it, local sales representatives may be able to analyze your forage and work with you to balance the entire ration. Here are some websites to get you started:

www.equi-analytical.com A excellent resource for feed analysis and ration formulation
www.uckele.com Uckele Health and Nutrition offers hay analysis and computerized ration balancing
www.ker.com Kentucky Equine Research is the official equine nutritionist of the USEF
www.acvn.org is the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, veterinarians board-certified in nutrition
www.aavn.org is the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition, an association of veterinarians and animal scientists with a special interest in nutrition

I have a 15-year-old TB that raced until 9 years old. He is boarded in upstate New York where there is not much sun. He receives a complete diet (designed by a nutritionist at Cornell) with 2 cups Empower. He goes out to a small paddock 4 hours per day. Is it enough to produce Vitamin D and generate a healthy circadian rhythm? Thanks GR

Dear GR,
First, let me praise you for your hard work in providing a complete and balanced diet for your horse! Next, let me encourage you to turn your horse out as much as possible. Unless there is a medical reason against it or your boarding situation prevents it, the more your horse can exercise at will in fresh air with other horses the better! I say this because in researching answers to your two questions, I was unable to provide you with evidence proving he needs more than the four hours of turnout daily he gets now.

The short answer to your first question is: yes, the amount of sunlight your horse is exposed to through fours hours of turnout per day is probably enough to meet his minimum Vitamin D requirement. While the sixth edition of Nutrient Requirements of Horses only said “There are no reports of Vitamin D deficiency to date in horses maintained in practical settings with some exposure to sunlight,” several other sources said “a few hours of sunlight a day” and even “as little as one hour of sunlight a day” would probably be sufficient. If you choose to supplement to ensure healthy calcium metabolism (the primary role of Vitamin D), 300IU/100lb BW is the recommended amount, or about 3000IU for a 1000lb horse.

Now to your second question! Circadian rhythm is the roughly 24-hour cycle in physiological processes of living beings, both plants and animals. Some of these physiological processes include: sleep/wake, body temperature, thirst, appetite, brain wave activity, hormone production and cell regeneration. Circadian rhythm is generated from within the animal itself, but it can be altered by external cues such as daylight, temperature, feeding/fasting periods, and other stimuli. As long as your horse receives some light each day, he should have a healthy Circadian rhythym.

Hi there, I was wondering what supplement would be best for a Thoroughbred gelding that has luxation of his hind left stifle. And if a joint supplement alone will help his stifle locking issue. JS

Answer 1:
Dear JS,

I’m going to assume your horse has upward fixation of the patella, not patellar luxation, as this condition is uncommon in adult horses and usually only seen in foals (especially miniature foals) at birth.

It is generally accepted that horses who “lock” their patellas, that is, whose medial patellar ligament gets hooked over the medial trochlea of the femur, improve with conditioning or fitness training. Since it is the quadriceps, or the muscles on the front of the horse’s legs that most need to be strengthened, hill work is particularly recommended, as is driving, or pulling.

If your horse improves with additional, controlled exercise, then no more treatment may be necessary. However, if there is little to no improvement, your veterinarian may suggest other treatments to help your horse. These include corrective shoeing, estrogen therapy, infusion of a counterirritant or “blister,” or, as a last resort, medial patellar desmotomy surgery, where the ligament that gets hooked over the femur is cut.

I have been asked before if a supplement containing silica and collagen would be appropriate for a horse with upward fixation of the patella and my answer is: I don’t know. On the one hand, part of the conditioning or fitness training is to develop stronger tissues, and having the building blocks of strong ligaments available during this time would make sense. On the other hand, if the ligament develops without corresponding muscle development, would the problem get worse? I do think that supplementing with anti-inflammatories may be indicated, but ask your veterinarian before starting your horse on one.

I have a 10yo quarter horse who’s never had any soundness issues. We do a lot of hacking out and he gets ridden 6 days a week, 2 are serious training days about one to two hours each. We are moving up to Novice eventing this season. Would you suggest any joint supplements? I have heard feed through joint supplements are a waste of money. I am considering Adequan injections. SS

Dear SS,

Congratulations on your success in eventing and on having such a happy, healthy partner! You sound like an intelligent, caring horsewoman, so I took the time to actually look up some research papers for you to read yourself and make an intelligent, informed decision about the benefits of oral joint supplements.

The following papers have all been presented at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention, meaning they have been peer-reviewed by other veterinarians and scientists for quality of research:

Effects of an Oral Nutraceutical on Clinical Aspects of Joint Disease in a Blinded, Controlled Clinical Trial: 39 Horses (2007)
Keegan and others from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri concluded that oral administration of a product containing cetyl myristoleate, glucosamine HCl, MSM, hydrolyzed collagen and other ingredients had beneficial clinical effects on horses with naturally occurring osteoarthritis.

Review of Glucosamine-Containing Oral Joint Supplements: Are They Effective in the Horse? (2006)
In this paper, Weese reports on a number of studies in both humans and horses that conflict regarding the efficacy of glucosamine (some say they work, some say they don’t). He concludes that veterinarians and horse owners who would like to give glucosamine joint supplements should familiarize themselves with nutraceutical products with proven quality and give therapeutic doses (10g orally per day) by carefully reading the label guidelines and ingredients.

Effect of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate on Mediators of Osteoarthritis (2006)
A study by Neil and others showed that glucosamine significantly reduced a number of mediators of osteoarthritis but chondroitin sulfate did not (at the concentration tested). They mention other studies that showed glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate in combination seem to be more effective than either compound alone.

Double-Blind Study of the Effects of an Oral Supplement Intended to Support Joint Health in Horses with Tarsal Degenerative Joint Disease (2002)
Dr. Hilary Clayton’s group at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University demonstrated that horses with hock arthritis showed a significant reduction in gait asymmetry after receiving an oral joint supplement for just two weeks as compared with placebo.

Evidence of the Oral Absorption of Chondroitin Sulfate as Determined by Total Disaccharide Content After Oral and Intravenous Administration to Horses (2001)
Eddington and her co-authors provided the first proof of the bioavailability of chondroitin sulfate in this paper. Their work suggests that the molecule is absorbed after oral administration.

The conclusion I draw from these and other research papers is that there is some evidence that some ingredients in some joint supplements are effective. I recommend working with your veterinarian to develop an overall wellness plan to maintain your horse’s health and soundness as long as possible. This may include FDA-approved pharmaceuticals like the Adequan that you mentioned, and it may also include over-the-counter nutraceuticals as you see fit.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate SmartPak Equine Veterinary Advisory Council member Dr. Jay Merriam, who has been inducted into the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame. Four horseshoers were inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame and two equine veterinarians—Dr. Merriam and Dr. Kent Carter--were inducted into the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame.

Known as an “innovator and messenger of equine well-being,” Dr. Merriam owns Massachusetts Equine Clinic in Uxbridge, Mass., a state-of-the-art referral clinic specializing in sports medicine and equine podiatry. In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Merriam served as the first chairman of the American Association of Equine Practitioners Equine Welfare Committee, and co-founded an international non-profit organization Project Samana to assist equines in need.

Congratulations Dr. Merriam, from everyone here at SmartPak!