Overconsumption Trends Are Impacting Your Horse's Nutrition

Are overconsumption trends impacting your horse's nutrition? 

These trends are bad for the environment, your wallet, and most importantly, your horse. 

Feeding 5 different supplements isn't normal. 

Feeling like you NEED to buy the latest supplement isn't because your horse needs it. 

It's overconsumption rearing its ugly head into the equine nutrition space. 

And it's not just wasting your money - it could be compromising your horse's health and welfare.

So, let's talk about it!

Just like in fast fashion trends, we're seeing supplement trends - every few months there is a hot new ingredient or product that everyone wants to try on their horse. Spirulina. Camelina oil. Hoof supplements. Amino acid supplements.

Outside of the supplement space - hoof oils. Saddle pads. Breeches. Fly veils. 

Social media forums (Facebook nutrition advice is almost always off-base) are bad for this, but so are (some) equestrian influencers. What works for one horse won't always work for another, but it definitely is not likely to do much if a) the base diet is not appropriate and b) the product has no evidence in horses suggesting a beneficial feed rate for horses.

What is overconsumption? Consuming something excessively that we don't actually need. We may not need it, but novelty, trends and marketing/influencers convince us we need to try it.

Trends - and some of the trending products - are not inherently bad, but the pressure to always buy the next thing or add ANOTHER supplement can have negative effects on your horse: 

a) Increased risk for nutrient toxicity, imbalance or interaction: Several nutrients become dangerous at feeding rates even in the milligrams. Other ingredients might negatively interact with absorption or physiology, resulting in secondary nutrient deficiencies, or even increased risk of tissue damage (such as increased ulcer risk). While you may be adding a supplement to target a certain concern, without considering the whole diet, you may be making an existing imbalance worse. 

b) The instinct to immediately buy a supplement matching your perception of the problem might delay your horse from getting the correct diagnosis, and as a result, targeted care or treatment necessary to resolve the issue. Your horse with a poor appetite? Several supplements will tell you that their product improves appetite, or that poor appetite is due to this deficiency (often B-vitamins, which your horse does a great job making their own). If the appetite issue was stemming from pain or fear, which is often the case, your horse will continue to suffer that pain. 

c) Allocation of resources (or budget) towards items that may not be necessary means that less is available for things that are necessary. Having your vet out for a blood panel or dental becomes "out of budget" because your daily supplement use is costing $25/day ($9k per year, for context). Booking your farrier every 5-weeks is more expensive than every 8-weeks. Saddle fit checks every 6 months seems undoable. Proactive care with a bodyworker and nutritionist become luxuries, when they should be proactive essentials. Horses do require careful budgeting, and it all adds up - so we need to make sure our spending counts.

Are we buying things our horse's need, or just things that make us feel better in the moment?

I know you want the best for your horse, and honestly, if there was a supplement guaranteed to make my horse immortal, I'd make my budget work for it too, but the unfortunate truth is many of these supplements are unproven, and even more, redundant when we have a base diet that honours the horse's individual needs. 

Absolutely no judgement if it is a low-risk addition that you can afford to trial, do your thing, live your truth (but I recommend consulting a professional to ensure it is low-risk) - we have all trialled products on our horses or bought something fun that our horse probably didn't need but that we enjoyed in the moment. But when it comes to your horse's diet, I invite you to consider doing less. 

Focus on forage - testing it when possible, and feeding at 1.5-2.0% BW. 

Use an appropriate amount of a suitable feed or vit/min source to supplement gaps in forage. 

Provide salt. 

Provide species-appropriate environment and feeding management.

Show up for your horse and advocate for their wellness. Focus on the basics, first. 

That's what your horse needs.