Which mineral supplement is best for my horse?

Which Mix?Rather than offering a smorgasbord of nutrients in tiny amounts (the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach), Balanced Equine mineral mixes target what is most likely too low in the diet.
Balanced Equine use premium mineral sources backed by research, and in quantities that make a difference.

All the mixes contain significant amounts of copper and zinc.

It’s best to introduce all new feeds and supplements into a horse’s diet over  7 days.
Days 1 and 2 – ¼ of the recommended serve
Days 3 and 4 – ½ of the recommended serve
Days 5 and 6 – ¾ of the recommended serve
Day 7 onwards – full recommended serve.

The best mix for most horses:

Equi Horse +Se (formerly known as Hoof Rescue +Se) is recommended for most situations. It contains copper, zinc, iodine, some calcium and phosphorus, magnesium, and selenium.

Selenium is important for all horses. Grass and hay grown on acidic to neutral soils are known to be deficient in selenium.
Soil conditions, especially pH, influence the plant’s uptake of selenium.

Equi Horse +Se has a very conservative amount of selenium, 1 mg per day for the standard feeding rate.

Don’t need Selenium?

If you are already supplementing sufficient selenium or feeding a packaged feed containing selenium then Equi Horse mix may be more appropriate.

The only difference between Equi Horse and Equi Horse +Se is that Equi Horse doesn’t have selenium.

It’s important to not overdo selenium as too much can be toxic, even fatal. However, it’s also important to not have too little. This article by Dr. Eleanor Kellon is very helpful: Selenium Paranoia

Don’t need magnesium or selenium?

Best Guess mix is the best choice if your horse is not likely to be magnesium or selenium deficient.
Best Guess mix in addition to any of the Balanced Equine mixes is ideal if you do need to increase the level of copper and zinc without the other nutrients: magnesium, selenium, and so forth being increased.
Or it might be another product that has typically low levels of copper and zinc. We know from the many thousands of pasture and hay tests that all are too low in copper and zinc.

Need biotin or support for your laminitic/IR horse?

If you would like to feed your horse additional biotin, HoofXtra vitamin and mineral mix (formerly known as Laminitis Rescue) is the one.
This mix was formulated with insulin-resistant (IR)/EMS horses in mind to support a low sugar + starch intake but would be beneficial for any horse.
HoofXtra has copper, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and B vitamins biotin, folic acid, and pyridoxine.

Need to assist muscles or build topline?

Equine Amino is designed to be fed along with any of the above mineral mixes. If you have muscle building/topline or hoof quality (shelly) hoof issues, consider Equine Amino with the essential amino acids recommended by D.r Eleanor Kellon VMD.
If your horse is on a high-quality protein intake (pasture-improved grasses, actively growing) it’s far less likely you need additional amino acids.

Supplement and feed companies will tell you what your horses need but this is misleading advertising in most cases. They can’t possibly know without data from individual pasture, hay, and feed tests.
And then they need someone qualified to analyse that data and make recommendations based on the individual horse’s whole diet.

Carol Layton of Balanced Equine.

Balanced Equine minerals formulations are based on the data of many feed tests from across Australia by qualified Equine nutritionist, Carol Layton B.Sc M.Ed
The optimal solution to balancing your horse’s diet with the correct minerals in the right ratios is to have a feeding plan and feed tests done by Carol.

To learn how to balance mineral ratios for horses, consider enrolling in Dr Kellon’s NRCPlus course.

2 thoughts on “Which mineral supplement is best for my horse?”

  1. Hi, I’m looking for answers. My paddock pal rescue pony has damaged his trigeminal nerve and as a consequence developed head shaking. He has had this for 5 years but it only shows during summer months. I’ve been giving him Topstock Headshaking Formula for NZ but find it hard to purchase. The ingredients are predominently magnesium and zinc, so I am attempting to replicate this mix. It has been very effective in keeping him alive as the condition is extreme. Are you able to recommend any products. Thank you
    Kay Davies

    1. Hi Kay, it’s good to hear the magnesium and zinc are helping – these ingredients can be found in the Balanced Equine Equihorse or Equihorse + SE mineral mix https://www.naturalhorseworldstore.com/equi-horse-mineral-mix
      so these may be a good replacement for the Topstock Headshaking Formula.
      Reducing the light on your horse’s face may also help (a friend found this worked) by keeping him in a shady pasture and/or wearing a shading fly mask.
      I hope this helps. Regards, Cynthia.

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