Is It Possible to Over Supplement Horses?
Updated August 16, 2024 | By: Dr. Lydia Gray
"Is it possible to over supplement your horse? I only give my horses a little Omelene 100 as more of a treat. I have never had my hay analyzed either but both my vet and farrier say they are healthy with body scores of 6 & 7, one puts on weight easily. They are barefoot with good strong hooves and never sick. They are on good 80% grass 20% alfalfa hay. Thank You!"
- Diane
Dear Diane,
Kudos to you for having two healthy, happy horses! While you are in no danger of over-supplementing, I am concerned that your horses are UNDER-supplemented. That is, they appear to be getting good quality hay, but the little amount of fortified grain they are given is not completing and balancing the diet in terms of protein, vitamins and minerals.
Since your horses are already on the heavy side, I wouldn’t recommended increasing the amount of sweet feed to meet their daily nutrient requirements, as that would provide too many calories and too much sugar/starch.
Instead, I recommend you give your horses either a ration balancer or a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. What’s the difference? Like a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, ration balancers typically contain the appropriate mix of vitamins and minerals, but they also include essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. A ration balancer is correctly fed at the rate of about 1 – 2 pounds per day.
However, because you’re feeding good quality hay that contains some alfalfa, unless your horses are in hard work or pregnant/lactating they may not need any additional protein. In that case, a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement would be your best choice to round out their diets.
Just like the name says, these products contain the essential vitamins and minerals your horse needs to avoid deficiencies or imbalances in a hay-only diet. Only 1 – 2 ounces of most multi-vitamin and mineral supplements needs to be fed to ensure your horses are getting everything they need to build healthy tissue on the inside as well as the outside.
Video on Oversupplementing a Horse
In this Ask the Vet video, Dr. Gray answers if it is possible to provide too many supplements to your horse and how to recognize if you're doing this.