Horses can get most of the nutrition that they need from foraging grasses and weeds that grow in the fields that they live in. But supplements might be necessary if foraging is scarce or a horse is ill. Young horses that are growing quickly and older horses that are coming to the end of their lives may also benefit from supplemented food at mealtime, especially if they are being fed hay bales and other foods rather than foraging.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of horse supplements available on the market!
The problem is that with so many options available, it can be tough to determine which would best serve a horse that requires extra nutrition. So, we set out to make the process of choosing horse supplements easy for you. We combed the market for the best supplements out there and created a top-10 list with reviews for each option. Hopefully, you will find exactly what your horse needs! Read on to learn about our favorite horse supplements.
Formula 707 Joint 6-in-1 Equine Supplement is the best overall horse supplement. It combines six powerful ingredients to support all the most important parts of your horse’s anatomy. Horses’ health stems from their hooves and their legs, especially as they age, and this supplement supports joint, cartilage, and tendon health. The top effective ingredients are glucosamine, green-lipped mussels, MSM, bromelain, and collagen. This supplement comes in pellets that are easy to feed to your horse.
However, the pellets are not flavored, so they might not entice all horses at first. Still, Formula 707 Supplement is a great combination of effectiveness and affordability.
Pros
Powerful ingredients
Easy-to-feed pellets
Affordable
Supports ligament and joint health
Cons
Not flavored
2. AniMed Pure MSM Joint Support Powder Horse Supplement — Best Value
Horse supplements can be extremely expensive, so it can be hard to find effective ones if you are on a budget. That is where AniMed Pure MSM Joint Support Powder Horse Supplement comes in. This supplement is not only effective but also affordable. You can get a 5-pound bucket for half the price of other similar supplements without sacrificing effectiveness. The reason this supplement is so affordable is that it is made from 100% methylsulfonylmethane, which helps with recovery, pain relief, and bone health in horses.
The biggest downside is that this supplement is unflavored, but as a powder, it is easy to hide in food or liquid. It’s the best horse supplement for the money.
Cosequin is one of the most recognizable names in the supplement world, and for good reason. Nutramax Cosequin ASU Powder Joint Health Supplement is one of the most robust horse supplements around. It is specially formulated to support every aspect of a horse’s joint health. Nutramax Cosequin Health Supplement is made from a combination of glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, methylsulfonylmethane, avocado, and soybeans.
The biggest downside is the price. This is one of the most expensive supplements on the market, but it is worth it if you are looking to boost your horse’s joint health. Cosequin also has a proven track record.
Absorbine Bute-Less Comfort & Recovery Pellets Horse Supplement is a great supplement for working horses. It’s designed to help reduce pain and inflammation from low-intensity exercise. Absorbine Bute-Less Supplement is formulated with devil’s claw, vitamin B-12, and yucca. These ingredients help speed up recovery times while also being easy on the stomach, so it doesn’t cause gastrointestinal issues. This product is also affordable and easy to feed.
However, the simple ingredients will not appeal to everyone. Also, since they’re largely natural, they are not as powerful as some lab-created ingredients.
Uckele CocoSoya Granular Horse Supplement is a weight-boosting supplement packed with fat and caloric energy. The fatty acids also help promote a healthy and glossy coat, strong hooves, and body condition. Uckele Supplement is made from 98% fatty acids and is driven by coconut oil and soybean oil. It comes in a gallon jug and is a powder that is easy to add to your horse’s grain. It is also available in a 5-gallon jug and a 30-gallon jug if you want to stock up for the long haul. You can save money by buying in bulk if you choose.
The downside is that it can take a while for some horses to show any improvement.
Pros
Tons of fat and energy per scoop
Supports glossy coats and strong hooves
Easy to feed
Available in multiple sizes
Cons
Results can be slow to materialize in some horses
6. AniMed Glucosamine Joint Support Horse Supplement
AniMed Glucosamine Joint Support Horse Supplement not only supports joints and protects them from injuries but also contains ingredients that help support a horse’s overall health. Included are omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce inflammation and improve airway and lung functionality over time. Also included is vitamin C, which helps support the immune system, and selenium, which acts as an antioxidant and helps maintain muscle integrity.
This formula is designed to help repair damaged tissues and encourage the production of synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints. This is an easy supplement to work with: Just sprinkle the powder over your horse’s feed daily. The package contains a 70-day supply for one horse. It can be given to other animals that need joint support too, such as goats and dogs.
Unfortunately, it’s not flavored in a way that makes it appealing taste-wise, so you may have to be creative in hiding it in your horse’s food.
Pros
Promotes joint, inflammatory, and lung health
Designed to repair damaged tissues
The package contains a 70-day supply
Cons
Not flavored for optimal palatability
7. Majesty’s Flex Wafers Joint Support Horse Supplement
Majesty’s Flex Wafers Joint Support Horse Supplement offers superior joint support for horses of all ages. The formula is designed to support a horse’s full range of motion so they can continue doing all the activities that they enjoy without huffing and puffing in pain at the end of the day. It can also help reduce pain and inflammation due to arthritis as your horse ages. This product is made with five different supportive ingredients: glucosamine, yucca, MSM, ascorbic acid, and chondroitin sulfate.
The product comes in a wafer formula, which acts as a treat for your horse during snack time and gives you an opportunity to bond with your horse through hand-feeding. This means there is no need to separate their feed from that of other horses that do not require supplementation. However, this also means you can’t mix it into their feed even if you want to.
Pros
Comes in a convenient wafer form
Includes five powerful ingredients for joint support
Easy to administer
Cons
Not designed to be mixed in with feed
8. Farnam Apple Elite Electrolyte Horse Supplement
Hard-working and highly active horses lose electrolytes quickly, which need to be replenished to avoid dehydration and mineral loss. The Farnam Apple Elite Electrolyte Horse Supplement is designed to replenish lost fluids and nutrients after a long day in the competition ring or on the trail. This is also a great supplement to provide horses on hot, sunny days when overheating and dehydration are risks. It comes in powder form and can be added to either the water or feed tub.
The product can be used in advance to support a horse’s electrolyte needs. For example, you can use the supplement a day before heading off to a show or competition to ensure that they have the support that they need while performing. Adding it to your horse’s water supply will encourage increased water consumption when necessary. As the name suggests, this powder is flavored to taste like apples, but this may not appeal to all horses.
Pros
Quickly replenishes lost electrolytes due to excessive sweating and activity
Comes in powder form and can be added to feed and/or water
Can be used before increased activity to prevent dehydration and loss of minerals
Cons
Contains artificial flavors
May be too sweet for some horses
9. Vetoquinol Zylkene Equine Behavior Support Horse Supplement
This supplemental product is designed to help relieve stress and encourage calmness in horses. It contains no ingredients that will make your horse drowsy. However, it does contain ingredients like alpha-capsazepine (found in cow’s milk) that help naturally balance stress hormones and offer comforting effects without any humanmade chemicals or medications. Vetoquinol Zylkene Equine Behavior Support Horse Supplement was designed by veterinarians as a safe and effective alternative to prescription drugs.
This product can help your horse get through many types of stressful situations without losing their appetite for food and water. It’s lactose-free and has no artificial flavors or colorings, so it will not upset horses with sensitive digestive systems. Your horse can travel, compete, visit the vet, and get used to new social settings with ease and with complete mental alertness. That said, it’s much too expensive to use for all these reasons, so you’ll need to pick your battles wisely.
Pros
Helps relieve stress in a variety of situations
Contains no artificial ingredients
Lactose-free
Cons
Too expensive to use regularly, designed for occasional use
Packaging is tough to open
10. Horse Health Products Vita Biotin Hoof Horse Supplement
This supplement is meant to be combined with regular feed for optimal nutrition intake. It’s infused with dehydrated alfalfa, wheat middlings, veggie oil, molasses, ground limestone, and biotin. These ingredients work together to enhance digestion, carb digestion, and hydration maintenance. This supplement also provides a nice dose of calcium to support proper bone growth over time.
Horse Health Products Vita Biotin Hoof Horse Supplement is designed to improve hoof health, add shine to the coat, and improve overall brain health. It comes in powder form and includes a measuring scoop, so you always know exactly how much you are offering your horse at any given time. One problem, though, is that the powder quickly falls to the bottom of the feeding tub, which means that slow-eating horses may miss out on some of the supplementation that they are being offered.
Pros
Offers support for overall health
Includes real food like dehydrated alfalfa and limestone
Cons
Falls to the bottom of the feeding tub
Contains vegetable oil that could contribute to unwanted weight gain
Includes acetic acids as preservatives, which are not nutritional or necessary
Buyer’s Guide: Selecting the Best Horse Supplements
Buying horse supplements should be about more than just deciding which ones are most affordable and which ones claim to do what you need them to. There are several things that you can do to make the supplement-buying process more convenient and ensure great results as time goes on. Here are a few tips and tricks to consider.
Determining Your Horse’s Exact Needs
Before you decide on which supplements to offer your horse, it is important to understand what kind of supplementation they need. Just because they do not seem to be acting or looking themselves does not mean just any supplement will take care of their problems. It is extremely important to have a veterinarian visit your horse for a checkup and to do tests that will help you determine what kinds of supplements you should be offering your horse.
Your vet can tell you what ingredients to look for and which ones to avoid, which is especially important if your pet is susceptible to allergens of any kind. You should keep an eye on how your horse is acting and document any changes in coat or lung health, joint or bone pain, and overall health so your vet can more easily help you identify the types of supplements to look into.
Deciding How Often to Offer Supplements
Once you figure out which types of supplements to offer your horse, you need to determine how often those supplements should be fed to them. For instance, if your horse needs a supplement that has vitamin C to increase their immune system, should they be fed a vitamin C tablet once a day or once a week? It all depends on their current vitamin C levels, which brings us back to the veterinarian.
Blood tests can be done to determine exactly what amounts of nutrients are being absorbed and digested into your horse’s body for active use. These tests will help you determine whether your horse is deficient in any specific nutrient and the severity of the deficit. You can then choose supplements that meet those deficiency needs and experience a happier and healthier horse when all is said and done.
Figuring Out If Combining Supplements Is Right for Your Horse
Your horse may be deficient in multiple nutrients, or they might have a nutrient deficiency along with a joint issue. Regardless, it can be confusing as to whether you should combine supplements to meet all your horse’s needs. If you are offering your horse truly natural supplements that are designed to target specific needs, you can combine supplements to create a custom treatment protocol that meets their current and long-term needs.
If you are ever in doubt, contact your veterinarian so you can work together to create the custom protocol that your horse needs. You may need to experiment a bit, but with the help of the vet, you should be able to avoid things that would cost you money without improving the health of your horse overall. If anything, you can get expert advice about the specific nutrients that your horse needs, and you can then decide how best to provide those nutrients through supplements at home.
Another thing to think about when buying horse supplements is how you will store them. What kind of packaging does the supplement product come in? How well does the package seal out air? These are important questions because if a supplement gets exposed to air unnecessarily, it can become rancid and unusable prematurely. So, check out user reviews, and contact the selling company to find out how their package performs.
If necessary, you can purchase a 5-gallon bucket with a lid or another similar container to store your horse supplements in, which will help protect them from the elements. Supplements that do come in protective containers should not be left outside, even if they claim to be weather resistant. Moisture and humidity can change the integrity of a supplement product and make it less effective as time goes on.
You may need to store a supplement in the fridge or a dark space within your home. Some supplements may do well in sunlight and can be kept next to the food bowls. Take the time to find out the best storage practices before buying a certain horse supplement to ensure that you can meet its requirements.
Our Best Horse Supplements Selection Process
The horse supplements we reviewed in this article were chosen by PangoVet’s writers and editors, in collaboration with our experienced veterinary team, based on personal experience with the product, knowledge and expertise about the pet’s care needs, brand reputation, and reviews across multiple retail outlets from other customers that have purchased and used the product. The combination of these factors allows us to gather a wide range of information to help you choose only the best horse supplements and ensure you have the most accurate information about these products to promote proper care, health, and well-being of your beloved pets.
Why Trust PangoVet?
PangoVet’s licensed and experienced veterinarians have a knowledge base that extends to all kinds of pets—furry, scaly, and feathered—and want only the best for pets of all shapes and sizes. We also have experienced writers and editors who are pet owners with a variety of different pets, and we love our pets as much as you do. We recognize pets as part of our family. We make sure to only choose products from reputable brands highly rated by customers as well as products that we have personal experience with, to ensure that every horse supplements featured in this review is high-quality and safe for your pets.
Conclusion
Whether you are looking for an affordable option to help give your horse an edge or an all-in-one supplement to boost overall health, these supplements represent the best on the market. There are pellets and powders, joint supplements and vitamin supplements, and large tubs and small targeted regimens, all available at every price point.
But make sure to check out all the options on this reviews list! Many can be combined to create the optimal supplement that keeps your horse healthy and active throughout their childhood, adult, and senior years. Which horse supplements does your horse need, and do any here seem to fit the bill? Let us know what you think!
Grant is a freelance writer with years of experience writing about a diverse range of topics. He currently lives in the sunny state of Florida with his wife and son. His days are spent writing and caring for eight animals (two horses, two donkeys, two goats, and two dogs).
