I've been thinking about adding a supplement to Milo's diet. He currently gets roughly four flakes a day of a timothy mix hay (on top of his day long grazing on the pasture) for forage. He gets about a cup of oats mostly to get his supplements down. Now I mentioned before the supplements he is getting. He's been on Platinum Performance Orcho-Chon joint supplement for about six months. Hes being switched currently only temporarily to Cosequin ASU, until I read up on it a bit more and/or see any change in him since the change.
But Milo does not have any sort of nutritional additives to his diet. Sure he has a white salt lick in the pasture that he hasnt licked since about the first week I gave it to him. I also have known deep down thats hes lacking something else, especially when last spring I started seeing him licking and biting dirt. I researched possible reasons for him to be doing this, and most stated that something was lacking in nutrition, among other possible behavoral reasons. So, the quest now is what nutritional supplement to add to his diet?
A fellow boarder (very opinionated, but simply wants to help - she also very much likes Milo and is always interested in his doings) recommended Dynamite Supplements. She said she uses it on her horse, for dogs, and even the injured coon in her backyard (LAUGH OUT LOUD!). She handed Milo a small handful of it (its in a pelleted version - much like a grain form) and he gobbled it right up, then stretched his neck out and begged for more. Wow, shouldnt have a problem feeding it to him at least. She then told me that Sarah once (if not sill is) was a distributor and I should be able to find out more information from her. If she no longer distributes, there is another gal in the local area who does. This sparked the reminder that Melissa uses Dynamite supplements for Grace, and Gracie always looks fabulous.
After contacting Sarah about the supplements, she informed that she is still a distributor, and gave me the link to the Dynamite site here. There, I was able to see the online catalogue of products available and the descriptions of each. Sarah recommended (as does the website) to begin with the regular package, Dynamite for Horses, for a minimum of 90 days, then to determine if an addition or change is necessary.
The Dynamite for Horses product (as quoted from Dynamite's Online Catalogue) is listed as "the foundation for the Dynamite program for horses. This state-of-the-art supplement reflects decades of research, development, and use byt he top trainers in the country. It is a complete balanced formula containing enzymes, coenzymes, biocatalyst microorganisms, amino acids, cultured gut bacteria, vitamins and bio-available minerals. Users report increased competative edge, better disease resistence (how exactly is this determined, I wonder?), reduced feed bills, better attitude, hoof growth, and bloom (bloom??). This is our high selenium supplement, containing 1.75 mg per training dose, and is the product favored by trainers of race, endurance, event, dressage and other hard-working horses."
Reading further on their other products, I came across Dynamite Plus (the same supplement the other boarder uses). It's description seems a little more on the side I'm looking for, bolded: "Dynamite Plus has all the goodness of Dynamite at a reduced level, with the addition of natural minerals and advanced biotechnology to help further increase the absorption of the feed ration. Ingredients are also added to help balance pH. It is an excellent supplement for animals that do not need the additional "horse power" generated by the original Dynamite." However, I do understand that if I put him on Dynamite supplements, I would do as recommended and start with the suggested 90 days of the original Dynamite.
The catalogue shows the vast amount of additional add ins available including: 1 to 1 Free Choice, 2 to 1 Free Choice, Izmine, NTM Salt, Dyna-Pro, Breeder Pac, Deodorizer (haha!), Dyna-Shield, Dyna Hoof, Dyna Spark, DMG, Easy Balance, Easy Boy, Ester-C, Excel, Free & Easy, Free Choice Start Pak, herbal Green, Herbal Tonic, H.E.S., Hiscorbadyne, MSM, OxE Mega, Pelleted Grain Ration, Pre-Race Pak, Remium E-Selenium, Relax, Release, S.O.D. for Horses, Shampoo/Conditioner, Super ACV, Super Stress, TNT, Tranquil, Yucca, and V/M Salt Mix.
Wow. Thats a lot of available options. I honestly can say I am familiar with erm like two of those? What the heck is all of that??
I think my next step is to send my vet an email with the ingredients in the original Dynamite and see if he believes it will be a good route for Milo, or if he is even familiar with the Dynamite products. But ever single person I have asked who uses Dynamite loves it. And I know personally two horses on it who look (although looks can be deceiving) fabulous (among all of Sarah's horses - but I dont know them personally).
What are you thoughts? Have you used this product? What do you use to meet your horse's nutritional needs?
2 comments:
Our horses get a vitamin/mineral balancer pellet specially formulated for our part of the country - we're low selenium here. All horses get some cocosoya oil with their pellets - for vitamin E and also good fatty acids. Some of our horses with metabolic syndrome/tendencies to insulin resistance are on a custom magnesium/selenium/chromium/vitamin E supplement. Some of the mares are on raspberry leaves (Mare Magic), some horses are on U-Gard as a preventive for ulcers and a couple are on joint supplements. That's all. I've never needed to use any performance supplements - our horses are healthy, shiny and have plenty of energy.
Thanks Kate. The Dynamite isnt necessarily for additional performance, but for vitamins and nutrients he may not be getting.
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