It is easy to be overwhelmed by the number and variety of oral supplements available for our horses. The shear volume of supplements and the continuous marketing of these products can create confusion and frustration with owners and veterinarians who are trying to support equine health and performance.
One simple approach to deal with this confusion is the dogmatic position that all supplements are of questionable value and there are no proven benefits to any oral supplements. This school of thought is based on the premise that optimal nutritional needs of every horse can always be satisfied with only feeding quality forage and “balanced” commercial feed rations. While there is sound logic and scientific support for emphasizing quality forages and grain concentrates it is an over simplification to then discount the value of all further supplementation.
Even when the best forages and grain rations are fed, nutrient gaps can occur that do not support optimal health and performance for every horse in every lifestyle. For example, forages change often and the nutrient content changes with each variety, cutting and source. Forages from the same field can have variable nutrient content and availability dictated by environmental and soil management factors.
To complement forages, balanced grain rations are usually offered to provide additional calories and nutrients. The term “balanced” with respect to grain rations implies that no other nutrients will ever be required. While it is true that most commercial rations are excellent products and their formulas are based on National Research Council recommendations, their design is to provide a base line of required nutrients in a wide variety of equine lifestyles. Within any barn there are individual variables such as genetics, disease, stress and management that will create nutrient gaps even when quality grain rations are provided. The strategic use of supplements will provide support to help fill in these gaps and provide additional amounts of critical nutrients that can help address the unique needs of individual horses.
Evidence for the value of supplementation can also be found in human nutrition. The 2009 Healthcare Professional Impact Study stated that 96% of registered dieticians consume supplements for their own health concerns. This study also revealed that the surveyed dieticians estimated that 80% of Americans have “nutrient gaps” in their diets and that supplements can help bridge these gaps.
Unlike commercial grain rations, supplements may also provide novel ingredients that are not available in commercial rations. For example, there are supplements that include unique ingredients that are targeted toward supporting the health of the musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, respiratory and reproductive systems. Supplements provide the advantages of utilizing these novel ingredients coupled with the higher inclusion of specific nutrients to target numerous physiologic needs. Supplements can have a value added benefit but the focus must be on quality, safety and science.
If supplements can have a useful role in supporting the health of horses, the next challenge for owners and veterinarians is separating the “wheat from the chaff”. How can you know that a supplement company is providing high quality, safe and effective products? The animal supplement industry is not regulated as closely as the animal feed industry, but there are crucial points that help identify quality supplements and companies.
The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) was created by quality focused and ethically driven manufactures. The NASC is networked with state and federal animal health and feed regulators and approved members must meet stringent guidelines with respect to quality, safety and labeling. For example, NASC members must comply with current Good Manufacturing Guidelines (cGMP) and an Adverse Event Reporting System. There are rigorous labeling requirements and ongoing audits of each company’s products, ingredient quality and procedures. A supplement that carries the NASC seal is evidence that the manufacture has made a commitment to quality and safety and they are held to the highest standard in the industry.
The price of a particular supplement may not be a sound basis to make decisions. When comparing supplements consideration should be given as to why one product is less expensive. There are no short cuts to quality and if one product cost significantly less there may be a valid reason. What is the quality of the ingredients? Are the ingredients of known sources and tested for purity and stability? Can you trust the labeling list of ingredients and guarantees? Independent laboratory survey testing of animal and human supplements has often demonstrated poor label compliance. Simple put, the unit cost of a supplement has little value if the product is of poor quality or stability. With supplements you usually get what you pay for.
The supporting science and research with supplements can also help identify quality manufacturers and products. Unfortunately the amount and depth of research with supplements is not comparable to pharmaceuticals. In an ideal world, every supplement would have confirmed evidence-based research support similar to the rigorous standards of pharmaceuticals. In reality, supplement research may never reach the level of research required of pharmaceuticals, and this may be an unfair expectation.
Supplements are not pharmaceuticals and the research design of pharmaceutical trials may never successfully be applied to supplements. The benefits of supplements are often based on the modulation of a multitude of cells or tissues over long periods of time. While many pharmaceuticals have specific targeted effects that can more easily be measured. Supplements by themselves are not design to treat diseases or conditions like proven pharmaceuticals, however supplements may complement the use of pharmaceuticals. Most supplements are designed to help the body help it self through support of normal physiologic processes, and these effects are difficult to quantify.
Often times the scientific logic for ingredients utilized in supplements is based on laboratory animals or cell culture work. While this does not prove the same effects will occur in horses, it is a good starting point. Species specific research should always be the goal, but we may need different research models in lieu of those utilized for pharmaceuticals. Research based on studying the prophylactic benefits of supplements may hold more promise than looking at disease modifying effects of supplements. The other avenue of supplement research may look at how one disease marker can be influenced through the use of supplements. The research community is struggling with how to design protocols that fairly evaluate the efficacy of supplements. Never the less any supplement manufacturer should base their formulations on current scientific principles while at the same time continue to invest in species specific clinical research.
Horse owners and veterinarians should demand supplement manufactures be rooted in science and actively supporting research. Does the manufacture have veterinarians or nutritionist on staff to consult with? Are they actively involved in funding equine specific studies? Research may not exist yet that definitively proves the benefits of a particular supplement, but the company should have a good scientific foundation and investing in research answers for the future.
In summary, there are many supplements available for horses and differentiating between the merits of one supplement over another can be a challenge. Horses consuming good forages and balanced grain rations can have nutrient gaps that supplements can address. Novel ingredients in supplements may offer benefits that traditional grain rations cannot provide. Owners and veterinarians may want to consider manufactures that are audited members of the NASC. The price of a supplement should not be the only consideration as poor label compliance has been proven. All supplement manufactures should have a sound foundation in science and actively support on going supplement research. Horses can certainly benefit from quality products from reputable manufactures. We do not have all the answers yet, but the future offers great potential if we all continue to focus on quality, value and science.
Kenneth J. Kopp
Technical Service Veterinarian
Arenus