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Welcome to the Animal Naturopathic Medicine Educatum podcast, specializing in canine, feline, and equine animal health from a biological perspective. Today's topic

Why Supplementation Sparks Debate

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is on supplementation. Even the term supplement is controversial as the challenge for the equine clinical science and practice is to find the balance between what is needed and what is not nutritionally required for the horse. On one hand, we should not immediately dismiss the possible advantages of a given supplement for therapeutic benefits. But on the other hand, we should not be accepting all claims that lack any supporting evidence from cleverly marketed products. Reading labels and determining if what is included in the product is at all required, and or a benefit to what is already been fed and supplied to the horse through the means of pasture and hay varieties where a better absorption and nutritional uptake through the body can be achieved. So do we need supplements? There are many fads, arguments and or hearsay for and against the menagerie of supplement products. To say no would mean

Evidence Gaps And Marketing Claims

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that while there has been a marked increase in the number of specialized dietary supplements on the market, this has not been matched by an increase in research on the safety efficacy of these products. Most supplements are unnecessary because a balanced diet will provide all the nutrients required. Many substances within supplements are marketed without adequate understanding of their function within the horse. Too often there is little or no evidence regarding the effect of a supplement on a particular metabolic or physiological mechanism, nor is there data to suggest that this process is of any relevance to the health, behavior or athletic performance of a horse. For most supplements there is little scientific evidence derived from horse specific studies to support marketing claims, especially when it has been proven that almost all vitamins and minerals are obtained through an evolutionary diet of pastures for our amazing grammanoids. To the yes, maybe answer for supplementation use, it is to always consider that optimum feeding is to feed a horse as an individual, and supplements

When Tailoring A Diet Makes Sense

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are a means by which the diet can be tailored. A supplement enables a nutritionist to consider specific individual conditions. For example, a horse with a dull coat or poor hooves. Supplementation in such circumstances may work to counteract the imbalance between nutrient supply and demand and help to restore normality. In other situations, supplements may help to provide additional boost or support to enable enhanced performance or reduce the risk of certain clinical conditions developing. Nutrition can play a very important role in the management of particular conditions in humans and other animals, and this is proven by the addition or extraction of particular nutrient sources in a diet. So, as an example in the equine field, correct doses of biotin can improve hoof health, or an omega-3 additive type supplement is going to be good for skin conditions. So even if scientific support is currently lacking, this should not be taken as an indication that a given supplement is not of a benefit to the horse in some ways, as it is about understanding what supplements are required and what will easily work well in the first place. So we always need to apply our critical thinking. There can be considerable misinformation and hype associated with some supplements, and this makes it very difficult for owners and nutritionists to make informed decisions regarding the value of a particular supplement. For some, the focus of correcting the diet is based purely on the supplementation given through feeds. But it is important to realize that horses are individuals and they do not always respond in the same way. What might work for one individual may not for another. The underlying cause of a particular problem may also differ between individuals, which again may affect their response to the supplement. For example, although an adequate and balanced diet will in most cases support good quality hoof growth under certain circumstances with how the horse is fed and housed, the additional

Hoof Health Beyond Biotin Alone

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supplementation of biotin may be needed to enhance the hoof quality. But the critical thinking aspect of this is what type of paddock ground does the horse walk around on every day? And what is it like through the seasons? Are there any hoof specific conditions relating to that? What type of hooves does the horse have? What type of shoeing does the horse have? Or is the horse barefoot? If it is barefoot, when it's ridden, should the horse be fitted with appropriate hoof boots? So what is the ground or surface that the horse is worked on? How concussive to the hooves and lower leg joints is the work that the horse is doing? Have x-rays of the hooves been taken, determining the thickness of the horse's sole and ruling out any petal bone issues. So this list of questioning is not exhaustive, but you see the variables can differ in the answers of one or two of the questions about a horse's hoof and possible differences of how or if the results of adding a supplement are going to work. Some types of hoof defects will not respond to biotin alone, and if other nutrients in the diet are already inadequate, perhaps a higher than normally recommended level may be needed for those benefits to occur. But for some hoof problems within the hoof wall and the hoof itself may not respond to any form of nutritional manipulation depending on the outcome of a clinical evaluation. So safety is an important consideration that is often forgotten in respect to supplements. One argument is that the only thing hurt by trying a product

Safety Risks And False Reassurance

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that doesn't work is your wallet. But this is not always true for the horse consuming certain products and or too many products. The importance of proven efficacy with the respect to safety may in fact depend on the nature of the supplement, whether its form is actually natural or synthetic, along with its intended use and for how long is this supplement going to be used? For example, let's consider a calming supplement. And if the product in fact is only having a placebo effect, but that effect is on the rider's mind. So that the rider now rides more positively and confidently, knowing that they're given their horse this wonderful calming supplement, then this may result in a better behaved horse, even if the product itself has had no direct effect on the behavior of the animal at all, but instead it's had an effect with the rider's mind. The rider had clear, concise use of AIDS, and if for example they were in a lesson, they may have felt more confident, resulting in a better communication between horse and rider. This would be considered a positive outcome even if that relaxation product did not work on a cellular level within the horse. The emotional turmoil for horse and rider has at least been lessened. So in that case, no harm has been done. But the product itself has not really been effective to the horse. But in a different scenario, let's say we had a product marketed to reduce the risk of a certain condition, say like laminitis, and it did not work. The animal will be placed at a clinical risk. Utilising a supplement in the absence of a diagnosis may delay pursuit of a thorough clinical assessment with a positive outcome for the horse. Many horse owners will willingly give supplements without proper consideration and if it is indeed even required for the horse. Peer pressure and being made to feel guilty for not feeding a certain product is unfortunately all too common in the equine industry. The power of hearsay over facts or fiction is relentless. A supplement can also result directly in an adverse effect through toxicity, interaction with other components of the feed rations andor medications. The nature of the supplement, how

Toxicity, Interactions And Selenium Caution

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it was made or processed, what it is being fed with, the status of the horse, all may influence whether a particular supplement is safe or could it contribute to further imbalances and possibly further toxicity within the horse. So depending on the product ingredients, there may be a risk of contamination by unwanted and or potentially toxic materials. Cross reactions and contraindications are known to occur between some medicinal drug therapies and added herbal spice type preparations. Taking into consideration all sources of a particular nutrient in the ration can be very important when considering adding a supplement or a mixture or different supplements, as the owner may be doubling up on some nutrients and in turn feeding an excess without realizing it. An example of this is selenium, as the differences between adequate, optimum and potential toxic levels of intake have very narrow guidelines. Toxic levels can be reached if multiple selenium containing supplements are used. Safe levels can be difficult to determine under a variety of circumstances. The focus for all supplementations and if it is needed should be established by asking what are the ingredients? Is the chemistry of these ingredients correct?

A Practical Checklist Before You Buy

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Will adding these to the horse's hard feed throw out the chemistry? You need to know what is the targeted or potential benefits of each supplement and what exactly are the ingredients and how and where were they sourced from. Remember to go back and consider what is currently in the diet, what is potentially lacking in the diet that can be rectified by simply making some ration changes first. Only then can we change the thought processes of the equine nutritional industry to be more equine, anatomical, biological and chemistry minded, but also be mindful of the horse as what we know as our monogastric herbivores. Hmm that was a big one, wasn't it? So I hope it was very helpful to you and uh giving you that thought process to stop, think, and uh look at all the pros and cons and um

Final Thoughts And Sign Off

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evaluate the whole horse. Alright, thanks again everybody. I'll catch you next time. Bye for now.