Endurance horse health: Vitamin E supplements

Adding extra Vitamin E to our endurance horses feed ration on a daily basis can be really helpful. Especially for those horse that are working consistently and do not live on pasture.

I’ve always used the 400 I.E. gel caps that I get in a big jar from Costco.  I’ve been doing this for years and years…originally based upon the original recommendations by Susan Garlinghouse after I heard one of her lectures.  Since then there have been a lot of articles published on the topic, all indicating that supplementing extra Vitamin E for our working horses can be of a real benefit to them.

COUPON ALERT: For those of you that shop at Costco – from now until June 6, 2010 they have a $5 off coupon on a bottle of 500 capsules, with a 10 item limit.  I bought a few bottles, since they don’t expire until October 2013.  This makes it a very good deal.  If for example, you wanted to supplement one horse with 5 capsules of 400 i.e. Vitamin E per day (an additional 2000 i.e.) then it would work out to costing you a little under $3 per month.  These Vitamin E caps from Kirkland (Costco) have verified ingredients from uspverified.org.  They also contain no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and no yeast, starch or gluten.  The Vitamin E ingredients are:  dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Geletin, Glycerin and Water.

In between rides this is what  my horses are fed:

1. Hay
2. Mega Dose Vitamins  (1 cup)
3. Handful of 400 I.E. Vitamin E gel caps
4. Free choice loose salt

That’s it.  They don’t even get beet pulp unless I’m getting them ready to trailer on a trip.  I use beet pulp along with a cup of complete feed (or now, the low carb feeds)  to get some additional salt into them. That way they arrive at the ride well hydrated.  This seems to work really well.  My horses maintain good weight and are very healthy.   I am usually limiting the amount of hay they get because they are all such easy keepers.

This is fun...but Chief wants to slow down and....

If you haven’t heard about the benefits of adding Vitamin E to your horse’s diet, click here to read a report from Kentucky Equine Research.

Here is an excerpt from the article:  “So how much vitamin E is needed?

Recent research indicates that the vitamin E requirement of horses is much higher than was thought 10 years ago.

Table 1 indicates the Kentucky Equine Research recommendations for vitamin E in IU per day for a 550 kg horse in various intensities of work. For hard-working and athletic horses which may be prone to “tying-up” there is a definite benefit from vitamin E and selenium supplementation. These antioxidants can reduce the severity of exercise-induced free radical damage to muscle cells. In a small percentage of horses that tie-up, supplementation of vitamin E and selenium alone will alleviate the problem.

...go the other way!

Recent research at the University of Kentucky has indicated that the requirement may be higher than the levels in Table 1 in horses exercised daily for a prolonged period of time. In the study horses were trained for 3 months and vitamin E supplementation of 80 IU/kg diet (800 IU/day) did not maintain blood and muscle vitamin E levels whereas 300 IU/kg diet (3000 IU/day) did maintain levels. A basal diet containing less than 40 IU/kg diet (400 IU/day) also failed to maintain blood or tissue levels of the vitamin. However, vitamin E supplementation did not change specific indicators of muscle integrity or damage in an exercise test at the end of the training period. More research needs to be done, but it would not be surprising if recommendations for vitamin E intake were increased in the near future, particularly for prolonged duration exercise.

How about we run some more! Only 7 out of 8 hooves off the ground!!

Vitamin E is important for your horse’s health but it is also an expensive supplement. Therefore, it is important not to overuse the vitamin. However, if vitamin E can lead to improved immune and muscle function, better performance and a happier horse, the benefits will outweigh the costs.”

Photos of Chief and Bo taken the afternoon of 5/23/2010.  Play time!