March 2006

Body Wisdom: Absorption Of Vitamins

Every horse needs vitamins, but not every horse needs a vitamin supplement.

Unless your horse is competing at a high level, you probably don’t need to worry about vitamin supplementation.

Your horse, like every living thing, relies on vitamins for a variety of body functions and would die without them. So, yes, your horse needs vitamins. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to supplement them above and beyond what’s in his current diet.

Whether or not your horse needs a supplement depends on two things—the level already present in his diet and what his needs are. If needs are being met by diet, he doesn’t need more. It’s that simple. More is not better. At best, more is a waste but harmless; at worst, more is toxic. …