Horse Vitamin Requirement

Do you know which vitamins and minerals your horse needs and how they get them? Every horse needs vitamins for various processes in the body. A part of the daily requirement must be obtained through the horse's diet. Horses can get vitamins through roughage, concentrate feed, and supplements. Even though the required amounts for a horse may seem small, they have a significant effect on health. The amount of some vitamins is very precise. Some vitamins can be harmful in both deficiency and excess.

Scientific name:

Vitamin

Function of vitamins in horses:

• Growth

Working horses

Per kg body weight Lactation (first 6 months)

Per kg body weight

Vitamin A 45 I.U. 60 I.U.

Vitamin D3 6.6 I.U. 6.6 I.U.

Vitamin E 1.6 - 2 mg. 2 mg.

Vitamin B1 0.06 - 0.125 mg. 0.075 mg.

Vitamin B2 0.04 - 0.05 mg. 0.05 mg.

Symptoms of vitamin deficiency in horses.

A deficiency of vitamins in horses can be detected through a blood test. However, this is a snapshot and not all deficiencies can be detected. Not all horses with vitamin deficiencies show symptoms, and some symptoms can have other causes. Nevertheless, we have listed possible symptoms of a vitamin deficiency in a horse:

• Eating sand or manure

• Low resistance

• Poor coat/mane

• Lagging in muscle development

• Poor hooves

• Mud fever

Additionally, you can also calculate a deficiency by analyzing the amounts in the feed. With a roughage analysis, you can make a complete ration calculation. This way, you can determine if the hay you are giving is low in certain vitamins and minerals. In that case, it may be necessary to supplement additional vitamins.