Equimins Ltd Blog | Natural Horse Supplements, Supplies & Products

As spring marches on, events become more frequent, whatever kind of sport you participate in. With this in mind, we thought we’d do a blog about performance horses, including a few of our top tips. As you’d expect, we have some great products designed for hardworking horses…

• Be prepared- yes, make sure you put in the time needed to prepare yourself and your horse before the event. We’re not just talking about the night before, performance horses need to adhere to strict fitness regimes to ensure that they’re ready for the competition…and it doesn’t do any harm for riders to brush up on their fitness too!
• Feed the right stuff- if you don’t put the right fuel in your car, it’s not going to work like it should do, and the same applies with horses. This doesn’t mean you have to pack your horse full of straights, but it does mean that you need to make sure he’s receiving all the energy, fibre, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and more that he needs. Our Advance Concentrate Complete is a great balancer for competition and leisure horses alike (perfect for those fed a forage diet), but we also have Super Vitamin E & Selenium Supplement and Super Plus Competition Supplement, both designed for hard working horses.
• Know your stuff- whether it’s your dressage test, the cross country course or your vet’s phone number, make sure you’ve done all you can to help you stay calm when the pressure is on.
• Stress less- nerves can take over when it comes to events, and if you or your horse suffer, it could well be worth investing in some calming products to help you enjoy yourselves. For horses that get stressed pre competition, Serenity Calm Down Paste could really help, and for riders, Serenity Riders Chill Out Calmer Capsules can make a big difference.
• Accidents happen- we don’t mean to be all doom and gloom, but accidents happen. An over reach, a bruise or bump, a scrape or cut. Make sure you have a good first aid kit in the lorry or trailer (for human and horse!), and keep it stocked up. You may (hopefully) never need it, but it’s great back up if you do. Make sure you keep your vet’s number in there too, just in case.
• Super salts- horses in hard work could well require electrolytes to help replenish salts lost through sweat. These can be fed pre and post competition, in food and water (like our Revitalyte Electro Salts) or given in an oral paste after the event (like Electrolyte Paste).
• Warm ups and cool downs- we know that the competition is important, but so is the warming up and cooling down phase. Always allow yourself plenty of time for both. Use the warm up to de-stress and prepare (as well as warming up cool muscles) and use the cool down to wash off your horse, walk him without tack to cool off and to help his breathing come back to a normal rhythm if it’s elevated. You can also use the cool down phase to look for any issues such as lameness or anything that requires treatment.
• Cool legs- many people use cooling clays after hard exercise, to help cool, soothe and tighten hot, tired legs. These can be used under travel boots and bandages on the journey home (with paper or bags) and are easy to apply. If you use rubber/latex gloves to put the Legs R Cool on, this makes the job a whole lot easier, but do check for cuts and grazes before you apply, as it shouldn’t be used on wounds.
• Muscles matter- some horses, especially performance horses, can suffer with muscle issues. If you’re even in any doubt about your horse’s health and you suspect that your horse is having an issue, contact your vet immediately. Tests can be done to help show the cause, and management or feeding can be tweaked to help the horse’s muscles stay in top condition. We have a number of products designed to help muscles including L-Carnitine, Dee-Tye & Drink and Creatine.

To find out more, see our Performance section and, for more information, contact us.