Unraveling the Supplement Mystery

Cal and Shelley Nyuli, and their horses.

I just returned from a weekend in the Pureform Equine Health booth at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, CA.  I had always been suspect about supplements, never having experienced measurable positive effects. Being a businesswoman, I refuse to use something expensive that I couldn’t be certain was helping, so for many years I was supplement free. After being convinced by a trainer/friend I respect to try Pureform, I have been on the team for just about a year with fantastic results. After traveling for the weekend with Shelley Nyuli, owner of Pureform, my eyes were opened to a number of things that I never considered.  Mainly, all supplements are not created equal.  It then occurred to me that if with my experience and education I didn’t really understand supplements, it was likely many people are operating on myth. Shelley was kind enough to help unravel the mystery.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplement: It is known that the equine needs certain vitamins and minerals to operate properly both physically and mentally, no different than a human. Similar to our human natural foods that are grown in nutritionally degraded soils, so too is our horse’s forage. There are many well informed hay farmers who produce a product that is naturally fertilized at optimum levels and have proper nutritional ratios; however, 70-80% of the growers do not fall into that category. 

The only way to know exactly what supplement is needed, is to have a protein and macro-mineral analysis done on the hay. This will cost between $20 and $40. In knowing a hay’s weakness, you can find a quality, full spectrum vitamin and trace mineral with the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio needed to support the forage.

Salt: No matter what discipline, even a pasture pony needs access to good ol’ iodized salt. If a horse doesn't go to the salt blocks then it is best to add 1-2 tablespoons of loose salt to the grain, pellet or mash ration. 

Joint Support: There has been a surge in the past 10 years to have horses on some joint supplement, whether they are an athlete, or an aging companion. Unlike the easily defined vitamin requirements, joint health is not quite as easily affected. Not all joint supplements are created equal.

In 2006 a study was published in the Equine Veterinary Journal entitled “Evaluation of Glucosamine Levels in Commercial Equine Oral Supplements for Joints.” In this study, 23 random joint supplement products containing glucosamine were purchased from various stores and internet sites. The result was that only 14 of the products labels matched the actual formula and only 2 of the 23 products recommended the accurate dosage of 10,000 mg of glucosamine needed to see a positive result in the reduction of pain due to osteoarthritis.

Glucosamine works synergistically with MSM 10,000 mg, vitamin C 3000 mg and magnesium 600 mg as they become an increased bioavailable team. These ingredients will be in 80% of the joint aid supplements on the market today.  A common myth is: A good joint supplement includes Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Glucosamine does not need Chondroitin to be effective as a joint supplement. Glucosamine’s biological pathway, once orally ingested and enters the bloodstream, will aid in the production of Chondroitin and is a precursor to Hyaluronic Acid production of synovial fluid within the joint cavity.

Flax:  Stable Milled Flax is a cost-effective, convenient and worry-free method of incorporating highly beneficial alpha-linolenic acid into a horse's diet.

Biotin: A common misunderstanding is: Biotin makes healthier hooves. Biotin alone does not make a healthy hoof. Biotin will encourage growth but not always thickness. Methionine and Lysine are key for producing a healthy hoof wall and sole.  

A good All-In-One Supplement, full spectrum vitamin with proteinate or ascorbate trace minerals and joint support, is the most cost effective way to address the needs of most horses. There are many All-In-One Supplements that are also formulated for everything from the performance horse to miniature horses.

Remember: If a supplement doesn't give you the result you desire within 7-30 days, it may not be the one you should continue with either because of the product, or because it needs to be fed in a different dosage to be effective. Contact the manufacturer for further discussion on what changes you would like to see in your horse that you are not seeing.

Bio: Pureform Equine Health is a western based manufacturer dedicated to setting new standards in the development of safe, alternative nutraceuticals since 1998. Their products are producing results by offering fundamental nutritional supplements along with advanced pharmaceutical grade nutraceuticals.  Learn more about Pureform at www.pureformequinehealth.com

Take it like a Cowgirl★

Life is a wild ride full of ups and downs, highs and lows. The best thing you can do is to take it like a Cowgirl. Face your life head on, with guts, heart, compassion, class and faith. It is not for us to know what tomorrow may bring, but it is within us to saddle up and enjoy the ride. ~ Allison Trimble www.willfullyguided.com

Farewell, Reba my love...

16 years ago, I took home a fuzzy little black bear looking puppy from the Atascadero Feed Store. A teenage boy was going to take her to the humane society because his mom wouldn't let him keep her. I remember she came with a collar and nail clippers. I was 18 years old, and filling my house with animals. She nestled into my heart along with her new family members Maddie, Meg and Oreo. Those 3 dogs started my menagerie. Reba was always the one the most concerned with me. Since she lost her hearing, she fills her day with looking for me and following me through the house. She sleeps beside the bed, and when I am in the house, is never more than a foot away. Even when it got hard for her to stand, she would tirelessly rise and follow me. Today she wasn't able to, and now it is my job to look after her. I lost Maddie about 4 years ago, and Meg 3 years ago. Oreo is still clawing up my couch, but today, Reba will join her friends. A girl couldn't have asked for a better friend. RIP Reba, my love. You will be a bouncy fluffy puppy again, free of your weary body. I will miss you so very much. Bayleen and Mugsy must need you. Carry my love with you <3

Until we meet again...RIP Bayleen

Making the Program in love, life and horses.

I have found myself to be the most accurate about a person in the first 30 seconds. The feeling I get about someone before they even speak; my impression from the look in their eye, their movement and body language. My sense of feel is well developed because of my years of applying it to horses. I have a strong gut read, but an overachiever’s need to work around a challenge.  In my failed relationships, if I look back to the first reaction I had when first I saw each of them, I was the most accurate about who they eventually showed themselves to be in that primary moment. I became a champion at overlooking that sense. I set aside judgment and got to “know” them, which ultimately meant making excuses for why they were not realizing their obvious potential.  It has not served me well. 

Over the past few years I have elevated the quality of people in my life. I kept the healthy friendships and shed the rest. I welcomed new, wonderful people into my life, and that has made a tangible difference in my well-being. I have always been selective about the horses in my barn. All of them have strengths and potential, and I give them what they need to embrace those qualities. With horses this results in a good relationship.  I don’t take in just every horse. As a species, I love all horses, just like as I love the human race in general. However; if I want a successful program, there are many horses that don’t help you get there. Great cowhorses aren’t made out of any ole horse.

Things began to change for me when I stopped letting just anyone into my life.  I could feel the improvement, but I was still dating like I selected horses for my barn. All they needed was the whisper of some unrealized potential, and true to my strengths, I would set about giving them what they needed to reach their true capability.
Herein lays the rub.

Horses rise to that call.

Men wallow in it.

What that leaves you in is a relationship that takes much effort, but gives nothing needed back. It is doomed by design. It took me a long time to grasp that concept.It finally happened when I started to look at it like this… There is one set of criteria that gets a horse into your program. A potential partner has to have those qualities as a given. I then asked myself this question:

If from all of these horses, you had to pick only one of them to ride and compete on, in any type of competition, for the rest of your career, who would you pick?

That was a concept I could understand. I would never pick a colt, or a promising prospect. I would pick a proven, tried and true bridle horse. A warhorse who has already shown, without a doubt, what he is capable of. I would pick one of my special horses, one of the exceptional creatures that a person is lucky to have even one of in a lifetime.  A horse who has the kind of grit and heart that separates them from the rest.

I would never risk my career on potential, but for years I risked my personal life on promise. When I got ahold of that line of thinking, things began to change for me. I have felt much more confident in my connections, friendships and relationships once I was able to apply that analogy to my personal life. Moving forward in all things, I plan to listen to the observation of my heart and gut. I will no longer try to silence them and think my way out of their opinion. I will apply my critical thinking to the things I can measure.