Choose the right vitamin and mineral supplement

Short version: see the overview

Here you get the full basis for the choice: what vitamins and minerals do in the horse, why forage rarely covers the need, which of the three products suits your horse, and exactly how much it needs. All dosage figures are per 100 kg body weight per day in dry weight.

All horses need a daily vitamin and mineral supplement, regardless of age, breed and workload. If you have no forage analysis, feed at the Ekstra dosage. That is our standard starting point.

Why all horses need a supplement

What vitamins and minerals do in the horse

Vitamins and minerals are small but absolutely essential nutrients that the horse cannot produce itself in sufficient amounts. They play a part in three things you can see and feel in your horse:

  • Building and maintaining bones, muscles and hooves
  • Support for energy metabolism and the immune system
  • A shiny coat and good general well-being

Forage is the foundation, but not the whole answer

Forage, meaning grass, haylage, hay and possibly straw, is always the foundation of your horse's diet. But forage alone does not provide enough vitamins and minerals. Even the best forage rarely covers the full requirement. That is why all horses need a supplement alongside it, and that applies on rest days too. The requirement doesn't take a day off, even when the horse does.

Which product should you choose

Product Suitable for Good to know
Every Day Happy Most horses in light to moderate work Contains only a little omega-3, and it comes from linseed
Peak Performance Periods of hard work or rehabilitation, where there are increased demands on energy and protein supply relative to the horse's current workload Already contains RC O3 Algeolie and RC Movement
Supreme Minerals When you only want to supplement the forage with the pure vitamins and minerals Contains no omega-3. If your horse needs it, give the algae oil alongside

Every Day Happy and Peak Performance are dosed exactly the same and share one chart. Supreme Minerals has its own.

Daily dosage per 100 kg body weight

Our starting point is the Ekstra dosage

At Regulator Complete, we recommend the Ekstra dosage as a starting point. There are two reasons for this. Very few horse owners have a forage analysis, and we often see in the analyses we receive that Danish forage does not contain enough of the important trace minerals.

Feeding too little can prove costly further down the line: poor hoof and coat quality, low resilience and more bills from the vet and farrier. That is why we recommend covering a little extra rather than risking deficiencies.

Ekstra dosage for light work

Product 0-14 years Senior 15 years and over
Supreme Minerals 15-20 g 20 g
Every Day Happy 65 g 80 g
Peak Performance 65 g 80 g

The figures are grams per 100 kg of horse per day in dry weight. Find your horse's weight and multiply. A 500 kg horse multiplies by 5, a 300 kg pony by 3.

The full chart for Every Day Happy and Peak Performance, 0-14 years

Workload Normal Ekstra Maximum
Light work and turnout 45 g 65 g 85 g
Moderate work 60 g 80 g 100 g
Demanding work 76 g 106 g 121 g

The full chart for senior horses, 15 years and over

From 15 years, the gut becomes less efficient at absorbing nutrients, and worn teeth, tooth loss and sharp edges make it harder to make use of the forage. The result is a lower intake of micronutrients from the feed. That is why the senior chart is higher.

Workload Normal Ekstra Maximum
Light work and turnout 54 g 80 g 102 g
Moderate work 73 g 97 g 121 g
Demanding work 91 g 127 g 145 g

Supreme Minerals

Situation Grams per 100 kg per day
Light work 15-20 g
Moderate work, in-foal mare, senior 20 g
Intensive work, lactation months 1-3 20-35 g

If you have no forage analysis, use the top end of the range.

How to find your horse's weight

The dosage follows your horse's current weight, not its ideal weight. If you don't have scales, use the girth measurement: girth in metres cubed, multiplied by 80. A girth of 1.7 m gives 1.7 × 1.7 × 1.7 × 80, which is approximately 392 kg. Measure at least once a month, and weekly if your horse is changing.

When can you use the Normal dosage

You can drop down to the Normal dosage if you have a forage analysis showing that the mineral content is at least around these values on a dry matter basis:

Mineral Minimum in the forage
Copper 4-5 mg/kg
Zinc 20-22 mg/kg
Manganese 40-50 mg/kg
Iron 100-110 mg/kg

Pay particular attention to iron. The horse absorbs only 10-15% of the iron in forage. If the iron content is lower than average, which is often the case in Denmark, we recommend raising the dosage to Ekstra. Without a mineral analysis it is hard to know whether the forage covers enough, which is why Ekstra is the safe choice.

Foals, youngstock, broodmares and stallions

Horse How to dose
Foals 2-5 months 1 g Every Day Happy or Peak Performance per kg of the foal's body weight. If you use Supreme Minerals, it is 0.5 g per kg of foal
From 6 months and youngstock As an adult horse aged 0-14 years in light work, but calculated from the expected adult weight
In-foal mare, months 1-8 According to the mare's own workload
In-foal mare, months 9-11 As moderate work
After foaling The first 3 months as demanding work, because she is producing milk. Then as moderate work until weaning
Both in foal and lactating As demanding work for the entire period she is producing milk
Stallion At least 10% more than the chart states. The easiest option is to feed according to workload at Ekstra

Increased support during special periods

There are times when your horse needs a little more than the chart states:

  • During the moulting season, when there are greater demands on coat and skin
  • At competitions or during transport, when stress, sweat loss and strain increase
  • When your horse is under pressure, for example during illness, harder training or a change of environment

In those situations, you can increase the dosage of Every Day Happy, Peak Performance or Supreme Minerals by 50-60% in total, from a few days up to 4-6 weeks. Then return to the normal daily dosage.

If your horse needs a longer course, keep to the Ekstra dosage for 8-16 weeks or the Maximum dosage for 4-12 weeks.

Related articles

Vitamins and minerals in practice

Ingredients and quality in horse feed

Myths and misconceptions in horse feeding

Skin, hooves and body functions

Digestion and the microbiome

Practical tips from the yard

You'll find questions about soaking, dry and wet weight and the other feed terms all in one place in FAQ about feeding.

Unsure about your horse's feeding plan? Book a feed consultation, and we'll work out the dosage together.