EVM Essential Blend

Yes, you can because the balanced blend of minerals in EVM Essentials work in almost all diets to provide all the minerals your horse needs in well balanced ratios. It also supplies supplementary vitamin E and biotin. If your horse is not sick, stressed or in hard work the hindgut microbes should be producing enough vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and K to meet your horse's needs, skin manufactures vitamin D from sunlight and the liver can synthesize vitamin C. If you are feeding relatively freshly baled hay it will retain adequate vitamin A to meet the needs of a mature horse in light work. Otherwise, feed 2 carrots a day to add vitamin A. Your horse will love you for it!

However if your horse is pregnant, lactating, growing or is sick, stressed or working at a high level of performance then Equine Vit&Min Premium, TropiCAL-Pro or Omega-3 PLUS Blends are more suited to meet their higher nutritional requirements.

Not every horse needs extra salt added to their diet as many get all the salt they need from bagged feeds. The actual amount of salt required can vary from day to day as well - their requirements are higher during very hot weather or following periods of heavy sweating. High performance horses need to have their electrolytes balanced very finely, and their riders prefer to manage the salt intake independently of the vitamin and mineral intake.

Simply because most horses don’t need them, and we don’t think you should pay for ingredients you don’t need. Most adult horses get all the protein they need, including the most limiting amino acids lysine, methionine and threonine, from their roughage and energy sources. Breeding and growing horses have higher protein requirements which can be easily met through the addition of a quality protein feed source such as lucerne or full fat soybean meal.

The EVM blends do contain some organically chelated zinc, copper and selenium. However, in a study of scientific literature, Frape (2010) concluded that "there is minimal, or no, difference in biologic use, or animal performance with trace minerals compared to organic sources. Since organic chelates and proteinates bypass the body’s "feedback loops" for mineral absorption, organic minerals should be limited to 20 - 30% of the total micromineral content of the additive to avoid the risk of toxicity. In other words, because the microminerals are being snuck in the ‘back door’ in disguise as proteins when in chelated form, the body’s normal ability to monitor how much to let in is compromised. There is probably merit in providing a small proportion of microminerals (such as copper, zinc and selenium) in quality horse supplements in both organic and inorganic forms.

Equine Vit&Min does not add any energy or calories to the horse’s diet. However, it might make a horse feel better and its body may use the calories it eats more efficiently as its body functions become optimised. This is called feed use efficiency, which can mean a horse needs less caloric intake each day to perform the same work (and that can mean a smaller feed bill). It’s a bit like a car’s engine doing more kilometres per litre when fuelled with a higher quality fuel that allows the engine to perform more efficiently.

Vitamin and Mineral Analysis (per 60g serve)

Calcium: 6.7g
Phosphorus: 3.6g
Magnesium: 11.8g
Copper: 245mg
Zinc: 710mg
Manganese: 300mg
Cobalt: 0.9mg
Chromium: 3.0mg
Iodine: 4.0mg
Selenium: 1.3mg
Vitamin E: 720 IU
Biotin: 10mg