Around Burghley time last year, I was chatting to someone from my yard about supplements (funnily enough, she also owns a Paddy!) as I was thinking about maybe swapping Pea's as I wasn't sure that his current one was really helping. She suggested I have a word with Feedmark as she had done that the year before and was getting on really well with them.
So, whilst shopping round Burghley with mum, I dragged her over to their stand saying 'it'll only be a quick word!'. Mum has very little knowledge about horses and her main contribution is to ensure that I don't put pink anywhere near him so whilst I was on the stand browsing supplements and asking her opinion, I didn't get much of an answer! Luckily, one of the team soon came over and asked exactly what it was that I was looking for, what kind of horse I had, etc.
As this was still the time where Pea was misbehaving but we weren't getting much luck as to the reason behind it, I gave the woman the basics. I explained that he's always had a history of being naughty but that he had recently been quite stiff behind resulting in back shoes being worn and ensuring that we didn't pick his back legs up too high. I mentioned that he's only 14 but that I was after something to help his joints and also potentially muscle as we weren't sure as to whether the problem stemmed from.
She recommended that we could either try their 'ExtraFlex HA with rosehip' or their 'ActiVet' and leaned more towards the 'ActiVet'. After reading the ingredients and hearing the benefits from them, I decided to give it a try. She suggested we get a 1.7kg tub which lasts about 30 days as it would take two weeks for it to be introduced to the feed and then we had two weeks to see how effective it was.
ActiVet includes the below:
- Boswellia: a herbal component which soothes older joints
- Glucosamine HCl: a building block of cartilage
- MSM: a source of sulphur, necessary for production of collagen and connective tissues.
- Magnesium: to aid muscle relaxation
- Linseed: a source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Helps to maintain condition.
- Soya: a source of quality protein important for muscle tissue
- Vitamin E and Selenium: antioxidants to maintain muscle health
It's suitable for horses in work and at rest helping to maintain flexibility and free movement as well as supporting joint structions and muscle functions. Pea has been on it since and I feel that it does really help him. I ran out of it for a few days and he did seem to decline a bit by not being on it as he became quite stiff. There is also a lot of great reviews on the product from people with elderly horses as well as younger ones so it's definitely worth a try if you have a horse that's a bit stiff!
I also have to recommend Feedmark as a company because they offer super speedy delivery. I'm absolutely useless at remembering to order more of the supplement when it starts to run out, often leaving it to the last minute when he only has a few days left. I placed an order last Monday for another month of the ActiVet, choosing the renewable bag (which I'm sure is way more than the original tub!), as well as ordering a large tub of garlic after continuously running out of that also. 20 minutes after placing my order, I received an email from one of their team to say that there was a delay in getting the orders out but that it should be with me on Wednesday. Considering that I wasn't expecting it until then anyway, I was quite surprised! Sure enough, when I got home from work Wednesday evening there was a lovely large box waiting for me :) (They also have free UK delivery!).
I would definitely recommend giving Feedmark a look if you're thinking of a new supplement as they have lots of products on offer for all sorts of different things.
Thanks for reading,
Laura xx
