Turmeric Benefits For Horses : Natural Supplement for Horses

The Benefits of Turmeric for Horses: The Natural Supplement for Horses during the Summer months

Feeding your horse in the summer can involve trying to balance a lot of different factors. From skin sensitivity to allergens, with resulting issues like sweet itch, to keeping your horse hydrated with enough fluids being taken in, through to feeding for joint support and inflammation.

There is no end of articles about wintering horses; there is a similar number about the issues over spring grass. After that, there is significantly less information on looking after your horse over the summer months.

So, what are the summer issues?

At the most basic level these are stress factors; these can be anything from high temperatures to biting insects, recovery from exercise to impact injuries, dust or seed allergies to skin conditions, any number of conditions that are just niggles. Exercise often increases for horses over the summer and combined with hard ground as the weather dries up, this will result in inflammation in the joints, whether visible or not, which occurs as part of the body’s natural response to physiological stress. You can read more about caring for your horses joints in our recent blog.

There is one common factor running through stress related conditions and that is inflammation. Turmeric helps to maintain natural anti-inflammatory mechanisms, for joint stiffness and soft tissue swelling as well as in the respiratory system. Turmeric has been used as a traditional medicine in Eastern culture for centuries. It has been extensively researched over its properties, efficacy, bioavailability and safety across species. It has been found to be perfectly placed as a beneficial supplement for all horses. Exposure to heat and rain will also test the skin and coat which will need to be in good condition to help prevent ailments. Turmeric for horses is great for maintaining healthy skin and minimizing reactions that might worsen over the summer, such as insect bites, sweet itch and rain scald.

Turmeric is a plant from the ginger family with a familiar yellow colour which comes from a compound called Curcumin. As one of over 200 compounds within Turmeric, Curcumin is the main active ingredient. Turmeric for horses is a strong antioxidant and has a metabolic effect in the natural inflammation cycle of the body’s defence mechanisms. Benefits of turmeric to horses include muscle recovery, joint function, through to insulin sensitivity, turmeric components can help optimise efficiency of metabolism and so support general health and wellbeing over the lifetime of the horse. Curcumin has shown the ability to regulate the inflammatory pathways, which is particularly important for horses and ponies who may require additional joint support. Given this ability to regulate inflammation, the benefits of turmeric to horses are extensive and includes support for horses with laminitis.

How can you include Turmeric in your horse’s diet?

TurmerAid™, a turmeric based natural supplement for horses from The Golden Paste Company is a fantastic supplement to include in your horse’s diet, particularly over the summer months.

When choosing how to add Turmeric to your horse’s diet, it is important to note that not all the options out there will be as effective as each other. Turmeric for horses is not easily absorbed by the body, so its delivery and formulation as a natural supplement for horses are vital to ensure the horse receives maximum benefit and you don’t waste money on adding something to your horse’s diet that doesn’t make a difference.  GPC recognised the challenges of feeding Turmeric in powder form which included poor bioavailability, wastage, stained skin and horses not finding it palatable. This inspired them to create TurmerAid™, a powerful pelleted Turmeric supplement. The great thing about TurmerAid™ being created as pellets is that even if your horse is on a restricted diet during the summer or cannot be given a full feed for numerous reasons, you can still feed the supplement on its own, straight from your hand.

Carefully formulated with key ingredients for maximum absorption and bioavailability, the TurmerAid™ complete turmeric pellets for horses contains a minimum 5.1% curcumin, yucca, black pepper, linseed and apple cider vinegar. A 2kg tub of TurmerAid™ costs £23.20 and will give you approximately 40 days of supply for a 500kg horse.

Turmeric has been used as a traditional medicine in Eastern culture for centuries. It has been extensively researched over its properties, efficacy, bioavailability and safety across species. It is perfectly placed as a beneficial supplement for all horses. 

It's one drawback was the poor bioactivity of its component curcumin (although the other actives are good) but improving the absorption and length of activity through supporting nutrition (as in TurmerAid) has solved this. 

You can find out more about TurmerAid™ here.