How to Read a Horse Supplement Label - What Actually Matters (And What's Just Marketing)

With feed and supplement costs under more scrutiny than ever, it's no surprise that horse owners are looking carefully at value for money. A larger tub, a longer "feeds for" claim, a lower price per day. On the surface, all of these seem like sensible things to compare.

But here's the problem: none of those things will tell you whether the supplement is actually working!

Understanding how to read a horse supplement label properly and knowing what to look for beyond the marketing is one of the most valuable skills a horse owner can develop. Once you know what to look for, you can't unsee it!

Why Bigger Doesn't Automatically Mean Better

Let's start with the most common misconception: that a larger tub or a longer supply duration represents better value. It doesn't, not automatically.

A supplement that feeds for 60 days at a lower price than a 30-day supply sounds like an obvious win. But if the 60-day product is achieving that duration by using a lower daily feeding rate, or by including active ingredients at token amounts that don't meaningfully contribute to your horse's health, then you're not getting more value. You're getting more of something that isn't working - for longer.

Quantity is not value. Duration is not efficacy. The only number that matters is what your horse is actually receiving in their feed, every single day.

What Inclusion Rate Means (And Why It Matters)

Every supplement is a formulation, a blend of active ingredients combined at specific levels designed to be fed at the specified daily rate for best effect. The inclusion rate is the amount of each active ingredient present in the daily feeding rate.

This is where the real difference between products lives, not in the size of the tub or the length of the supply, but in whether the key active ingredients are present at levels that are actually capable of delivering a result.

There is a practice in the supplement industry - not universal, but widespread enough to be worth knowing about - of including ingredients at what are sometimes called "label dressing" levels (we like to refer to these amounts affectionately as “fairy dust”!). The ingredient appears on the label, looks impressive to a buyer scanning the list, but is present at such a low inclusion rate that it cannot meaningfully contribute to the horse's health.  

This matters because two supplements can look identical on the surface with the same active ingredients listed and a similar price per day. But if one contains those ingredients at research-aligned inclusion levels and the other contains them at token amounts, they are not the same product. They are not equal value. And the horse receiving the token-level supplement is not receiving meaningful support from that particular ingredient, regardless of what the label implies.

How to Read a Supplement Label

Step 1 - Find the daily feeding rate

Before you look at anything else, find the recommended daily feeding rate in grams. This is the foundation of everything. A supplement that recommends 10g per day and one that recommends 100g per day are formulated entirely differently and the price comparison between them is meaningless unless you're comparing cost per daily serving, not cost per tub.

Step 2 - Look at the analytical constituents

The analytical constituents panel shows the broad nutritional composition - crude protein, crude fibre, crude oils and fats, crude ash, and moisture. This gives you a baseline picture of what the product is made of at a macro level. A very low feeding rate with a high crude protein percentage, for example, tells you something about how the product is structured.

Sugar and starch: context matters

You'll sometimes see supplements with sugar or starch levels that look alarmingly high at first glance - perhaps 15% or even 20%. For owners managing sugar-sensitive horses (including horses with EMS, PPID, or a history of laminitis), this can trigger immediate concern. But before dismissing a product, consider the actual feeding rate.

Many supplements are fed in tiny quantities, often just 20–50g per day. At a 30g daily serving, even a product containing 20% sugar contributes only 6g of sugar to the total diet. For comparison, a single kilogram of average grass hay can contain 80–100g of combined sugar and starch, and a horse on a controlled diet might consume 8–10kg of forage daily.

In practical terms, a well-formulated supplement fed at a low rate is unlikely to meaningfully affect total dietary sugar intake. The numbers that matter are the absolute grams consumed, not the percentage on the label. That said, if you're managing a particularly sensitive horse and want to minimise every variable, it's worth doing the quick calculation - or choosing a product specifically marketed as low-sugar.

Crude ash: what it actually means in feed

The term "crude ash" often causes confusion. It sounds as though literal ash has been added to the feed, but that's not the case at all.

Crude ash is simply the residue left after a feed sample is incinerated at high temperature in a laboratory. Everything organic - proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibre - burns away, leaving behind only the inorganic mineral content: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, iron, zinc, and so on. A higher crude ash percentage generally indicates a higher mineral density in the product. This is often desirable in a supplement designed to deliver concentrated minerals, such as electrolytes for horses. Conversely, a very low crude ash figure suggests the product is lighter on mineral content - not necessarily a problem, but worth noting depending on what you're trying to achieve.

So when you see "crude ash 30%" on a label, read it as a proxy for mineral load rather than an unwanted additive.

Step 3 - Read the composition list carefully

The composition list shows the ingredients in descending order of inclusion. That means the ingredient listed first is present in the largest amount. This is where label decoration becomes visible. If a key active ingredient you're buying the product for appears near the bottom of a long composition list, it's worth asking how much of it your horse is actually receiving. Companies are not required to disclose all inclusion rates of their formulations but if they are making claims on a particular ingredient then they must state the inclusion rate. For example, “contains lecithin and pectin that combine to form a gel like substance in the stomach, supporting the natural protective mechanisms of the mucosa” – would require the inclusion rate of lecithin and pectin to be stated. 

Step 4 - Check the additives panel

Additives are not all bad! For supplements containing vitamins, minerals, amino acids or functional ingredients, the additives panel is where they must be declared legally. Additives are typically listed with their inclusion level per kilogram of product. From this, combined with the daily feeding rate, you can calculate exactly how much of each additive your horse receives per day.

This is the most important calculation you can make when comparing supplements:

Daily feeding rate (in kg) × additive inclusion level (per kg) = daily intake of that ingredient

Eg. A product has a daily feeding rate of 50g. The inclusion level (per kg) of the additive Glutamine is 120,000mg/kg.

50/1000 (feeding rate/kg) = 0.05

Multiply this by 120,000 and the daily amount of glutamine received is 6,000mg

If the daily intake of the ingredient you're buying the product for is measured in single figure milligrams (1,000milligrams = 1g) when research suggests that grams are needed, you have your answer about the inclusion level.

Legal Requirements

Some additives appear in odd locations due to the way they are approved for use in horse feed. Tyrosine and Taurine for example are both amino acids but are legally required to be declared as flavourings on the label, even though they are included in the formulation as true amino acids! Strange but true...

Step 5 - Look for research-aligned levels

For the key active ingredients in any supplement, there is usually a body of research suggesting the levels at which those ingredients show a meaningful effect. Reputable manufacturers formulate to those levels. Products formulated primarily for marketing will often include the ingredient at a fraction of the researched level.

If a manufacturer publishes their inclusion levels transparently and can point to the research that underpins their formulation, that is a significant indicator of product quality. If the inclusion levels aren't available - or the manufacturer isn't willing to discuss them - that tells you something too. How can you make an informed decision on whether a particular feed or supplement is going to deliver what your horse needs if you don’t know what is in it?

The Questions Worth Asking Before You Buy

Next time you're comparing horse supplements, try asking these questions instead of looking at tub size and price:

"What is my horse actually receiving per day?" Not how long the tub lasts. Not how many servings it contains. What is the daily gram intake of the key active ingredients in your horse's feed, every single day?

"Are the inclusion levels supported by research?" What evidence underpins the formulation? Is the manufacturer transparent about their inclusion rates and can they point to the science behind them?

"Is the feeding rate practical?" A very low feeding rate can sound appealing - less to measure, less to carry, less to hide for fussy feeders! But an extremely low feeding rate could mean that the active ingredients are present at token levels.

"What am I actually comparing?" Two supplements at the same price per day are only genuinely comparable if they contain the same active ingredients at similar inclusion levels. If one contains three active ingredients at meaningful levels and one contains fifteen ingredients at token levels, the price comparison is meaningless.

Two Products, Same Price, Very Different Value

Here's a practical example of how this plays out.

Imagine two joint supplements for horses. Both cost approximately £1 per day. Both list glucosamine, MSM and hyaluronic acid on the label.

Product A has a daily feeding rate of 25g and lists glucosamine at 50,000mg per kg of product. Daily glucosamine intake: 1,250mg.

Product B has a daily feeding rate of 50g and lists glucosamine at 100,000mg per kg of product. Daily glucosamine intake: 5,000mg.

Research on glucosamine supplementation in horses typically suggests daily intakes of 10,000mg or above to show a meaningful effect on joint health. Neither product in this example reaches that level but Product B delivers four times the daily intake of Product A at the same price.

More importantly, both products could be marketed as containing glucosamine. Both could claim to support joint health. Both cost the same per day. But they are not the same product, and they definitely do not deliver the same support.

This is why reading the label matters. Not the claims on the front of the tub or the website blurb - the numbers on the back.

What Transparent Formulation Looks Like

A supplement manufacturer confident in their formulation will typically:

• Publish their daily feeding rate clearly and prominently, including daily amounts of active ingredients
• List inclusion levels for key active ingredients in the additives panel or state the % in the composition (depending on where that information legally sits)
• Be willing to discuss the research behind their formulation levels
• Avoid vague claims that can't be traced to a specific ingredient at a specific level
• Make it straightforward to calculate exactly what your horse receives per day

Transparency isn't just good practice, it's a signal of confidence in the product. A manufacturer who knows their inclusion levels are meaningful has no reason to obscure them.

At Equell, every product is formulated to deliver meaningful daily support at the inclusion levels that matter. We're always happy to discuss our formulations, explain the research behind them and help you compare us honestly against other products on the market. If you'd like to do exactly that, just reply to this email or message us directly.

The Bottom Line

A cheaper tub isn't better value if the feeding rate doesn't deliver meaningful support. A longer supply isn't better value if the active ingredients are present at levels that are too low to match the claims. A longer ingredient list isn't better value if most of those ingredients are present at token amounts.

Real value in a horse supplement comes from three things: meaningful inclusion rates, research-aligned formulation and transparent feeding advice. Everything else is just marketing.

Before you ask how long a supplement lasts, ask what your horse is actually receiving per day. That single question will tell you more about the value of a product than any claim on the front of the tub.

Your horse deserves more than fancy marketing. They deserve a supplement that is formulated to perform!

Team Equell, 18.6.26