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Comparing Mineral Types In Horse Supplements

Comparing Mineral Types In Horse Supplements.  We often receive emails or calls wanting or requesting a comparative analysis between Equine Challenge Supplements and the current product a potential customer is using. As an example, some will want to know how much copper is in Equine Challenge? It is easy to say …”there is 50 mg of ZinPro Amino Acid copper in a 4 oz serving of the Equine Challenge Grass”.

Comparing Mineral Types In Horse Supplements

​Comparing Mineral Types In Horse Supplements

The difficulty begins when one realizes that 50 mg of ZinPro Amina Acid Complex is much different than 50 mg of Copper Oxide, different once again from 50 mg Copper Sulfate and different once again with 50 mg of a Copper chelation. The reason is the degree or level of Bioavailability of these 4 forms of Copper.

Copper oxide is by far the most common form of copper used in horse feed/supplements. It is also by far the least bioavailable to your horses and is the very cheapest which is why it is so commonly used.

Copper Sulfate is widely used in horse feed/supplements, it is a bit more expensive and it is more bioavailable than copper oxide and has a tendency to make the Ph of the horse a bit more acidic.

Copper chelation has a good bioavailability relative to both the copper oxide and copper sulfate and as one might imagine it is more expensive than the oxide and sulfate forms of copper.

ZinPro Amino Acid copper is very highly bioavailable and as one might expect it is not cheap or inexpensive.

If the point of buying mineral supplement is to maximize the amount of copper absorbed by your horse with out taxing the Organ Reserve of your horse unnecessarily, then using a ZinPro Amino Acid Complex Copper would be a wise choice.

If on the other hand you want to make a mineral fortified manure or urine by taxing the Organ Reserve of your horse processing a mineral form which is very difficult to absorb effectively, this would not be a wise choice for your horse.

At Equine Challenge Supplements we use only highly bioavailable minerals and trace minerals.

Learn To Read Feed Tag Labels

​Train your eye to see more than just zinc, copper, manganese, etc… You want your eye to know the difference between the forms of minerals you feed your horse or horses, it is a Difference with a HUGE Distinction!

Oxides – Most common, least bioavailable to your horse, least expensive.

Sulfates – Widely used in horse feed, more expensive and more bioavailable than oxides, can make the PH of the horse a bit more acidic.

Chelations – Good bioavailability, a bit more expensive than the oxides and sulfates.

Amino Acid Complexes – Highly bioavailable to the horse and is not cheap or inexpensive.

Hopefully, it is more clear why trying to compare amounts of ingredients such as minerals can be difficult insofar as you might be comparing apples to ping pong balls.

​Thank you for choosing Equine Challenge Supplements!


Kathy Hartwig​
Mackie Hartwig, D.C.

“You’re never wrong when you do the right thing”

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