Vitamin E for Horses

There’s plenty of hype about vitamin E and how it’s the “cure all” for all your horse’s problems. But is vitamin E for horses really that important? And if so, why?

The short answer is YES. Vitamin E is really important for horses.

If your horse is grazing sufficiently, they should be getting enough vitamin E unless they have one of the two medical conditions where they’ll need extra (I cover these below).

So the 3 cases where you need to supplement is:

  1. Your horse isn’t getting the day-to-day amount they needs
  2. Equine COPD
  3. Equine Uveitis

Your Horse Uses Vitamin E Every Day

Horses naturally get vitamin E from grazing, which they used to do in the wild everyday. It makes sense then that they’re also using up that vitamin E on a daily basis.

Your horse’s body needs Vitamin E to perform a large variety of functions. These include muscle cell/tissue repair and regeneration, skin cell/tissue repair and regeneration, nutrient storage and use, proper immune function, proper toxic processing and liver function, eye function and other neurological functions.

So if your horse is on a dirt pasture and isn’t getting nearly enough grass everyday (a big source of vitamin E), this might just be why his coat is looking a bit rough or he’s not jumping as well as he used to.

Vitamin E for horses

With the summer heat kicking in and the grass drying up, I would start by just keeping an eye out on how much grass your horse is getting. 

If they have access to less grass, you might want to consider supplementing vitamin E.

When Extra Vitamin E for Horses is Required

There are also some conditions that can affect how much vitamin E your horse needs.

If your horse happens to have one of these conditions (or you’re just curious), you can read more below:

  1. COPD.
  2. Uveitis (anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin Esuppression of S antigenrandomized trial).

If you’re at all concerned about your horse’s Vitamin E intake, you can always use a supplement.

I have used supplements on and off with my horses. It can be something you use seasonally, or on a permanent basis depending on your horse’s diet. Beyond vitamin E there are lots of other things you can use, particularly collagen, that can really improve your horse’s health and performance. You can check them out in our post on horse supplements and what they do, and our horse supplements gallery.

If you’re looking for a supplement to provide vitamin E and you’re not sure which brand to buy, check out this article: Vitamin E for Horses: Why Health-E Is My Favourite Brand. I talk about Health-E and do a full review and the best part is that you can get it right off of Amazon.

If you’re still not certain if your horse needs a Vitamin E supplement because of specific concerns, then I would recommend chatting to your vet about it. In any case, it’s always a good idea to keep your vet up to date on any supplements you’re choosing to add to your horse’s diet.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Other Posts on Horse Supplements You Might Like…

Hope this helps 🙂

– Martina

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What You Need to Know About Vitamin E For Horses

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