I was always a minimalist when it came to feed supplements, believing that good quality hay and grain were all that my horses needed. That was before I learned more than I ever cared to about OCD (Osteochondritis Desiccans). While I won’t bore you with the details, a 2 year old colt became lame suddenly and we were shocked when the diagnosis was OCD. Luckily, after expensive surgery, the colt, was perfectly sound and still is, more than 6  years later. On the advice of the attending veterinarian, the experience caused us to rethink our feeding program and we embarked on a concerted effort to insure that none of our other young horses would suffer from the same problem. Working with an equine nutritionist, we pinpointed the deficiencies in our feeding plan and he recommended a supplement to provide the vitamins and minerals necessary without over-supplementing – something that can be as damaging as inadequate supplementation. For this reason, the more complete the supplement you choose, the better. When it’s necessary to use several different products to achieve the combination you need, it’s a sure bet that they’ll overlap in several areas, possibly resulting in dangerous over-supplementing. To test the efficacy of our new program, we conducted screening radiographs of all our youngsters at 10 months of age to be certain they remained free of OCD lesions. Since it takes time to establish the correct balance of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients in living systems, we encountered some very mild lesions in the next foal crop, which resolved naturally, without the necessity of surgery. Now that all our breeding stock, as well as young, growing horses and those in training or work, have been on this program for several years, we’ve had no incidence of any developmental problems.

Our horse herd includes a number of senior citizens, as well as the mares and foals. Therefore, the one extra supplement we found ourselves adding to Ensemble was Glucosamine. I've supplemented the oldsters with it for years and it has saved me a bundle in the Adequan I didn't buy, but was mostly available in a messy powder formulation that tended to sift to the bottom of the feed tub. So it was natural to broach the subject with our nutritionist of adding Glucosamine to the Ensemble formula. He investigated and determined there would be no adverse interaction of ingredients and Ensemble JT was born.  Ensemble JT contains all the same vitamins, minerals and microbials of the original Ensemble formula, plus a therapeutic dose of Glucosamine to help joints stay healthy. It's pelleted like the regular Ensemble and we've yet to have even a picky eater turn their nose up at it. It's also surprisingly affordable - so much so that I have a number of horses on it who show no clinical signs of joint problems, but have just been around long enough I figure it might do them some extra good.

Ensemble and Ensemble JT have been on the market long enough now to have a faithful following. I'm very gratified to hear your own testimonials and success stories and particularly happy to have new customers trying it nearly every day who have had it recommended to them by their veterinarian or farrier. One relatively new user ordered a supply the other day and told me that it has calmed her horse's "jitters" as well as improved his overall body and coat condition. I can only attribute changes in temperament to correctly balanced nutrition - there's certainly nothing in the formula that's designed to specifically calm or anaesthetize your horse! We're planning the launch of a Hoof Care formula soon, but recently a customer told me that a horse with problem feet has begun growing heel for the first time in years and her farrier (who recommended Ensemble) is amazed. Again, I can only say the extra benefit reaped in this case must be due to a leveling and balancing of the horse's nutrition. In both of these cases the horses in question had been on supplements for years and not cheap ones (in the latter case, Ensemble JT, at a cost of less than $25/month, had replaced more than $200/month worth of supplements!). More is not always better. Perhaps there is no need for a specific hoof care formula! Since we raise Lipizzans, who are notorious for good feet, we really have no personal experience with hoof quality improvement due to Ensemble.

If you'd like to share your experiences with Ensemble or Ensemble JT, we'd love to hear from you! Or, if you have questions about Ensemble, please feel free to contact me at 800/456-8225. I go through more than 120 pounds of this stuff a month and I'd be happy to share my experience with you! Connie

To order Ensemble for your horses click here