Top 5 Vitamin & Mineral Supplements for Horses in Canada (2025) — Vet-Reviewed Options to Correct Deficiencies, Protect Performance, and Give Owners Confidence
Published on Thursday, August 21, 2025
This category covers individual and blended vitamin and mineral supplements for horses — from chelated trace minerals and vitamin E to selenium formulations and premixes designed to correct dietary shortfalls. These products are especially useful for fine-tuning nutrition in forage-based or restricted diets, supporting broodmares, performance horses, seniors, and animals on rations that vary by season or region. Canadian buyers often prioritize proven bioavailability (chelated minerals), clear labeling, traceability, and formulas tailored to local forage variability; they also value veterinarian input, premixed convenience, and safety data to avoid both deficiencies and toxicities.
Top Picks Summary
Mad Barn Omneity Premix P
Mad Barn Omneity Premix P ranks as a best-in-class option for owners seeking a research-driven, bioavailability-focused premix tailored to equine phosphorus and trace mineral balance. Mad Barn leverages nutritionist-led formulation and digital support tools to deliver precision dosing that can reduce the need for multiple add-on supplements, giving it a technical edge over broad-spectrum, less-customized products in this list. While typically priced at a premium versus mass-market options, its targeted formulation can be more cost-effective for horses with specific mineral-management needs compared with generic premixes.
Purina Optimal Horse Vitamin and Mineral Supplement
Purina Optimal Horse Vitamin and Mineral Supplement is a market leader known for consistent, broad-spectrum fortification and wide availability, making it a go-to economical choice for many horse owners. Purina's scale delivers reliable nutrient profiles and competitive per-dose pricing compared with boutique formulations, though it is less tailored than specialized premixes like Mad Barn's. Its strengths are mass-market cost-efficiency and easy sourcing for routine maintenance, which makes it a practical baseline compared with more niche or regionally optimized products.
$60-120 CAD
Masterfeeds Equine Mineral and Vitamin Premix
Masterfeeds Equine Mineral and Vitamin Premix is a strong contender especially in regional markets, offering farm-friendly bulk premixes that are formulated with local forage profiles in mind. It balances technical adequacy with commercial practicality, delivering a cost-effective option for operations needing large-quantity supplementation while providing better regional mineral tailoring than many generic national brands. Compared to Purina it can offer superior local-fit economics, and compared to Mad Barn it favors broad-use convenience over individualized precision.
Brooks Feed B-Complete Plus
Brooks Feed B-Complete Plus fills a specialized niche by concentrating on B-vitamins and related cofactors that support metabolism, nervous system function, and stress recovery in performance or recovering horses. Its technical advantage is targeted nutrient density for specific metabolic or behavioral issues rather than being a full-spectrum mineral premix, making it an efficient complementary supplement to broader multivitamin/mineral products on this list. Financially it is typically mid-range and attractive when used alongside a mineral base like Purina or Masterfeeds instead of replacing them.
Hoffman's Horse Mineral
Hoffman's Horse Mineral is positioned as a straightforward, budget-friendly mineral supplement that provides essential salts and trace minerals for basic maintenance and hard-working stock. Its simplicity and low cost make it a practical baseline choice for owners on tight budgets or those who only need a minimal mineral top-up, though it lacks the comprehensive trace‑mineral tailoring and added vitamins found in products like Purina or Mad Barn. As a low-complexity option it pairs well with targeted products such as Brooks Feed B-Complete Plus when additional support is required.
What the Research Says About Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation for Horses
Scientific guidance and clinical studies support targeted vitamin and mineral supplementation when forage or feed does not meet a horse's life-stage or workload requirements. National recommendations (for example, NRC equine nutrient guidelines) are the baseline for amounts; peer-reviewed research highlights the roles of key nutrients — vitamin E and selenium as antioxidants, copper and zinc for connective tissue and immune function, and chelated forms of trace minerals for improved absorption. Evidence also stresses testing (hay, forage, blood) and dose control to avoid under- or over-supplementation.
NRC nutrient recommendations provide evidence-based targets for vitamins and minerals; supplements are intended to fill gaps between intake and these targets.
Vitamin E and selenium act as primary antioxidants for muscle and neurologic health; clinical studies link appropriate supplementation to reduced risk of deficiency-related conditions.
Chelated trace minerals (amino acid- or protein-complexed forms) frequently show better bioavailability in absorption studies compared with some inorganic salts, which can improve biological response at lower inclusion levels.
Premixes and balanced vitamin-mineral blends make consistent dosing simpler for herd management and reduce the risk of mineral interactions when formulated to established nutrient ratios (for example Ca:P balance).
Regional soil and forage variability in Canada can create predictable deficiencies (or surpluses) — testing forage and blood levels before long-term supplementation helps target interventions and avoid toxicity, particularly with selenium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which premix should I choose for forage-based horses?
Mad Barn Omneity Premix P is a strong pick for forage-based diets because it’s a comprehensive premix designed for balanced vitamins and chelated trace minerals, formulated by equine nutritionists; it has an average rating of 4.6.
What exact feature does Mad Barn Omneity Premix P offer?
Mad Barn Omneity Premix P comes in a concentrated format so you can tailor inclusion rates to individual ration needs; it’s designed to deliver balanced vitamins and chelated trace minerals for horses on forage-based diets, with a 4.6 average rating.
How does Purina Optimal Horse Vitamin and Mineral compare?
Purina Optimal Horse Vitamin and Mineral Supplement costs aren’t provided, but it’s described as a complete daily mix for top-dressing or mixing into feed with an average rating of 4.3 and includes key fat-soluble vitamins and common trace minerals.
Is Masterfeeds Equine Mineral and Vitamin Premix for herd-wide use?
Yes—Masterfeeds Equine Mineral and Vitamin Premix is intended for herd-wide application and ration balancing, offering macro and trace mineral balance; it’s a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral premix with an average rating of 4.4.
Conclusion
In Canada, vitamin and mineral supplements are a practical way to correct diet-driven gaps for horses on pasture-limited or forage-heavy rations. The products profiled here — Mad Barn Omneity Premix P, Purina Optimal Horse Vitamin and Mineral Supplement, Masterfeeds Equine Mineral and Vitamin Premix, Brooks Feed B-Complete Plus, and Hoffman's Horse Mineral — cover a range of approaches from full premixes to targeted trace-mineral and vitamin boosts. For most Canadian owners seeking a balanced, traceable premix with strong formulation and lab transparency, Mad Barn Omneity Premix P stands out as the best choice on this list, while the other options remain excellent for specific needs (Purina for broad availability, Masterfeeds for herd feeding, Brooks Feed for B-vitamin focus, Hoffman’s for mineral-specific corrections). I hope you found what you were looking for; use the site search to refine by life stage, ingredient (for example vitamin E, selenium, chelated minerals), or expand to vet-recommended feeding plans.