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2025 Canadian Guide: Top 5 Palatability Enhancers and Feed Mixes for Increased Intake — Vet-Backed Options to Boost Appetite and Consistent Weight Gain

Published on Monday, August 25, 2025

Flavored enhancers, molasses blends, and custom feed mixes designed to increase voluntary feed intake in picky eaters and support consistent weight gain. These products are used across Canadian stables and performance programs to help horses reliably consume required calories and supplements during conditioning, travel, or recovery. Consumers prefer palatability enhancers because they address real-world problems — fussy feeders, poor supplement uptake, transition stress, and seasonally reduced appetite — while offering simple, fast-acting solutions that integrate with existing rations. In Canada, demand is driven by performance riders, breeding farms and owners managing older or metabolically sensitive animals who prioritize ingredient transparency, cold-weather stability, and veterinary or nutritionist endorsement when choosing an enhancer or feed mix.

Quick Menu

1. Best Amino Acid Performance Booster

2. Best Gut-Targeted Intake Support

3. Best Classic Molasses Enhancer

4. Best Flavoured Top-Dress

5. Best Complete Sweet Feed Base

1
BEST AMINO ACID PERFORMANCE BOOSTER

Purina SuperSport Amino Acid Supplement

Purina SuperSport Amino Acid Supplement

Purina SuperSport is a concentrated amino acid supplement formulated to support muscle recovery while encouraging voluntary intake; its targeted formulation makes it a technical choice for performance horses that need both appetite support and specific nutritional rebuilding. Compared with plain palatability toppers, SuperSport offers a measurable nutritional return on investment by supplying essential amino acids that can improve condition and performance, though it typically carries a higher per-dose cost than simple flavor enhancers.

4.3
★★★★☆

  • Muscle support

  • Fast-mix friendly

  • Muscle support

  • Fast-mix friendly

Review Summary

86%

"Users report it mixes easily into rations and supports recovery and topline when used consistently, and most horses accept it when blended with feed; a minority note a strong smell that some horses initially resist."

  • Performance zing

  • Provides concentrated essential amino acids to support muscle recovery and topline condition

  • Performance zing

  • Provides concentrated essential amino acids to support muscle recovery and topline condition

Enhanced Physical Well-Being

Time-Saving Convenience

Purina SuperSport is a concentrated amino acid supplement formulated to support muscle recovery while encouraging voluntary intake; its targeted formulation makes it a technical choice for performance horses that need both appetite support and specific nutritional rebuilding. Compared with plain palatability toppers, SuperSport offers a measurable nutritional return on investment by supplying essential amino acids that can improve condition and performance, though it typically carries a higher per-dose cost than simple flavor enhancers.

  • Muscle support

  • Fast-mix friendly

  • Performance zing

  • Provides concentrated essential amino acids to support muscle recovery and topline condition

  • Palatable powder formula for top-dressing to encourage feed intake

  • Muscle support

  • Fast-mix friendly

  • Performance zing

  • Provides concentrated essential amino acids to support muscle recovery and topline condition

  • Palatable powder formula for top-dressing to encourage feed intake

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$45-85 CAD

2
BEST GUT-TARGETED INTAKE SUPPORT

Mad Barn Visceral+ Stomach Health Supplement

Mad Barn Visceral+ Stomach Health Supplement
🏠 Local Product

Mad Barn Visceral+ focuses on digestive comfort with a blend of prebiotics, digestive enzymes and botanicals designed to normalize gastric function and support increased voluntary intake in horses with sensitive stomachs. Technically oriented toward gut health rather than flavor alone, it pairs well with palatability toppers (like Brooks or Hoffman's) to produce longer-term intake improvements and can be more cost-effective over time by reducing feed refusal related to GI discomfort.

4.5
★★★★☆

  • Gut balance

  • Calming taste

  • Gut balance

  • Calming taste

Review Summary

88%

"Owners commonly say it improves gut comfort, stool consistency and appetite, and that it blends well into daily feed; a few mention the ongoing cost and need for continuous use to see benefits."

  • Tummy high-five

  • Supports gastric and digestive health to help maintain consistent appetite

  • Tummy high-five

  • Supports gastric and digestive health to help maintain consistent appetite

Enhanced Physical Well-Being

Eco-Friendly Living

Mad Barn Visceral+ focuses on digestive comfort with a blend of prebiotics, digestive enzymes and botanicals designed to normalize gastric function and support increased voluntary intake in horses with sensitive stomachs. Technically oriented toward gut health rather than flavor alone, it pairs well with palatability toppers (like Brooks or Hoffman's) to produce longer-term intake improvements and can be more cost-effective over time by reducing feed refusal related to GI discomfort.

  • Gut balance

  • Calming taste

  • Tummy high-five

  • Supports gastric and digestive health to help maintain consistent appetite

  • Powdered supplement that mixes easily into feed as a top-dress

  • Gut balance

  • Calming taste

  • Tummy high-five

  • Supports gastric and digestive health to help maintain consistent appetite

  • Powdered supplement that mixes easily into feed as a top-dress

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$55-85 CAD

3
BEST CLASSIC MOLASSES ENHANCER

Brooks Enhancer

Brooks Enhancer

Brooks Enhancer is a high-palate feed topper designed to produce a rapid boost in intake through sweeteners and textural attraction, making it a simple, low-complexity solution for picky eaters. Its primary advantage versus more technical supplements is financial and operational: lower per-application cost and immediate palatability impact, although it lacks the digestive or nutritional benefits provided by products like Mad Barn Visceral+ or Purina SuperSport.

4.1
★★★★☆

  • Palate booster

  • Mix-and-go

  • Palate booster

  • Mix-and-go

Review Summary

80%

"Many users find it an effective palatability booster that entices picky eaters and increases intake when used sparingly; some report sticky residue or that very finicky horses may still refuse."

  • Flavor wink

  • Molasses-based sweetener designed to increase palatability of rations

  • Flavor wink

  • Molasses-based sweetener designed to increase palatability of rations

Enhanced Physical Well-Being

Recreational Enjoyment

Brooks Enhancer is a high-palate feed topper designed to produce a rapid boost in intake through sweeteners and textural attraction, making it a simple, low-complexity solution for picky eaters. Its primary advantage versus more technical supplements is financial and operational: lower per-application cost and immediate palatability impact, although it lacks the digestive or nutritional benefits provided by products like Mad Barn Visceral+ or Purina SuperSport.

  • Palate booster

  • Mix-and-go

  • Flavor wink

  • Molasses-based sweetener designed to increase palatability of rations

  • Useful for masking medications and enticing picky eaters

  • Palate booster

  • Mix-and-go

  • Flavor wink

  • Molasses-based sweetener designed to increase palatability of rations

  • Useful for masking medications and enticing picky eaters

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$20-40 CAD

4
BEST FLAVOURED TOP-DRESS

Hoffman's Horse Products Apple-Licious

Hoffman's Horse Products Apple-Licious

Hoffman's Apple-Licious is a flavored feed enhancer that leverages apple flavor and natural attractants to improve acceptance, offering a familiar taste profile for horses wary of new feeds. It occupies the mid-market niche between inexpensive molasses toppers and medically focused supplements, providing a convenient, cost-conscious palatability solution that is especially useful when combined with nutrient-dense supplements like Purina SuperSport or a complete feed such as Masterfeeds EquiMax.

4.6
★★★★☆

  • Apple aroma

  • Sweet temptation

  • Apple aroma

  • Sweet temptation

Review Summary

91%

"Highly praised as an apple-flavored top-dress that quickly increases intake — most horses eagerly eat treated feed; a small number of buyers note occasional packaging leaks."

  • Crunchy cheer

  • Apple-flavoured powder to encourage horses to eat feed or supplements

  • Crunchy cheer

  • Apple-flavoured powder to encourage horses to eat feed or supplements

Recreational Enjoyment

Enhanced Physical Well-Being

Hoffman's Apple-Licious is a flavored feed enhancer that leverages apple flavor and natural attractants to improve acceptance, offering a familiar taste profile for horses wary of new feeds. It occupies the mid-market niche between inexpensive molasses toppers and medically focused supplements, providing a convenient, cost-conscious palatability solution that is especially useful when combined with nutrient-dense supplements like Purina SuperSport or a complete feed such as Masterfeeds EquiMax.

  • Apple aroma

  • Sweet temptation

  • Crunchy cheer

  • Apple-flavoured powder to encourage horses to eat feed or supplements

  • Low-bulk, mixes easily into feed or water to mask unpleasant tastes

  • Apple aroma

  • Sweet temptation

  • Crunchy cheer

  • Apple-flavoured powder to encourage horses to eat feed or supplements

  • Low-bulk, mixes easily into feed or water to mask unpleasant tastes

Order Now

$18-35 CAD

5
BEST COMPLETE SWEET FEED BASE

Masterfeeds EquiMax Sweet Feed

Masterfeeds EquiMax Sweet Feed
🏠 Local Product

Masterfeeds EquiMax Sweet Feed is a complete sweet feed mix that combines grain and molasses to create an inherently palatable base ration, ideal for herd-level strategies where consistent intake is the goal. As a full feed rather than a topper, its financial advantage is scale — lower unit cost when fed routinely — but it is less flexible than dedicated enhancers for individual picky horses or those requiring targeted digestive or amino acid supplementation.

4.2
★★★★☆

  • Sweet crunch

  • Energy boost

  • Sweet crunch

  • Energy boost

Review Summary

82%

"Generally liked for strong palatability and getting horses to eat readily, with many owners noting good weight/condition maintenance; a subset caution it may be too sweet for insulin-resistant or metabolic-prone horses."

  • Stable favorite

  • Sweet-styled commercial feed formulated to promote intake with molasses and grains

  • Stable favorite

  • Sweet-styled commercial feed formulated to promote intake with molasses and grains

Enhanced Physical Well-Being

Time-Saving Convenience

Recreational Enjoyment

Masterfeeds EquiMax Sweet Feed is a complete sweet feed mix that combines grain and molasses to create an inherently palatable base ration, ideal for herd-level strategies where consistent intake is the goal. As a full feed rather than a topper, its financial advantage is scale — lower unit cost when fed routinely — but it is less flexible than dedicated enhancers for individual picky horses or those requiring targeted digestive or amino acid supplementation.

  • Sweet crunch

  • Energy boost

  • Stable favorite

  • Sweet-styled commercial feed formulated to promote intake with molasses and grains

  • Balanced energy and fiber suitable as a regular ration or top-dress

  • Sweet crunch

  • Energy boost

  • Stable favorite

  • Sweet-styled commercial feed formulated to promote intake with molasses and grains

  • Balanced energy and fiber suitable as a regular ration or top-dress

Order Now

$25-45 CAD

What the Research Shows About Palatability and Intake

Scientific and controlled feeding trials, university extension work, and veterinary nutrition research converge on a few consistent findings: taste and texture cues increase voluntary intake, additives that mask undesirable flavors improve supplement compliance, and gut health influences appetite. Below are beginner-friendly takeaways summarizing the evidence and practical implications for horse owners.

Flavor and sugar-based carriers such as molasses or natural fruit flavors reliably increase voluntary intake and improve consumption of medicated or supplemented feeds in controlled feeding trials.

Palatability enhancers that mask bitter tastes help ensure horses consume targeted doses of vitamins, minerals, and medications, improving overall treatment or conditioning outcomes.

Gut and stomach-support supplements that reduce gastric discomfort (probiotics, prebiotics, or targeted amino acids) are associated with more consistent appetite and better daily intake in animals with digestive sensitivity.

Custom sweet-feed mixes and textured blends can increase energy density and make rations more attractive without requiring large volume changes, useful for horses that need steady weight gain.

Sensory factors (smell, moisture, temperature and texture) influence feed acceptance; simple management changes alongside an enhancer often deliver the best results.

Veterinary- or nutritionist-supervised trials are recommended for horses with metabolic or medical issues to select safe, effective palatability strategies.

In the Canadian context, palatability enhancers and feed mixes offer practical ways to improve voluntary intake for picky or performance horses. The top five options highlighted on this page — Purina SuperSport Amino Acid Supplement, Mad Barn Visceral+ Stomach Health Supplement, Brooks Enhancer, Hoffman's Horse Products Apple-Licious, and Masterfeeds EquiMax Sweet Feed — cover approaches from amino-acid-based appetite support to digestive health, classic flavor enhancers, fruit-flavored attractants, and energy-dense sweet feeds. For most performance and conditioning scenarios where both palatability and evidence-based formulation matter, Purina SuperSport Amino Acid Supplement is the best single choice for combining appetite support with performance-focused nutrition. I hope you found what you were looking for; you can refine or expand your search using the site search to compare ingredients, read user reviews, or find veterinarian-recommended feeding plans.

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