Editor’s note: We at The Horse are horse owners like you. Certain equine-care products have impacted how we manage our own animals, and we want to share our experiences with you. These select products are ones we use and love every day.

As a horse owner and competitor, one of my greatest concerns is the health and well-being of my 7-year-old gelding, GT. When I bought him in July 2023, one of my first goals was to help him gain a bit more weight and muscle. He is a big-boned Thoroughbred and I wanted to see more fat covering his ribs and more muscle in his hindquarters and over his topline. Although adjusting his exercise routine might have resolved some of my concerns about his muscling, I knew changing his diet would be an important piece of the puzzle.

In September I transitioned GT to Crypto Aero’s feeding program, which included their Wild Forage and Wholefood horse feeds, as well as their Hydration, Lina, and Plus+ supplements and hydration mash. At this time GT also moved to a new farm, so my main goals with the new feeding protocol were to help him put on more weight and muscle, reduce his risk of ulcers during the shift, and support his skin and coat health.

About Crypto Aero Feed

The Wild Forage feed made up most of GT’s diet (aside from hay) with the Wholefood feed added as a balancer to fill in any potential nutritional requirement gaps. Each of these is a complete feed, but when fed in concert with one another, these make a balanced diet for most horses. Wild Forage has a low starch and sugar level, making it ideal for easy keepers or horses in light work, while Wholefood has oats which provide energy for working horses. Because GT generally works six days a week and is in active training as a jumper, both feeds were necessary to support his workload and nutritional needs.

Both feeds are designed for horses with a variety of workloads and do not contain soy, corn, wheat, molasses, artificial flavors, preservatives, due to their potential to be harmful to horses in some instances. They also do not contain synthetic vitamins, minerals or iron, and all ingredients in these feeds are grown from non-GMO seeds.

GT transitioned very easily to both feeds. He is not usually a very picky eater, so I did not expect any problems with this change, but he seemed to enjoy both the Wild Forage and Wholefood feeds and ate it just as well as his previous feed.

I typically fed the Hydration Mash (which I found could be fed after just 15-20 minutes of soaking in water) after my rides, especially on hot days or after particularly challenging rides, but I’ve also started feeding it to him on colder days to help increase his water intake when he might be inclined to drink less than normal.

Crypto Aero’s Hydration supplement is a powder added to his ration year-round, but with a double dose in the summer, designed to promote electrolyte balance in horses of all types and workloads. I usually added this powder to GT’s feed, and he happily ate it, but I also added it to his water on hotter days and he drank it just as well. Plus+ is a complete vitamin and mineral supplement, which we added to GT’s diet to support his digestive and immune system, especially while he was under stress related to moving barns.

Lina is a spirulina supplement that the company designed to support horses with allergies, digestive problems, or nervous horses. It took a few days for GT to fully eat his ration with these supplements, likely because he was not used to several powders added to his feed but, after about a week of his new diet, he started licking them from the bottom of his bucket.

Progress on the New Diet

After two to three weeks on his new diet, I started to notice that GT’s ribs—our most obvious progress marker—were less visible and his hindquarters and neck were also slowly starting to fill out more. GT had access to more pasture at his new farm, but having known him for several years and at one other farm, the rate at which I saw progress indicated to me that changing his ration and supplements was likely the most important factor. Now, even with the arrival of colder temperatures and a dramatic decrease in pasture availability, GT is maintaining his weight and muscle well, which is a huge relief for me heading into winter.

Additionally, through the move and other changes that come with a new barn, GT did not show any signs of excessive stress or gastric ulcers, even though historically he has been nervous in new or unfamiliar situations. His skin and coat also flourished; even after I body-clipped him in mid-October and began blanketing him, his coat is in great condition. His coat is shiny held its deep, blood bay color, which it has lost in the past with body-clipping, and his skin around his ears, girth area, and chest did not get flaky from dryness from the winter air. He has struggled with blanket rubs on his chest and withers in the past, and after about two months of blanketing, he is still blanket rub-free.

The changes I saw in GT since switching him to Crypto Aero’s feeding program in September have been truly exciting for me as a horse owner. To see the positive difference that his new diet made on his physical appearance and stress levels has reminded me that it is important to evaluate your horse’s nutrition program frequently and thoroughly to ensure you are meeting all their needs. I can highly recommend Crypto Aero’s feed and supplements to other horse owners, whether they have a specific problem they’re seeking to address in their horse, or their feeding program simply needs an upgrade.