Cob Jockey

Anyone else not feeling the love from SmartPak lately?  I long ago switched to Riding Warehouse for as many of my purchases as possible, but Connor has been on a gut maintenance SmartPak for a while, which I didn't feel great about.  The extra cost, the amount of plastic I was sending to the landfill, their guilt-trip driven supplement advertising.

So when I went to re-start Connor's gut supplement, I balked at going for SmartPaks again.  (It also helped that I got a killer deal on a bucket of U7)  But I strive to be a low-maintenance boarder, so I definitely won't ask my trainer to scoop out of buckets, so I needed to find a single-serving supplement container.

My criteria for a supplement container were that they needed to be:

• Durable (this ruled out Ziploc baggies and thin plastic containers)
• Easily opened year round with or without bulky gloves (this ruled out anything with a pry-off lid)
• Big enough to hold two supplements

I landed on making my own Smartpaks using these:


They're salad dressing containers and VERY sturdy.  I have no reason to think these won't last me for years.

They come with a white plastic inner lid meant to keep liquids from leaking.  I tossed them, I have no need for that with powder supplements, but if you do feed liquid supps, you might want to know about it.






In terms of size, they're not enormous.  Here's a picture with my fairly small running watch for scale:





And here's a picture with them loaded with one scoop of U7 and a loading dose of Cosequin.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but this makes them about 2/3rds full.  You're not going to fit five different supplements in these things, but if your horse is on just one or two, they're a great option.

Technically they hold four tablespoons or 1/4 cup.

I set it up to where my trainer twists the lid off, dumps it, and then puts the empty in a bag hanging outside the tack room.  It's no extra work for her than Smartpaks were, and it's not been bad for me either.  Even if I have to make up all 12 of them it only takes a couple of minutes, and I'll cheerfully pay with my time in order to save some money and not deal with Smartpaks anymore.



What: Salad Dressing Condiment Containers (6-Pack); 2-Ounce To-Go Plastic Mini Food Storage Jars for Lunch Boxes; Carry Up to 4 Tablespoons
Quantity/Price: $9.99 for 6
Where to buy: Amazon

A while back, I posted that I took Connor off of my current barn's standard ground flaxseed and started feeding him a primarily flax-based supplement that comes in SmartPaks to prepare him for his diet changing when he gets to the new barn.


(The move to the new barn got delayed til mid-May due to my unusually heavy travel schedule at the beginning of May, and I can't waaaaaaaaaaait!   Feels like waiting for Christmas.)

After comparing everything available in SmartPaks, I ended up going with Omega Horseshine.  There were a lot of good contenders, but I chose OHS because it also contains Vitamin B-12 and biotin, both of which I like.

He's been on it now for about five weeks, and I have to say, they were not kidding about the 'shine' part:

Need shades!

The only other time I've ever seen this horse this shiny was when Mary spent HOURS over multiple days grooming and bathing him.

*This is not normal.

And keep in mind I really am a terrible groomer, and with him living so far away he only gets brushed 3-4 times a week. This is with no recent baths, no recent hosing, living on a drylot and this photo was taken on a night when I didn't have time to put a lot of effort into grooming.  Mostly because this was the same night as Mud Body Art night, when I was late to my lesson so of course Connor came in looking like this:

Two hours earlier

I didn't expect to see a difference.  I keep trying to think of what else could be causing this inside out glow, but nothing has changed except adding in the OHS.  He did start getting his summer coat in about the time I started this supplement, but this is shiny even for his summer coat.

Anyone else tried and liked Omega Horseshine?