A hair & mineral analysis is a strong fit for your horse.
Get the test kit forFree shipping both ways. No vet visit needed.
Here is what you told us
Owners who describe this pattern are usually not dealing with a feed problem. They are dealing with an absorption problem, and no amount of feed changing will show you that.
New to hair testing?
Hair grows as a physical record. As it forms, it locks in whatever minerals and metals the body had available at the time. Testing a small mane sample gives you roughly ninety days of history in a single reading, which is something a blood draw cannot do because blood only shows you the moment it was taken.
You already ruled out the easy answer
Changing feed and supplements is the right first move and you made it. When that only gets you partway, the question stops being what eats and starts being what actually gets absorbed. A hair test is how you see the difference.
This has lasted too long to be a bad stretch
Short-term issues resolve on their own. A pattern that holds for months usually has something structural underneath it, and mineral status is one of the few places that shows up clearly enough to act on.
Hooves and coat are written in minerals
Both are keratin, built almost entirely from what the body has available while they grow. That makes them a record rather than a symptom. The sample we test covers roughly the last ninety days.
Energy problems usually start upstream
Magnesium, copper, zinc, and manganese all sit upstream of energy metabolism and muscle recovery. When one runs short or falls out of balance with another, it looks like a horse who just does not have the same gas. Bloodwork often reads normal while hair shows the imbalance.
Spookiness has a mineral component
Magnesium status in particular shows up in how a horse handles pressure and stimulus. It is not the whole story behind behavior, but it is the part you can measure and change.
Digestion and mineral status feed each other
Poor absorption creates imbalance, and imbalance worsens absorption. That loop is why gut symptoms so often outlast the diet changes meant to fix them. Testing tells you which side to work on first.
Skin reactions often track toxic load
Aluminum and other heavy metals show up in skin sensitivity and slow healing. The panel covers toxic elements alongside nutritional minerals, so you see both halves of the picture at once.
A sensitive horse is reacting to something specific
Sensitivity to diet or environment means something is out of balance. The panel narrows the list from everything to a handful of measurable candidates you can actually address.
Performance horses burn through their margin faster
Higher workload means higher mineral turnover and a smaller buffer before a shortfall shows up as soreness, slow recovery, or an off day nobody can explain.
Older horses absorb less of what they are fed
Absorption efficiency drops with age, so the same ration stops delivering what it did five years ago. Testing shows you where that gap opened up rather than leaving you to guess at the ration.
Breeding demand pulls hard on mineral stores
Gestation and lactation draw heavily on the mare. A baseline tells you what is working with before that demand peaks rather than after.
A baseline is what makes the next test mean anything
Prevention only works with a starting point. One test gives you a reference. A second one months later tells you whether what you changed actually moved the numbers.
Regional soil drives more of this than most owners expect
Across the first 158 horses we tested, 93 percent came back with elevated aluminum. Mineral content in forage varies enormously by region, and almost nobody has visibility into it until they test.
Most imbalances do not look like anything at first
A slightly dull coat. A slightly shorter fuse. A slightly slower recovery. Each one is easy to explain away on its own. Together they are a pattern worth measuring.
What usually gets in the way
The cost, honestly
A single kit is $79.99. Most owners spend more than that in one season on supplements chosen without data. The three pack is $199.97, which works out to $66.66 per test if you have more than one horse or plan to retest in ninety days.
Five minutes, once
You trim a small sample from the mane, seal it in the prepaid envelope, and drop it in the mail. No vet appointment, no scheduling, no holding a horse still for a blood draw.
The report tells you what to do, not just what is wrong
You get levels for nutritional minerals and toxic elements, the ratios between them that actually matter, and a specific recommendation for what to change. It is not a spreadsheet you are left to interpret alone.
You do not have to wait for a problem
Testing before something goes wrong is how you get a baseline worth comparing against later. It is the cheapest version of this decision you will ever make.
You said this feels urgent
The sample reflects roughly the last ninety days, and that window does not pause while you decide. Every week you wait is a week of history you are measuring later instead of now.
You have the next few months in mind
The sample you pull today is the record of the last three months. Pull it now and you have a baseline to measure against. Pull it later and you have measured a period you can no longer change.
You are thinking long term, which is the right frame
Prevention needs a starting point. One test gives you a reference. Two tests spaced a few months apart tell you whether what you changed for actually worked.
The ninety day window is the reason to start now
Each sample reflects roughly the last three months. The sooner you pull one, the sooner you have a baseline worth measuring against.
Questions owners ask
What is a hair and mineral analysis?
A laboratory test that measures nutritional minerals and toxic elements deposited in the hair as it grew. Because hair forms over time, one sample reflects roughly ninety days rather than a single moment.
Does taking the sample hurt?
No. It is hair trimmed close to the crest of the mane, about a tablespoon in total. Most horses do not react at all, and there is no needle and no restraint involved.
How long until I get results?
Results are typically ready within X business days of the lab receiving your sample.
What if the results come back normal?
That is useful. It rules out mineral imbalance as the driver and saves you from spending months on supplements that were never going to address the real cause.
Do I have to buy supplements afterward?
No. The report stands on its own and is yours to use however you want. If a formula is recommended, it is because the numbers support it, not because a purchase is required.
Is this a replacement for my vet?
No. It is a different lens. Bloodwork shows a moment in time and hair shows a ninety day trend. Bring the report to your vet, since it gives them information a standard panel will not.