Last October, I was standing by the paddock watching my gelding Diego. He seemed listless. Not sick, not lame — just... less present than usual.
I thought that was normal. Changing coats, moving from the pasture to the stable, the weather, maybe even the deworming in September. Everyone tells you that. The person in the next stall. The riding instructor. Even some vets.
Until an equine physiotherapist who has been treating Diego for years said something to me that has stayed with me ever since:
"Sabine, it's normal for a horse to slow down a bit in autumn. But what you're describing doesn't sound like 'slowing down a bit'. It sounds like a horse whose metabolism is overloaded. And that really has very little to do with the coat change."
I was confused. I had learned it this way: autumn equals less energy, that's just how it is, it'll pass.
What she explained to me afterwards completely changed my perspective on "normal" autumn fatigue.
Perhaps you know this feeling
You go to the stable, get your horse, and something is different. Not dramatically. Just... less.
The look in their eyes isn't as bright anymore. When you lead them, their head hangs lower. During lungeing, which was still fun for both of you in the summer, that "oh no" look appears after just ten minutes.
You saddle up, and what used to be excitement is now a slight hesitation. His back feels different beneath you. Not tense, just... stiff.
You wonder if it's the feed. If he hasn't had enough exercise. If it was the dewormer he got in September. If moving from the pasture to the stable isn't agreeing with him. If growing his coat is just taking too much energy.
You're worried — but you're also downplaying it because "every horse is like that in the autumn".
And then comes the really uncomfortable moment: you see another horse on the paddock or during a riding lesson that's the same age, at the same stable, living under the exact same conditions — and it just looks... alert. Present. Full of life.
And you quietly ask yourself: Why not mine?
This is the point where "normal for the time of year" starts to feel wrong.
I had already tried quite a few things
More hay and more hard feed. It hardly did a thing — he didn't have any more energy, he just got rounder.
A "standard" vitamin supplement from the store because the packaging said "for the coat change". Three weeks later, no noticeable change.
More rest days because I thought he was just tired from training. The result: even less stamina, same sluggishness.
A vet visit where the blood test results were within the "normal" range and the response was: "It's just the time of year, it will balance out."
Over the years — I actually calculated it up once — I easily invested 800–900 € in nutritional supplements, supplements, and "coat-shedding cures." Every year a little something new. Every year the same disappointment starting in October.
The frustrating part wasn't that nothing helped. The frustrating part was that nobody could explain to me why nothing helped.
Until that one conversation at the stable.
What's really behind it
The equine physiotherapist — let's call her Ms. Berger — had known Diego for three years. She had massaged him, analyzed his movement, and seen both his good and bad days.
When I told her what the vet had said, she grew quiet and thoughtful. Then she shared something with me that she said was "strictly off the record":
“The idea that the coat change is the sole explanation isn't entirely accurate. Changing coats takes energy, that's true. But what many horse owners don't know is that in autumn, several stresses often hit the liver all at once — the coat change itself, often a deworming treatment around the same time, the transition from pasture to stable feed, and the change in weather on top of that. The liver is the central metabolic hub for all of this. When it's working at its limit, you don't notice it in the liver — you notice it in the horse. In its energy levels.”
That was the moment the penny dropped for me: It's not just one cause. It's multiple stresses that pile up at the same time of year — and the liver is where they all come together.
This also explained why "more concentrate feed" and "more rest" didn't help: they had never relieved the liver, but had simply placed a different kind of strain on the horse.
For the first time, I felt like it wasn't my fault, not down to "too little training" or "too little complementary feed" — but rather an interplay that hardly anyone ever has explained to them.
The Mechanism Behind It
I read up on it afterwards and spoke to a feed consultant who explained the underlying mechanism to me in more detail.
The core issue: the conflict of goals in methionine sulfation.
The liver works hard during detox phases. In one of these phases - known as sulfation - it needs the amino acid methionine as a starting material. The problem is that methionine is needed in many places in the horse's body at the same time: for the coat change (keratin production), for building muscle, and for normal cell function.
In autumn, multiple processes compete for the same limited resource. If there is not enough methionine available, the liver cannot maintain its normal function at full capacity - and this is reflected in the horse's energy level.
That is why a standard coat-change supplement or extra grain won't solve the problem: they provide energy or biotin, but not precisely what the liver actually needs during this phase.
Liver Balance was specially designed for this exact interplay:
- DL-Methionine (10,000 mg/l) — carefully measured as a nutritional additive to help ensure your horse gets enough methionine during this demanding phase
- Choline chloride (40,000 mg/l) — a nutritional additive that supports normal liver function
- MSM (3.00%) — as a source of sulphur that plays a role in the sulphation process
- Apple cider vinegar, glycerin, and beetroot juice as carrier substances that promote acceptance and absorption
- Milk thistle, artichoke, dandelion and ginseng extract — herbs that have been a staple of traditional horse feeding practices for generations as part of liver support programs.
It's all about the combination: A methionine supplement alone won't cover your horse's choline needs, and a pure herbal supplement doesn't provide targeted amino acids. Only by working together do they address both sides of the challenge.
Note on feeding recommendations: Please take other sources of vitamins and minerals in the daily feed into account to ensure the recommended daily amount is not exceeded.
What Happened Over the Next Few Weeks
I'll admit I was skeptical. Every single supplement I tried before was sold to me as a miracle cure. None of them lived up to their promises.
I ordered Liver Balance anyway - because for the first time, the composition really made sense to me - along with the mineral snack currently being offered with it.
| Week 1 | Diego ate it without any problems, and thanks to the apple cider vinegar flavor, he actually preferred it to his regular supplements. There wasn't any noticeable change yet. I remained cautiously unimpressed. |
| Week 2 | When lunging him, I noticed he no longer made that "oh no" face after ten minutes. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. |
| Week 3 | His expression was brighter again. When leading him, he held his head higher. It wasn't anything dramatic — and at first I didn't consciously notice the difference, but rather realized it when I stopped worrying. |
| Week 5 | My riding instructor, who has known Diego for years and knew nothing about my "experiment," unprompted, said: "He seems much more present this year than last autumn." |
That was the moment that really convinced me. Not my own perception — but that of an outsider who has been watching Diego for years.
Today, right in the middle of autumn, for the first time in years I don't have that feeling of "something's not quite right." I'm no longer worried about October.
I am not the only one who felt that way
“I had almost given up on finding a way to help my mare in the autumn—every year it was the same story. Since her second month on Liver Balance, she genuinely seems different. Not miraculously different, but noticeably so.” — Claudia, 52, leisure rider
“Three people at our stable are talking about it now. My gelding is 19 and I thought it was just old age. It wasn't just age.” — Katrin, livery yard owner
Frequently Asked Questions
Isn't this just another coat-shedding supplement under a different name?
No. Traditional coat-change supplements focus on biotin and zinc for the hair's surface. Liver Balance specifically targets liver function and the combination of methionine and choline — which is why it works differently than standard autumn products.
Why doesn't my vet mention this?
Because a 15-minute check-up rarely leaves room for feeding details, and because many vets look at clinical values rather than subtle energy differences that don't show up in blood tests yet.
Do I need to give this continuously?
No. The typical use is 1 to 2 bottles over several weeks during the peak period in autumn (and optionally in spring during the next coat change).
What that is really worth
Let's quickly add up what I've spent in recent years on "something for autumn fatigue": three different coat-change supplements, an extra vitamin supplement, and an unexpected vet visit including blood tests. In total, well over 700 € — for products that never actually addressed the root of the problem.
Liver Balance In contrast, it costs €63.80 for one month’s supply at Large Horse —enough for ponies to last 6 weeks. And right now, while supplies last, you’ll get the Mineral Snack for free —so that, in addition to targeted liver support, your horse also gets the basic supply of vitamins and minerals needed for its fall/winter diet, without you having to buy anything extra.
Feeding recommendation: Please consider other sources of vitamins and minerals in the total diet to ensure the recommended daily amount is not exceeded.
You are now at a point
Option 1: You continue just like in recent years. You watch your dull, less energetic autumn gelding or mare, brush it off with "that's just how it is, it's just the season" — and next October you'll be standing in the stable just as clueless as this year.
Option 2: You give the liver exactly what it needs during this demanding phase — and see in three or four weeks if there is any change in what you see in your horse every day.
Imagine it's November. You walk into the stable and your horse lifts its head when you arrive — not sluggish, but full of life. Your training session feels fun for both of you again, rather than a compromise.
This isn't a promise of a different horse. It's about whether your horse goes through this autumn with supported or overloaded liver function.
P.S.: I now give Diego Liver Balance every autumn and spring during the coat change — not because I have to, but because I no longer want to miss the difference.
