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In short, what do we do?

Elite Equine Essentials was started myself, Danielle Starr, in 2015 when I gained distributorship of the Belinda’s Premium Loose Lick® equine vitamin and mineral supplement, working with Belinda Atkinson to formulate a blend specifically suited to horses on South Australian and Western Australian pastures.

In 2019 we expanded our range to include Belinda’s Amazing Minerals Plus® in a South Australian and Western Australian formula, providing horses with a quality vitamin and mineral supplement, prebiotic and toxin binder in one product.

At Oakwood Park Equestrian we use Belinda’s vitamin & mineral mixes on all our horses, from foals and broodmares to working and retired horses. We believe in having quality, versatile and affordable products, and we’re sure your horses will enjoy them as much as ours do!

How did it all start?

In 2010 I bought a beautiful palomino Welsh Cob stallion Scolinda Macka Dreams  (a.k.a Thumper) from Victoria, who was originally bred by Belinda at Scolinda Stud in Tasmania.

Before this for a number of years we had been trying a variety of supplements for our horses, including making our own “Pat Coleby” style, but had always felt that there was something missing from their diets. Not to mention that even with ultra food-oriented Welshies, they tended to sift out the supplements in their feeds, effectively washing that money down the drain.

One day while on holiday in Tasmania, a few years after purchasing Thumper, we decided to call in on Belinda and Scott to see Thumper’s relatives and Scolinda Stud in person. Despite the very wet, red Tasmanian mud, all of Belinda’s horses looked healthy and gleaming. We just had to ask what she was feeding.

We were both surprised and amazed to find out it was a mineral mix Belinda created herself, and had produced by a company on the mainland. Belinda shared a story similar to our own in struggling to find supplements that were suited to her horses, knowing that Australian soils and pastures are so depleted of the essential vitamins and minerals they need. 

We bought some of her Belinda’s Loose Lick and took it home with us to try (thankfully we had driven and not flown!), and our horses loved it. As owners of ponies who are prone to founder, it was important for us to have something with no molasses or grain for taste, and it was incredible our horses would eat this powder out of our hands. Within a few weeks their coats were smooth and shiny, fluffy manes became flowing, dapples appeared, and their hooves improved significantly over the the following months. 

We continued to buy Belinda’s Loose Lick from Tasmania for quite a while, but when the opportunity to distribute an SA and WA specific formula came up, we jumped at the chance knowing how much difference it had made for our own horses, and as such, Elite Equine Essentials was born.

Who is Danielle?

To start with, I’m an all-round horse lover. 

I was lucky enough to have a horsey family and grow up around horses, having moved to Oakwood Park Equestrian in Oakbank when I was 7 years old. I first learned to ride on two black Shetland Ponies, Rainbow and Duncan, then moving onto a slightly taller Australian Pony called Illusion who over a few years took me from being a lead rein plodder to competing the show circuits in South Australia and Victoria. 

I’ve always been a pony person. They’re cheeky, charismatic and nice and close to the ground! 

When Pony Dressage came to Australia, and as I started to out-grow little Illusion, myself and my family went all-out in purchasing Scolinda Macka Dreams, a.k.a Thumper. At 14.1 ½hh he was perfect for Pony Dressage, and he remains one of the most beautiful horses I know. Although, I admit, I could be  a bit biased.

Through breeding, training, competing,  agisting and running Elite Equine Essentials I’ve learned so much over the years it’s impossible to articulate it all in a few paragraphs, and I know there’s even more to learn just around the corner. 

I currently hold a corporate job in addition to running Elite Equine Essentials and assisting at Oakwood Park Equestrian. Unfortunately between this and my own health I don’t get the chance to ride as often as I’d like, but my passion for horse health continues to go on.