Should I check my horse’s Selenium levels?
Selenium is a very useful mineral for the body. It is important for the horse’s metabolism as well as acting as an antioxidant alongside Vitamin E.
What is an Antioxidant?
Antioxidants inhibit oxidizing agents from damaging cells of the body. Oxidizing agents are produced as a by-product from metabolism of all living cells on a daily basis.
NZ Soils:
As a general rule, NZ soils are very deficient in selenium. Historically, horse owners therefore knew to supplement their horses with this mineral. As a result, there was a period of time where horses blood levels became too HIGH in selenium due to over-supplementation when feeding multiple products. We are now seeing many horses LOW in selenium again due to the fear of over-supplementation.
Signs that could indicate Selenium deficiency:
· Poor hair and horn growth
· Poor muscle recovery following exercise
· No outwardly obvious clinical signs (most common)!
What should you do?
A selenium blood test is between $35-40 depending on your veterinary practice. This will then allow us to see what the ‘storage levels’ of selenium within your horse.
This is one part of the puzzle……
Once we have identified a correct storage level of selenium within the body, we must MAINTAIN it!
How do you ensure your horse receives enough selenium?
This needs to be done with dietary analysis. BUT….It is simple!!!
A 500Kg horse need 7-14mg of selenium per week - (1-2mg per day).
Weigh all of your feed and then calculate the selenium amount, in mg, per component of your feed.
Add them all together and see if you are feeding the correct amount!
Alternatively, we help our clients with this service every day... if you do not look, you will not know!