 |
Re: [RC] quarter horse neck - heidiThe Middle East tends to be low in selenium, but it affects horses differently. I have a mare who MUST have a selenium supplement, and I take one too or I have permanently achy muscles. But the others are fine. Arabs in the old days lived on a diet that contained dates and dates are phenomenally rich in minerals, so that probably took care of the deficiency. Additionally, many horses (and other critters) survive on deficient diets. They just don't develop optimally or perform optimally. Although Carl Raswan isn't exactly the most reliable witness about many things, one of his impressions when he went to the desert to look for his fantasy Arabian horses, he was sorely disappointed. But later he saw some of the very same horses in a different environment, properly fed, and realized that it wasn't the horses that had been disappointing--it was the condition that they were in. I'd suspect that a great many of the desert horses not only had caloric deficiencies, but also less-than-ideal vitamin and mineral content in their diets as well. Having to survive such deficiencies likely is one of the things that selected for the hardiest. But yes, the dates probably helped, even if they didn't entirely solve the problem.... Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|