Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

RE: [SPAM] Re: [RC] Follow up on "tying up" episode - heidi

I somehow missed Lee's post, but my goodness!

First off, daily requirement for selenium per day is 8-10 mg.  That requires an 
average selenium content in the feed of about 0.9 to 1 ppm.  Per Oregon State 
University, chronic toxicity requires about 60-90 mg per day--or a level in the 
feed roughly twice the text being quoted below.  

Second, normal selenium levels in blood are in the range of .200 ppm (or 200 
ppb) up to about .250 ppm--so having .09 is VERY deficient.  NO, this level is 
not normal for ANY horse.

Injecting anything (penicillin, vaccines, and yes, selenium) can potentially 
kill your horse--the rate of anaphylactic reactions to E-Se is about 1 in 
30,000, which is about the same as penicillin and most vaccines.  Short of 
that, unless the horse has toxic levels (which this horse does NOT), E-Se may 
well be the way to go.

In some horses with levels that low, you can supplement orally until you are 
blue in the face and they don't seem to respond with increased levels.  But 
give one E-Se injection to boost the level, and you can then often maintain 
just fine with oral suppelementation.

I have yet to see a horse with selenium toxicity, although I have heard of 
cases.  But I've seen literally thousands suffering from deficiency.  Lee has 
done the right thing--get a test, know the level, and then supplement from 
there.

If I had a horse with a level that low, I would inject E-Se without giving it a 
second thought.  In fact, living in an area that is somewhat deficient, I 
routinely inject broodmares at critical intervals (a month before foaling, 
particularly) and foals at birth, as well as our endurance horses as an initial 
boost before starting them on their oral supplementation each spring.  No need 
to test here--we feed local hay, and I know it is somewhat deficient.  When I 
lived in an even more deficient area, I injected much more often.  

Heidi


Please don't even think about injecting your Buddy with Se (Selenium).  It 
may kill him.  A quote from my ancient text:  "Selenium is essential for 
domestic animals but the margin of safety is relatively narrow.   A low level 
of Se is essential to prevent myopathies, liver injury and congenital 
abnormalities in domestic and laboratory animals and poultry.  ........High 
dietary Se is toxic to animals and a defined set of signs and lesions has 
been established for acute and subacute exposure to toxic concentrations in 
several species........The minimum dietary level of Se, which results in 
accumulation in the tissues of animals and ultimately produces signs of 
toxicity, is about 3 to 4 ppm of the dry diet."  Modern Nutrition in Health 
and Disease, 6th edition; by Goodhart and Shils. 
  
The best way to get any minerals into your animal is via feeding them a food 
source.  This way their guts can discriminate and reject an overload, 
somewhat.   
  
Another way to reduce Se is via an overload of S(Sulphur).  Is there lots of 
S in your water - smells like rotten eggs - this might contribute to a 
reduced Se absorption. 
  
Otherwise, my guess is that a .09 is normal for Buddy and perhaps the bigger 
picture can be reviewed:  


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=