Re: selenium info

[Maggie Mieske <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Not knocking county agents mind you, but that is exactly what I thought should be
my logical first step... I KNOW this guy personally and really thought my
involvement with the county 4-H program and the local fairs would really get me
the "inside scoop" so to speak!  Well, he sent me some info put out by MSU....
dated 1975 with a note that he would have the "equine specialist" contact me.
Haven't heard from either party since or yet!!  So, here I am on ridecamp and
can't learn enough.  I appreciate the precise info concerning SE as I know it is
important and having learned of someone in my immediate area who lost a horse to
SE deficiency, you can be damn sure I won't let that happen at my farm... Because
I couldn't get precise measurements to my satisfaction for E, I started giving my
gelding MY OWN 400 IU capsules (yeah, probably more expensive than powders but I
put it right on top and it's the first thing he usually gets his mouth on and I
know he gets it ALL) and so I was looking into buying tablets or whatever of
selenium at the pharmacy... of course, THOSE are measured in micrograms.... which
it takes 1000 of to equal 1 mg.  Just learned this from the pharmacist.  So that
may not be very practical but a friend of mine made the suggestion that you can
buy this stuff at big health or vitamin stores (like GNC maybe?  No, I don't work
for them either!!) and make our own pills.... haven't looked into that yet.  I
have been feeding a supp that does the ppm thing and is actually quite expensive.
I would prefer to spend the extra money and control the amounts I give myself
so.... we'll see if this works out or not.  My husband thinks I am crazy but OH,
well... I am an endurance rider so what can I say?  Any other hints or suggestions
from anyone about getting the E and SE into the horse and in proper amounts are
appreciated!!
Maggie

CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 1/19/99 4:40:55 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> arabs2go@yahoo.com writes:
>
> << To feed 2 oz is probably assuming there is Se in your other feeds, and
>  that you have an idle mature horse, and I think Heidi will confirm,
>  probably underestimates how much Se a working horse needs. I wouldn't
>  suggest exceeding the recommended dosage though, not knowing anything
>  else about the feed. >>
>
> This sounds like a pretty typical supplement--the most any of them can put in
> by FDA standard is 2 mg per recommended serving, so I'm betting that the above
> feed (thanks, Mia, for doing the math) recommends a 2-oz serving.  If this is
> a supplement with vitamins and other minerals in it, and if you are in an area
> like ours where the forage has virtually NO selenium in it, you still don't
> want to feed 4 times the recommended level of the supplement because a) you
> don't want to feed 4 times all the other stuff in there, and b) it is likely
> expensive!  That is why I recommend the product EqU-SeE (and no, I don't work
> for the company!)--all it has in it is selenium and Vitamin E (which won't
> hurt a bit to overdo and will also help the horse utilize the selenium), so if
> I feed another supplement (2 mg of selenium) and 3x the recommended level of
> EqU-SeE (6 mg of selenium) which only comes out to be a tablespoon of the
> stuff, presto! I have 8 mg per day!  We need that much here, but for places
> that are just marginal, a "regular" high-selenium supplement (the 2 mg per
> day) may be enough.  That's why if you're not here in the NW and are in doubt
> as to the selenium status in your area and/or of your horse, check with your
> county agent and test your horse!
>
> Heidi