Selenium- Omega Horseshine / Omega Grande / Daily Requirements

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Selenium

What is considered optimal for horses?

  •  Horses need between 1 -3 mg per day.  Recommendations are closer to 3 for optimal health.  The guidelines for concentration in the total feed are .1 to .3 ppm.  Essentially if a horse ate 10 kgs (2% of bwt for average horse) they would get the right amount.  Complete feeds are limited to this upper guideline in order to prevent toxicity as well as limit environmental contamination.  Supplements will be much higher in concentration because the horse would consume far less.

Safe Limits/Upper Limits

  • The suggested toxicity level is 2-5 ppm, or again using our 500kg horse eating at 2% would be 20-50 mg of SE

Omega Grande

  • If feeding recommended 3 scoops (provided) of Omega Grande per day , 0.95mg of Se per 3 scoop serving, it will meet the daily needs of Se. It is a safe mark / pretty much all of what the horse needs (from our OG supplement) as we don’t know what else the horse is consuming in its daily ration

Omega Horseshine

  • Guaranteed Analysis lists Se as 1.90 ppm Min.
  • Horseshine would provide 19% of the horse’s minimum requirement of Se

Also on our website, two links for Se and PPM conversion

A Better Understanding of Guaranteed Analysis -Why units: % min/max , PPM and IU are used

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Components in the diet that are present in larger amounts will be listed as % . In a traditional feed, that would include crude fiber, fat, protein and the macrominerals Ca and P. It is optional to include more information on a feed tag. If the items are in large enough quantities, it makes sense to list them in %. Calcium and P are always listed in mins/max – it allows some flexibility as feedstuffs naturally have some variation, but the manufacturer has to provide the customer the assurance they fall within that range.

Components that are found in smaller quantities, the trace minerals are listed in ppm. Although most people still think in pounds, I always prefer to think about ppm in mg/kg. The reason I do so is that the requirements for these nutrients are always listed in mgs, so it just makes sense to get that answer right away.

IU are international units which are only used for vitamins. Because vitamins act as catalysts , their unit of measure is relative to the amount of activity they have. Each vitamin will actually have a different weight required for its international unit. Of course, some vitamins are actually listed in concentration by weight, however A, E and D will all be as IU.

Essentially, macronutrients will always be in %, micronutrients in ppm, and A, D, and E in IU.

Training Your Horse

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Written By Walt Friedrich

Here’s some dialog between you and your horse. Does it seem familiar?

You: “I want to pick up your foot.”

Horse: “I don’t want you to.”

You: “I’m gonna do it anyway.”

Horse: “No, you won’t, I won’t let you.”

Then it becomes an argument, then a fight as you apply force, and you finally walk away, disgusted with your uncooperative horse. You may even be hurtin’ from where his kicky hooves caught your hands as you tried to impose your will. You may even have smacked your horse on the butt for his recalcitrance. “Dammit, I need to see his feet,” you mutter. Continue reading Training Your Horse

Nice Move

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Written By: Jenny Pavlovic

Last fall I wrote about moving my four-legged family from Minnesota to Wisconsin to be closer to my extended family. This first involved a move to live in my parents’ house while our Minnesota house went on the market and I started a new job. The dogs and I stayed with my parents for about six weeks until they went to Florida for the winter, then took care of their 17-acre place over the winter. We sold our Minnesota house in December and began the search for our new home in Wisconsin. Continue reading Nice Move

I Love You, But Let’s Not Get Too Cozy

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Written By: Walt Friedrich

We’ve touched on this subject in previous articles, but it’s important enough for an occasional revisit, just as a reminder. Our horse is not wired in the same way as we are, as he constantly demonstrates, but we’ve become so used to it that we rarely notice it any more. You put your favorite music on for him, playing quietly in the stable, because you enjoy it and you want to share the pleasure with him. A noble, thoughtful idea, but even when your favorite passages are playing and you might stop what you’re doing, lean up against a wall, and just listen, enraptured, he shows no reaction. Well, it’s disappointing, maybe, but we’re just not all music lovers, are we?

Continue reading I Love You, But Let’s Not Get Too Cozy

Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis

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Written By: Annette McCoy, DVM, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine

What is equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM)?

EPM is a disease of the central nervous system (brain and/or spinal cord) that is caused by the protozoal organism Sarcocystis neurona. The main host for this organism is the opossum and horses that are exposed to opossum feces with infective sporocysts can develop neurologic disease. Other hosts of S. neurona include armadillos, skunks, and domestic cats; however, these animals cannot directly transmit the disease to horses.

Continue reading Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis

The Healthy, Older Horse

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Written By Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D.

Let me tell you about Bugsy. He was an Appendix Quarter Horse I rescued a few years ago. When he came to me, he was significantly underweight, suffered from an old stifle injury, and had a distrustful attitude. A few months later, he’d filled out, was running up and down hills with ease, and showed the curiosity and warmth of a youngster. How old was he? 25. Not old by today’s standards and yet, definitely up there. What made the difference? Nutrition played a big part in his improvement.

Continue reading The Healthy, Older Horse

Fall Grasses Increase Risk of Laminitis

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Written By: Juliet M. Getty , PhD.

As temperatures begin to dip, Dr. Juliet Getty, equine nutrition specialist, wants your horse to make the transition to winter feeding in good shape, and that means understanding about the sugar and starch that lurk in your fall pasture growth.  If you have horses that are overweight, insulin resistant, or suffer from equine Cushing’s disease, you know about keeping them off of spring grasses. The non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) content is too high for free-choice grazing to be safe, increasing the risk for laminitis. But don’t think you’re out of the woods once spring is over. True, summer is safer, but as early fall nights cool down below 40 degrees F for the majority of the night, the dangerous carbohydrates once again increase. Grass accumulates NSC (sugars and starch) as it is exposed to sunlight. The levels reach a peak in the late afternoon. During the dark hours, the grass uses this fuel for itself, and by morning, the levels are at their lowest. But cold nights prevent grass from using as much NSC, resulting in a higher NSC concentration during the day. Don’t be fooled by the brown grass you see in the late fall. Spread it apart and you’ll likely see some green at the base, which is high in sugar and starch. If it hasn’t rained in a while, your grass will look dried out; but be careful – dry grass can actually have a higher NSC percentage than long, lush-looking grass. Continue reading Fall Grasses Increase Risk of Laminitis