I recently subscribed to FeedXL and after entering all pertinet data was horrified to realize that my horses were deficient in iodine. I thought I had my bases covered with my vitamin/mineral supplement, but I did not. Most vitamin mineral supplements seem to be designed with the assumption that the horse is recieving an iodized salt supplement and mine were not.
http://www.equinews.com/article/the-nitty-gritty-on-salt
During the winter I worry that they don't consume enough salt due to the cold temps so I add salt to their daily mashes. Salt in the form of sea salt or electrolytes, neither of which has iodine. They do have salt blocks available, one is trace, the other is just plain salt. They seem to show no preference.
The NRC recommendation for iodine for the adult recreational horse (2007) is .35mg/kg of feed. (roughly 3.5mg a day for the 1100# horse, 4.1mg for my Gelin) More is not recommended and the big caveat is that deficiencies show the same symptoms as excess- the only way to tell which is which (without a blood test) is to drag out the calculator and start crunching the numbers.
The average trace mineral salt block containing iodine has 70ppm of iodine, or 70mg/kg. To put it in perspective, if your horse were to meet its NRC recommendation for iodine by consuming the salt block alone, it would go through one 4# block every 36 days. That's a rate of 1.7 ounces a day, which does fall under the recommended salt consumption of the horse of 1-2 ounces a day. ( I'm not sure how long my last block lasted as it was turned into a toy and was smashed to pieces.)
Interestingly enough, iodine, despite having a narrow range of tolerance in the horse, doesn't always make it onto the guaranteed analysis of the feed tag. So if you don't see it listed, but see ingredients such as calcium iodate or potassium iodide, and you're concerned about the overall iodine levels your horse is recieving, call your feed rep and ask. My very quick glance through some commonly fed supplements show that their level of supplementation runs between 1mg to 2mg a day, which by itself isn't enough.
I've ended up putting my horses on a kelp product that provides an iodine analysis. Kelp can range wildly and run exceedingly in regard to iodine content so I wanted to be sure that I wasn't feeding too much.
And thus ends my PSA for the day. Find the iodine. Whether it be in the salt block, supplement, or feed, just make sure it's there!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Why yes, I have put formaldehyde on my horses!
Over the years I've tried almost every combination of sole hardener and or thrush remedy on the market. Sugardine. Venice Turpentine. Thrushbuster. Apple cider vinegar. Bleach. Durasole. White Lightning. Today. Tomorrow. Pete's goo. A few of which contain aldehydes.
*Technically speaking* we all know that sometimes the best remedy is a proper trim and diet. If the horse has wee little contracted heels and thrushy frogs sure you treat for thrush, but you also have to try to get those heels to open up too. If your horse has paper thin soles, well, maybe it would be best if it wasn't chronically laminitic and currently rotating and sinking. That sort of thing.
I'm lumping thrush and hardening under the same category because after trying multiple products over the years I find that one product addresses both issues better than anything else.
http://www.keratex.net/hoof_gel.htm
It's not even marketed as a hardener or thrush remedy. It's called a hoof protectant. But the result is a harder, thrush free hoof.
Why I like it best is that the majority of all the other products on the market create a "shell" on both sole and frog. There are times that creating such a shell might be desireable. I know of no better product to apply to a flimsy sole than Durasole. Apply it to the clean sole by the drop and use a wire brush to scrub it in. Wear glasses so it doesn't flick into your eyeballs. It's amazing how much relief the "shell" it creates provides the horse. It's particularly useful on an overtrimmed sole or the recently deshod horse.
Alas, but that shell! What I've found that shells can be great, and with repeated applications you can get them pretty thick. The drawbacks are twofold- one it creates the opportunity to have retained sole. The shell does not act like regular sole or frog and does not exfoliate like regular sole or frog. Exfoliation is a good thing, retained is not.
And under the shell, things can work their way in and hide. I have repeatedly found products that create a great looking frog, but through a crack, etc., thrush has found it's way to the inside of the frog and underneath that exterior the interior is being eaten away. The shell will pop off, revealing a ratty tattered frog underneath.
Keratex Hoof Gel does not do that. Soles harden but exfoliate. Frogs plump and grow but do not periodically "shed".
I still use the Today product or Pete's goo if I want to knock down a particularly rabid looking case of thrush, but for daily maintenance of the hoof, the Keratex Hoof Gel is my product of choice.
*Technically speaking* we all know that sometimes the best remedy is a proper trim and diet. If the horse has wee little contracted heels and thrushy frogs sure you treat for thrush, but you also have to try to get those heels to open up too. If your horse has paper thin soles, well, maybe it would be best if it wasn't chronically laminitic and currently rotating and sinking. That sort of thing.
I'm lumping thrush and hardening under the same category because after trying multiple products over the years I find that one product addresses both issues better than anything else.
http://www.keratex.net/hoof_gel.htm
It's not even marketed as a hardener or thrush remedy. It's called a hoof protectant. But the result is a harder, thrush free hoof.
Why I like it best is that the majority of all the other products on the market create a "shell" on both sole and frog. There are times that creating such a shell might be desireable. I know of no better product to apply to a flimsy sole than Durasole. Apply it to the clean sole by the drop and use a wire brush to scrub it in. Wear glasses so it doesn't flick into your eyeballs. It's amazing how much relief the "shell" it creates provides the horse. It's particularly useful on an overtrimmed sole or the recently deshod horse.
Alas, but that shell! What I've found that shells can be great, and with repeated applications you can get them pretty thick. The drawbacks are twofold- one it creates the opportunity to have retained sole. The shell does not act like regular sole or frog and does not exfoliate like regular sole or frog. Exfoliation is a good thing, retained is not.
And under the shell, things can work their way in and hide. I have repeatedly found products that create a great looking frog, but through a crack, etc., thrush has found it's way to the inside of the frog and underneath that exterior the interior is being eaten away. The shell will pop off, revealing a ratty tattered frog underneath.
Keratex Hoof Gel does not do that. Soles harden but exfoliate. Frogs plump and grow but do not periodically "shed".
I still use the Today product or Pete's goo if I want to knock down a particularly rabid looking case of thrush, but for daily maintenance of the hoof, the Keratex Hoof Gel is my product of choice.
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