Have you checked your horses Selenium levels lately?

Selenium is a trace element that all horses require in tiny amounts, yet is vital to their health and wellbeing. Historically, New Zealand soils have been known to be deficient in Selenium and these deficiencies have resulted in pasture deficiencies that then result in our horses needing Selenium top ups in their diet. Over the past two years VANI has been keeping a close eye on horse selenium levels in the field and routinely testing their clients horses where possible. We have found that around 80% of horses tested have in fact had toxic levels of Selenium in their blood. Sometimes this is easily fixed by assessing your horses diet and realising that you are providing multiple sources of selenium and a simple diet or feed adjustment can fix your problem. However in some cases it requires further investigation including testing your pasture, feeds and even water. Luckily VANI specialises in providing these specialist services and can help you if you do encounter a problem with Selenium. It pays to get onto this promptly as Selenium toxicity can have devastating effects including negative effects on hair and hoof quality and even death. Get in touch with us today if you would like your horses Selenium tested and your feed regime assessed. Your horse will thank you for it.

Fibre Fibre Fibre

Did you know your horse needs at least 1.5% Fibre in their diet every day?! For a 500kg horse this equates to 7.5kg. Before building a diet for your horse, make sure that you are meeting their fibre requirement first. This will not only improve your horses gut health but it will also mean you spend less on feeds as your horses gut is functioning efficiently. Think of it like keeping your cars oil topped up. It is likely your car will still run for a while if your oil is low but eventually you will run into trouble and your car might stop working all together! If we liken this to our horses, your horse may start to become unhappy in their work and lose weight, their coat might start to lose its shine and you might start to notice unwanted changes in their behaviour. So make sure you are meeting their fibre requirement every day. This can be done with pasture, hay, chaffs and alternative fibre sources and will vary depending on the time of the year and how much grass you have available.