Does My Horse Need An Iron Supplement?

Facts About Iron and Horses The reality is that horses do need iron in their diets. According to the National Research Council (NRC) 2007 Nutrient Requirements of Horses, mature horses require a daily intake of 40 mg of available iron per kg of dry matter intake.

How much iron does a horse need daily?

Iron Intake in Horses
According to the National Research Council (NRC 2007), the iron requirement for a mature horse is 40 mg/kg of diet or 400 mg per day. This is increased to 50 mg/kg of diet or 500 mg per day for growing foals and lactating mares. Common feedstuffs should meet these iron requirements.

Can horses have iron deficiency?

Iron deficiency anemia is not common in horses. When it occurs, it is not usually due to insufficient intake of iron in the diet. Instead it occurs due to low-grade, longterm blood loss. Your veterinarian will treat this disorder with iron supplements and by identifying and treating the cause of the blood loss.

Does hay have iron in it?

Hay typically contains 50-500 ppm iron, so we will use 250 ppm as an average. Add a hay balancer feed fed at 0.25 kg/100kg BW (contains 400 ppm iron) and 0.5 kg of oats to the diet (typically containing 106 ppm iron). This horse requires a minimum of 500 mg of iron per day (NRC).

Why does a horse need iron?

Iron is a ‘micro mineral’ or ‘trace element’ meaning that it is required in smaller amounts. Its primary function lies in the transportation of oxygen and consequently, approximately 60% of the iron in the horse’s body is in haemoglobin – the protein which carries oxygen and gives blood its red colour.

Where do horses get iron from?

In fact, an iron overload is more likely to be an issue than a deficiency. Nearly all common equine feedstuffs contain ample amounts of iron, including all grasses, hays, commercial feeds, grains, and supplements. Even water can contribute to dietary iron.

What horse feed contains iron?

Iron is in virtually everything the horse eats; hay, grass, haylage, water, soil, commercial feeds, separates like oats and beet pulp and is added to the majority of the vitamin/mineral supplements on the market.

What should I feed my anemic horse?

The most common method used by many in an attempt to resolve equine anemia is supplementing with vitamins and minerals that are important to the process of red blood cell production. The two most widely used products are supplements that contain iron and/or Vitamin B12.

Can worms cause anemia in horses?

The Relationship Between Parasites and Anemia
Large strongyles — aptly known as blood worms or red worms — are the parasites most closely associated with anemia. Both the larvae and the worms cause damage that leads to blood loss, and consequentially, anemia.

Is speedi beet high in iron?

Iron in sugar beet is mainly bound with the beet pectin, although appreciable levels are incorporated into cellulose and hemicellulose and technical research has give the in vitro availability of as little as 1.5%. This means that the available iron content of Speedi-Beet is 11mg/kg.”

Is alfalfa high in iron?

Specifically, alfalfa contains vitamins A, B1, B6, C, D, E, G, and K. It is also rich in iron, zinc, magnesium, sodium, calcium, silicon calcium, potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, and carotene.

Is alfalfa high in iron for horses?

Alfalfa is nutritionally dense. It contains high levels of calcium, as well as magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, lysine, vitamin C, vitamin K, and folic acid.

Does alfalfa hay have iron?

Alfalfa also contains the minerals Phosphorus, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Chlorine, Sulfur, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Boron, Molybdenum and trace elements such as Nickel, Lead, Strontium and Palladium.

How much iron is too much?

At high doses, iron is toxic. For adults and children ages 14 and up, the upper limit — the highest dose that can be taken safely — is 45 mg a day. Children under age 14 should not take more than 40 mg a day.

How much iron in water is too much for horses?

Kellon: The EPA has set an upper limit of 0.3 ppm of iron in water, but it is described more as a problem with taste and staining than toxicity. Dr. Theelen from Utrecht reported on cases of iron toxicity in horses and donkys consuming between 0.7 and 72.5 ppm of iron in drinking water.

Can iron in water hurt horses?

A: High levels of iron found in a horse’s drinking water may reduce copper, cobalt, magnesium, selenium and zinc utilization, leading to deficiencies of these minerals. Iron overload also increases the risk of infection and neoplasia, and high iron content can result in decreased water consumption.

Where is the best source of iron?

Heme iron is found in meat, fish and poultry. It is the form of iron that is most readily absorbed by your body. You absorb up to 30 percent of the heme iron that you consume. Eating meat generally boosts your iron levels far more than eating non-heme iron.

Where do you naturally get iron?

Foods rich in iron include beans, red meat, dried fruits, iron-fortified cereals, and peas. Foods rich in vitamin C include citrus fruits, leafy greens, and broccoli.

Why do they put iron on horse feet?

The metal horseshoes are there to protect the horse’s hooves. Horseshoes are curved pieces of metal that cover the bottom of a horse’s hoof. A person called a farrier uses small nails to hold the shoe on the hoof. These nails do not hurt the horse.

What do horses need daily?

Horses need a regular supply of food and water
In most cases, they need to have hay or pasture throughout the day, with additional grain feedings twice a day. An average-size horse will eat about 20 lbs. of food a day and drink at least eight gallons of water.

What vitamins and minerals do horses need daily?

Horses need vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K for optimal health. The quantities needed are small, but the effects are important. For some vitamins, too much in the horse’s diet is just as bad as too little.