09/01/2023
Foaling season is here! Soon (although some mares may not think soon enough!) they'll be weaned, and your next worry is ensuring that they are receiving enough nutrients and minerals to support their rapid growth and neurologic function.
Vitamin E is a required antioxidant for adult and young horses alike. Low Vitamin E levels were found in horses with Equine Degenerative Myelopathy, commonly just called EDM. How does it affect foals and growing horses? When foals showing signs of incoordination were supplemented with vitamin E, they were found to appear normal by 2 years of age—the reverse of what is typically seen with suspected EDM. Equine Degenerative Myelopathy is a progressive disease, where affected horses show worsening neurologic signs such as ataxia, stumbling, paresis, and below average muscle function. A farm with a higher incidence of EDM reduced their 40% EDM number to 0% after increasing their supplementation of Vitamin E to horses that were showing neurologic signs.
But can vitamin E be used as preventative before a foal is even born? Studies are showing that there is a high correlation between supplementing stallions with vitamin E and decreasing the chances of their foals developing EDM.
Foals may need increased levels of vitamin E to support their constant growth and development. They may not receive adequate vitamin E from the mare, their pasture, or their feed, so it can be worthwhile to supplement. Foals require about three times the amount of Vitamin E compared to an adult horse’s maintenance needs, usually around 3,000 IU per day. Rapid neurologic development occurs in foals as they grow, making vitamin E even more essential.
EnviroEquine's H**p Seed Oil or OmegaBalance can help provide a dose of fats and vitamin E to growing horses. All of EnviroEquine and Pet H**p products are currently 50% off! Shop their H**p Seed Oil here:
H**p seed oil is a source of the unique fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an omega-6 that behaves like an omega-3. GLA has been shown to displace and compete with more inflammatory fatty acids in…