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 Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
     
Location: Around here somewhere... | I had blood tested because I suspected the horses were getting too much selenium, and I was right. We live in a high selenium area and will be testing the soil in the pastures. However, removing the horses from the fields is not an option, especially if all or most of the pastures are high (which is what I suspect)- we have over 300 acres and 16 horses, and it will NOT be feasible to feed all of them every bite- they must graze. Anyway, I'm trying to find it if there are any feasible ways to remove selenium from the soil, or planting some sort of plants that don't uptake much selenium for the horses to graze instead of Wyatt they are currently eating... Any ideas? |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 433
Location: North Central South Dakota, west of the Might Mo | Call your local extension office. They or other Extension staff should be able to help you. I work for Extension and do a lot of work with minerals, plants and selenium.
Good luck...if you didn't know, some symptoms of selenium toxicity/poisoning are sloughed hooves, and mane and tail loss.
BHR
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Extreme Veteran
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| We live in a high selenium area. What were your symptoms? We "heard" the horses sluff their hooves but our experience has been in the 2 of 10 horses we have here is they loose their tail. Strangest thing because I had 2 horses corraled together, one lost her tail just from eating hay off the ground it can be so bad. The other one lost it turned out to pasture last summer. We have another that we catch him, he seems more suseptable than the others. They also get these white rings around their eyes and when my husband trims their feet their brittle and break. I don't think you can treat the soil, especially 300 acres. Here it has been a rainy spring and it seems to just bring it to the top. We also heard once they get a taste for it they like to lick it is sweet. So I think they get it two ways here, licking the alkali that surfaces and when the grass gets short it more concentrated at the base. Kocia and another weed are high selenium accumulator plants so if they eat that they will get too much.
So here's how we combat it. We turn some of the horses out every other day and feed off days. The ones that were left out, they get 5 lbs of high quality alfalfa cubes (high protein and high calcium counter) a day-even while out on pasture. I never been an alfalfa feeder to a horse but it seems to be countering the high selenium as were learning as we go too. Where are you located? Ranchway makes great mineral without added selinuim for the area which is known to be high selinium. They make a 12-12 with added copper which is also supposed to combat selenium.
Edited by oranges 2014-07-24 8:49 AM
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Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | Thanks! I love Ranchway, I live in northern NM. Our symptoms are scant manes and rough hair coats- we've had those symptoms for many many years but I finally got curious enough to have a blood test done. I'm going to contact the county agent but they are pretty busy right note getting ready for the fair, I just got the test results back and am not in a big hurry. I'm basically just looking into our options, and will be taking to the county ext agents and getting the soil tested. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 396
| Since you've had it for many years and not gotten worse, maybe start by sticking a Ranchway 20% protein tub out, it has the 12-12 mineral with added copper as long as the horses don't sit and engulf it. That way you don't have to "feed" them with 300 acres of pasture. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 396
| By the way, I don't work for Ranchway, their minerals just work for us here too up North. I used to love Purina but had to switch because Ranchway is more formulated for our area. |
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Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | Oh no worries there- I love Ranchway! |
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