Chronic diarrhea, chronic weight loss, Tight or sore muscles, Can’t hold a chiropractic adjustment, or has a lack of energy? These are only a few on a long list of symptoms that might show that your horse has a mineral deficiency or imbalance. Diagnosing a mineral deficiency is not easy. Typically your Vet will do routine blood tests, fecal exams, and urinalysis. Blood tests can measure certain vitamins and minerals within your horse’s body, and if those come back as abnormal, then your veterinarian will know what treatments to start. However, many times, the blood tests will appear normal even though your horse is deficient. Is there a better alternative to measure mineral levels?
The short answer to that question is yes, an Equine Hair & Mineral Analysis (EHMA) provides the best view of mineral levels. Why is testing hair more accurate than blood or urine? Think of the hair as your mineral storage compartment, the blood as trucking or transportation, and urine as garbage collection. Each is connected, but different. The blood is maintained at the expense of tissues such as the hair; this means the hair will change first, often years before the blood. The blood is far more buffered, and it has to be because the blood is the means to transport nutrients and touches every cell. Large variations in mineral levels in the blood would be fatal. Not the case with the hair. Blood or urine provide short-term or even instantaneous readings, whereas a hair test provides a 3-month average or a longer-term reading. The average level of minerals is about ten times as high in the hair as in the blood; this makes minerals easier to measure accurately in the hair. As you will see, an EHMA report provides a baseline of your horse’s health and enables you to make informed decisions on your current feeding program and warn of any metabolic issues that may be starting.
What will the mineral analysis show? Fifteen nutritional elements and seven significant mineral ratios. To start, you will get precise numbers in milligram percent of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, iron, and nine other minerals and micronutrients as well as mineral ratios. If mineral rations are a new concept, in short, minerals have interrelationships with other minerals. For example, calcium and magnesium, zinc and copper, calcium, and phosphorous are all interrelated. If their ratios are not balanced means that no other minerals are being absorbed and could be causing additional issues. We will be covering more on this in the next article.
Another important health check is the endocrine system—specifically the adrenal and thyroid. More and more horses are being diagnosed as insulin resistant, or Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM). Through hair analysis, you can detect over-active or under-active thyroid and adrenal activity. This information is compared with critical mineral ratios to see if your horse is predisposed to these issues before clinical signs appear. Often, through diet changes and mineral therapy, these issues can be controlled.
Another benefit is an Equine Hair Mineral Analysis tests for eight different toxic metals as well. Toxic metals are removed from the blood as fast as possible. Toxic minerals are stored in the tissues of the body, where they will do less damage. For this reason, it is harder to detect toxic metals in the blood or urine tests. Toxic metals are easier to detect in tissues, such as the hair. We are finding more horses testing positive to high aluminum, and iron has traced this back to poor soil conditions of the hay farms. The supplement industry can contribute to heavy metals. For example, arsenic is naturally found in rice bran, soy, flaxseed, and meal and are common binders used in many equine supplements. Vaccines can also contribute to the toxic metal load in your horse. Vaccines contain adjuvants, like mercury, arsenic and aluminum are foreign materials with potentially dangerous consequences. The body does not naturally purge heavy metals like mercury and aluminum – thus, they continue to accumulate over a horse’s lifetime. Once these heavy metals accrue to relatively low levels, serious illness can occur, including neurologic disorder, kidney failure and colic or digestive distress.
The cost of an Equine Hair & Mineral Analysis can run from $135 to $185. Anything below that is not worth it. The gold standard for an EHMA should include - a comprehensive report on 15 nutritional elements, eight toxic metals, seven significant mineral ratios, nine toxic ratios, and an additional 15 elements.
Here are a few pointers on selecting the best company to do the EHMA. First - Make sure the lab they use is certified to test equine samples. Second – Look at the submittal form they want you to complete. Besides the basic information, they should ask for detailed information on diet, training, how your horse moves, hoof condition, or any joint issues. The more information they ask for, the better the final summary. Third – Who else besides the lab will review the information; some companies simply send you the lab results and leave it to you to decipher the x’s and o’s. Others will include a second summary from an in-house equine nutritionist that will link the information from the submittal form and analysis into a final summary. The summary will explain in horseman terms any mineral imbalance and offer recommendations on how to correct it through diet or custom mineral supplements. Finally – This may sound funny but work with a company that specializes in equine. Some companies offer equine hair analysis but only act as a processing agent. You are far better off speaking with another horseman on what you and your horse are experiencing.
To recap the benefits of an EHMA done for your horse. First - It gives us an accurate view of minerals in our horse and how our supplements are working. Second – It allows us to check for toxic metals ingested from feeds, supplements, and vaccines. Finally, it enables us to catch health issues like insulin resistance and endocrine problems early before symptoms appear.