Freitag Entwicklung

This is an awesome example of the rehabilitation that's possible with mineral balancing, supportive nutrition, correct trims and a dedicated owner (Equine Cushings List member in Germany) who respected the light in her horse's eyes. Freitag, previously diagnosed with PPID, had sole penetration following a trim; the pain resulted in weight loss and overloading his hind legs.

Dr. Kellon's Nutrition Classes and Consulting

Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance Group

Update on Understanding Supplement Labels

More and more US supplement manufacturers are showing supplement serving sizes in "grams". To us metrically challenged Yanks, this is confusing. So I'll try to lay out some general terms and "easy" math - with the understanding, of course, that if you're math challenged 2+2 can be tricky.

First some basics. The metric system uses kilograms (equivalent to 2.2 lbs), grams and milligrams to weigh things.

Where we might use 3 or 4 ounces, in the metric system a similar convenient amount might be 100 grams.

• Kilogram (Kg or kg) - 1,000 grams
• Gram (g, gm) - a basic unit of weight
• Milligram (mg) - 1/1,000 of a gram; there are 1,000 mg in one gram
• Microgram (mcg or µ) - 1/1000 of a milligram; there are 1,000 mcg in a mg
• PPM or ppm - parts per million which = mg/kg
• % or percent - 100ths of a gram per gram; how much (by weight) of an elemental mineral is in a gram of compound or product. The elemental mineral will show as a fraction [99% = 99/100 = 0.99 g]

In case you get lost, you can check your math at the Online Conversion site.

Because American supplements and feeds do still show pounds and ounces, you need to know that

• One pound = 453.6 grams; there are 2.2 lbs in a kilogram (1,000 g / 453.6 = 2.20]
• One ounce = 28.4 grams

You can also do metric to US weight conversions at the Online Conversion site.

Let's look at some examples.

A popular selenium yeast product shows the product analysis on the label as:

Active ingredients per 1 gram scoop - Selenium (as Selenium Yeast) 2,000 mcg

This really is a lot of information. You can divide 2,000 mcg by 1,000 to see that there are 2 mg selenium in one scoop.

Because the scoop size is given at one gram, you can see there are 453 scoops (or servings) in a one pound jar of this product.

Looking at some of the ingredients in another highly advertised product, we see:

Per 132 gram serving

Copper 13.2 mg

Iodine 660 mcg

This tells us that the serving size is approximately 4-1/2 ounces

[132 grams/28.4 grams = 4.6 oz]

You would need to use more than 890 grams (30 ounces) of this product to provide your horse's copper requirement of 90 mg/day.

[90 mg/13.2 mg = 6.8 servings x 132 grams per serving = 899 grams]

and [899 grams/28.4 grams = 31.6 oz]

So you can see this is not a cost effective product for supplying your horse's copper.

We also know that we want to give our horse 2-4 mg of iodine per day. At 660 mcg, this product only supplies 0.6 mg of iodine [660 mcg/1000 = 0.66 mg]

Here's another popular product with the analysis shown on their web site:

Phosphorus 1.25%

Magnesium 1.5%

Copper 500 ppm

Iron 350 ppm

Selenium 5 ppm

Iodine 8 ppm

Starting with copper (because copper is usually the first mineral I address when I'm evaluating a supplement), we see that this has 500 ppm, or 500 mg/kg. Dividing by 1,000 (remember, there are 1,000 grams in 1 kg) gives us 0.5 mg copper per gram of product. [ (500 mg/kg)/1,000 = 0.5 mg/gm]

If you multiply the grams by 28.4, you'll see there are 14.2 mg per ounce. So you will need around 6 ounces of this product to supply your horse's minimum 90 mg copper requirement.

[500 ppm = (5 mg/kg)/1000 = 0.5 mg per gram] [ 0.5 x 28.4 = 14.2 mg/oz]

[need 90 mg / 14.2 mg/oz = 6.3 oz]

You could also divide the 90 mg requirement by the 0.5 mg/gm to see how many grams you would need to feed.

[90/0.5 = 180 gm] Divided by 28.4 should give us ounces [180/28.4 = 6.3 oz] which answer as the first method.

The feeding directions for this product call for 1 oz per 100 pounds body weight, so you can see this product will supply a generous level of copper.

Selenium, at 5 ppm, will supply 0.005 mg/gm, or 0.852 mg in a 6 ounce serving. This would be about right for your 600 lb pony.

[5 ppm = 5 mg/kg] [ (5 mg/kg)/1000 = 0.005 mg/gm] [0.005 x 28.4 = 0.142 mg/oz] [0.142 x 6 = 0.85 mg in 6 oz]

Exercise -try working out the phosphorus, iron and iodine levels in a six ounce serving. The answers are at the end of this post.

Working out the levels of a mineral or nutrient in a fortified feed follows the same math except you convert to pounds or kilograms instead of ounces

Looking at a well known heavily fortified feed, the analysis shows

Calcium (min) 2%

Phosphorus (min) 1%

Copper (min) 130 ppm

Selenium (min) 2.3 ppm

The (min) indicates that the product contains at least (minimum) this level of nutrient; exact levels are more difficult to control in the larger bulk of feed vs the smaller, more precise requirements of a supplement.

Like most fortified feeds, it is "balanced to itself" i.e. it will have correct Ca:P and trace mineral ratios independently of any other forage/feed you are providing. [Calcium 2% / Phosphorus 1% = 2:1]

Because we'll feed this in pounds (or kilos), we'll figure the levels for 1 pound and for 1 kg (2.2 lbs).

Calcium 2% divided by 100 gives 0.02 grams calcium per gram of product. Multiply by 453.6 for grams per pound. Multiply by 1,000 for grams per kilogram.

[2% / 100 = 0.02 g/gm] [0.02 x 453.6 = 9.07 g calcium per pound] [0.02 x 1000 = 20 g calcium per kilogram]

Copper 130 ppm divided by 1,000 gives 0.13 mg per gram. Multiply by 453.6 for mg per pound; by 1,000 for mg per kg.

[130 ppm = (130 mg/kg)/1000 = 0.13 mg/gm x 453.6 = 59 mg copper per lb of feed]

[130 ppm = 130 mg/kg - well, we don't have to go any further to see how many mg of copper are in a kilogram of feed]

Try working out the Phosphorus and selenium levels and check your results against the answers below.

By now you are either digging through your tack room looking for feed bag and supplement labels to practice on or you are reaching for a cold one having thrown your calculator in the trash (you didn't try to do this by hand, did you?) Either way, I hope this gives you some ammunition against snake oil products and helps you choose appropriate feeds and supplements. If you have a question, you can enter it as a comment to this post or email me directly at DesertEquineBalance@gmail.com.

Exercise answers:

Minerals in 6 ounces of popular supplement

Phosphorus 1.25%

[1.25/100 = 0.0125 g/gm x 28.4 = 0.355 g/oz x 6 = 2.13 g Phosphorus in 6 oz supplement]

Iron 350 ppm

[350 ppm = (350 mg/kg)/1000 = 0.35 mg/gm x 28.4 = 9.94 mg/oz x 6 = 59.6 mg Iron in 6 oz]

Iodine 8 ppm

[8 / 1000 = 0.008 mg/gm x 28.4 = 0.227 mg/oz x 6 = 1.4 mg Iodine in 6 oz]

Minerals in 1 lb and 1 kg of a well know heavily fortified feed

Phosphorus (min) 1%

[1/100 = 0.01 g/gm x 453.6 = 4.5 g Phosphorus per pound of feed]

Selenium (min) 2.3 ppm

[2.3/1000 = 0.0023 mg/gm x 453.6 = 1.04 mg Selenium per lb of feed]

Go here to review the original Understanding Supplement Labels article.

Feeding Tips for Boarders

Boarding your horse always makes controlling your horse’s diet harder but many have found ways to work beet pulp into the routine. See the Beet Pulp articles for more information about beet pulp. Follow the same general guidelines if using hay pellets instead of beet pulp.

• If you can get to the barn daily, soak the beet pulp at home or at work or during your drive (a small cooler can work well for soaking and transporting).
• You can soak your beet pulp once a week or so and keep it in baggies in your freezer, ready for a quick grab on your way out the door.
• If the barn has a refrigerator, you can soak/drain/rinse the beet pulp at home and pack in individual baggies to keep in the barn’s fridge. (For more than 3-4 days, it should be kept in the freezer.)
• While “soak/drain/rinse” is ideal to remove surface iron, dust and residual sugar, the draining/rinsing could be skipped if your beet pulp is unmolassed and relatively dust free and no refrigerator is available. In this case, make sure you have figured out how much water needs to be added and supply a cup that holds that much (or mark your bucket with a water line).
• If the barn owner is willing to help, make it easy for them. Pre-measure the beet pulp and your supplements into baggies, provide a large closed bucket or other container to keep your stuff neat and together. If needed, provide the bucket for soaking/feeding, a colander for draining (this can be skipped), a large cup for measuring water (like a plastic soda cup) and a metal sweat scraper for stirring. And be willing to offer paying a bit extra for this service - especially if the BO will drain and rinse your beet pulp.

Another detail - many barns in my area employ workers who do not speak English well. A clear way to show how to mix the supplement would be to pack a large "baggie" with the beet pulp and/or hay pellets, put your supplement in a smaller baggie - then put the smaller bag inside the larger bag. Put this into your mixing/feeding bucket along with the "stirrer" (metal sweat scraper or a large stirring spoon) and water measure cup. They will get the "picture" and the supplements won't get left sitting on the side. You can mark each large bag with the day of the week in the workers' base language. A table of days of the week in many languages can be found in Wikipedia. If you split feedings, make sure the bags are also marked morning/night - and you might add a sun/moon. Don't expect the barn owner or workers to measure or scoop.

There's no reason not to dump beet pulp shreds and/or hay pellets and supplement together into the mixing/feeding bucket, pour the water on top (from your measure cup or to a wave-like line on the bucket marked "water" or "agua" or "H2O"), stir and feed. (This could also be done with beet pulp pellets if enough time is given to soak - but would be better if the supplement were stirred in after soaking.)

Do check that your horse is eating his feed; if the barn staff cleans feeders regularly you might not see left over feed, likewise if another horse has access to the feeder. If you find feed left over, try using more/less water or add herbs or other "taste tempters". See Witcheylady Potions for flavor ideas.

Beet pulp is not “necessary” but is a low sugar/low starch alternative to bagged feeds and grain or can be used as a substitute for some of the hay ration (especially if you need to replace some high sugar/starch hay) and is well accepted by most horses. It doesn’t take long to get into a routine and the benefits usually outweigh any inconvenience. If beet pulp is not available, you can use plain hay pellets (I like the Mountain Sunrise Timothy or Bermuda pellets, or Timothy/Alfalfa pellets for hard keepers) as a carrier for your supplements.

Smokin' Deal! - with strings

Ad on Craig's list -

Well bred Peruvian mare FREE

Donitilla is a beautiful well bred mare she has been used for a broodmare only.She is a daughter of RDS Me LLamo Peru++ Double HNS Domingo She is bred as good as it gets. She is due to foal next month . I am giving her away provided i get the foal back and get one more foal back next spring. She must go to a good home only.

Let's see - I want you to pay the foaling costs, support this mare during lactation, put up with her being rebred, have all the care, cost and worry of taking her through another pregnancy and give me that baby too. For all this, I will give you a lovely pasture ornament. Who has only been used as a broodmare - and that's because...? maybe no one had time to train her but they'll have time for two babies? And she's being given away because...? Is broodmare a euphemism for something else?

Smokin' deal!