Vitamin E supplement and impact on temperament

[Royal_Monaco]

I bought my mare as a 2 y.o. and for the last 7 years, I had to deal with her diva moments, non willingness to work etc…

I had very few wow moments with her but I am not a quitter and I always persisted to try different approaches to find the one that would make us both happy.

2 months ago, my friend suggested that I supplemented her with vitamin E because she heard it helped several horses manage their stress.

To my surprise, I now have a totally different horse. She is willing to work, she is much calmer (she is a cribber and she cribs less), I can barely notice when she comes to heat period and most important, we both are enjoying our time together.

I ran out of the product for 4 days and she rapidly came back to her “bad” self, so I can testify that it definitely helps.

Have you ever experienced this? Have you tried other supplements that also helped?

Thanks

[Lori_T]

Hmmm. Interesting. My draft cross gets a high dose of Vitamin E for his EPSM. He was already pretty chilled, so I have not noticed any changes in his attitude or personality.

[Encourage]

Funny to see this- my vet actually just recommended pulling blood on my gelding to check for a vitamin E deficiency. Hopefully I can remember this correctly, but the region I am in is known for it’s vitamin E deficiency and a lack of vitamin E can cause a delay is muscle response (he was talking specifically the eyelids) causing him to see “monsters”. I believe he also said horses typically need between 8000-10000 mg a day, but I could be remembering that wrong.

Who knows really, I did the blood test and just waiting on results now.

[IPEsq]

Mine gets 8000 IU a day and it’s had zero effect on his temperament.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Mine guy gets quite a bit daily and I don’t think it’s really done anything to change his temperament - same foolish talented monster he’s always been.

[JB]

Vitamin E deficiencies can cause all sorts of muscle problems. They don’t have to be obvious to you, but they can make a horse just chronically sore/crampy and as a result, cranky, and exhibiting other known behaviors such as the cribbing, etc.

It’s like magnesium, or B1 - deficiencies can cause behavioral or physical problems, so adding those can fix them. But they aren’t going to change a horse who isn’t deficient.

[Quelah]

Interesting. I gave my draft show horse a pretty hefty dose of E (the good expensive kind) because it gave me a juuuuust a little more gas in the tank. Didn’t make him any hotter (thank god) but gave us a few more laps of him at his very best. Basically if I made it to the drive off, I still had plenty of horse. Didn’t change his demeanor at all, just gave me a reserve tank that I didn’t have before.

[LadyBug]

Am in correct in reading various threads that people typically supplement Vit. E over the winter when horses aren’t on fresh grass? What other reasons are there?

I have a mare who gets grumpy over the winter months but is fine spring/summer/fall. Of course it could be lots of things, but maybe a Vit. E deficiency plays a role in that.

[RedHorses]

I supplement vitamin E because my horse has an absorption issue. He doesn’t get as much out of what he eats as other horses do. So more needs to go in so that he can get what he needs out of it.

My horse had low level skin issues - excess dandruff, itchiness, and the tendency for any scratch below his knees/hocks to go fungal before it healed. Blood tests showed his level to be barely within the bottom end of the normal range.

I gather a sever enough deficiency in vitamin E can cause nerve issues and permanent damage if it goes on long enough.

[JB]

[QUOTE=Quelah;8753623]
Interesting. I gave my draft show horse a pretty hefty dose of E (the good expensive kind) because it gave me a juuuuust a little more gas in the tank. Didn’t make him any hotter (thank god) but gave us a few more laps of him at his very best. Basically if I made it to the drive off, I still had plenty of horse. Didn’t change his demeanor at all, just gave me a reserve tank that I didn’t have before.[/QUOTE]
He may well have issues with PSSM, which benefits greatly from added Vit E

[QUOTE=LadyBug;8754124]Am in correct in reading various threads that people typically supplement Vit. E over the winter when horses aren’t on fresh grass? What other reasons are there?

I have a mare who gets grumpy over the winter months but is fine spring/summer/fall. Of course it could be lots of things, but maybe a Vit. E deficiency plays a role in that.[/QUOTE]
Hay has little to no Vit E. Unless your fortified feed has enough, and you’re feeding enough of it (which is more than most horses need) then yes, I would be supplementing.

Other reasons are being treated for EPM, and for the rest of that recovered horse’s life, PSSM/EPSM, and any time a horse just doesn’t utilized it well enough, as determined by low blood levels.

[QUOTE=RedHorses;8754232]I supplement vitamin E because my horse has an absorption issue. He doesn’t get as much out of what he eats as other horses do. So more needs to go in so that he can get what he needs out of it.

My horse had low level skin issues - excess dandruff, itchiness, and the tendency for any scratch below his knees/hocks to go fungal before it healed. Blood tests showed his level to be barely within the bottom end of the normal range.

I gather a sever enough deficiency in vitamin E can cause nerve issues and permanent damage if it goes on long enough.[/QUOTE]
EMND is a disease of prolonged Vit E deficiency