Vitamin E test results

[outerbanks77]

My vet chiro recommended having my warmblood mare’s E level’s checked based on how she is rather tight-muscled and tends to “snatch” her right hind up when handled. She said she likes to see horses at >600 ug/dL. Test results came in at 560, but now I am doing some reading and it seems the literature says >200 is normal, and I am not seeing any reference to benefits of higher levels. A paper I found yesterday didn’t even go up to 600 for their “normal” range horses. It seems this level is safe, but I have been feeding her Emcelle on top of Santa Cruz powder, and I’m not sure if it’s worth the expense, or if I can just drop one (both almost gone, so I need to decide what to reorder).

We’ll be seeing our regular vet on Tuesday and I’ll ask his opinion, but thought I would see what the latest and greatest opinions are here on CotH in the meantime.

[candyappy]

Won’t green grass up her levels naturally? It is Spring and the grass is here.

[outerbanks77]

We don’t have pasture to speak of where I board.

[candyappy]

@outerbanks77

We don’t have pasture to speak of where I board.

Too bad. Those supplements are expensive.

[JB]

@candyappy

Those supplements are expensive.

$.13/1000IU isn’t expensive. That’s what UltraCruz Natural E is, when you buy the 4lb bag.

Emcelle is the cheapest water-soluble form, but you can also usually use less than regular forms, so on an as-fed basis isn’t a lot more $

@outerbanks77 I’d ask your vet WHY she wants to see >600. Some metabolic issues, like PSSM, or really hard work (like endurance) may benefit from higher than 200. Have you ever tested her for PSSM, either 1 or 2?

How many IU Emcelle, and how many IU of the Ultra Cruz are you feeding?

[outerbanks77]

Thanks JB, I was hoping you’d chime in
She has been getting about 4,000 iu of the SC for the past year.

I added the Emcelle January 1, trying for 5,000 iu, but I think with the viscosity and the dispensing bottle it, she is probably getting more like 3,000.

I have not had her tested for PSSM, but just in the past two weeks have been transitioning her off grain and moving towards a PSSM type diet with extra magnesium, ALCAR, vitamin C and hempseed oil. It’s still too early to tell for sure, but it seems to me that her muscle tone is softer. Hard to tell if there are changes under saddle. She is definitely not exercise intolerant, and I’ve never seen her tie up, but she is slow to warm up and has episodes of being quite balky, but then moving forward happily. I can’t really pinpoint any difference after adding the Emcelle in January (didn’t make any other diet changes at that time).

It seemed like the chiro vet was recommending shooting for 600 ug/dl for all horses. If that differs from what my regular vet says, I’ll ask her about it as well.

[JB]

that’s definitely a whole lot of E. If you can’t tell any changes since adding the Emcelle, I’d drop that and see what happens.

Let us know what she says about why 600

[outerbanks77]

Thanks, I think I will do that if my regular vet concurs. The benefit of the powder is I can split it into two feedings. The barn staff will be happy to have one less liquid supplement to deal with. She is a big girl - probably 1400# of lean muscle, so I definitely scale up the feeding recommendations that are based on 1000# horses.

[JB]

For an average healthy horse, I prefer 2IU/lb. But for a (suspected) PSSM horse I think it’s reasonable to be in the 4IU/lb range, unless something else suggests otherwise.

[candyappy]

@JB

$.13/1000IU isn’t expensive. That’s what UltraCruz Natural E is, when you buy the 4lb bag.

It would be over $60 a month ? That (to me anyways) is expensive. Thankfully my grass is free.

[JB]

@candyappy

It would be over $60 a month ?

How many horses would you be feeding it to, and how many IU per horse?

If you fed 5000IU which is a LOT for most horses, that’s only $.65/day/horse, which is only $19.50/month

All you’d need for most horses not on grass is 1000-2000IU/day, depending on how much they weigh, and how much is already provided in whatever fortified feed they’re getting.

That’s $.13-$.26/horse/day, or $3.90-7.80/horse/month

[candyappy]

@JB

If you fed 5000IU which is a LOT for most horses, that’s only $.65/day/horse, which is only $19.50/month

I didn’t see that option on the website for SCAH.

[JB]

@candyappy

I didn’t see that option on the website for SCAH.

SCAH dosing is 8000IU/day, which is 2 scoops. That means each scoop holds 4000IU. You can dose however you need to. It’s still $.13/1000IU, which makes it easier to compare across brands. I have a scoop that holds half of one of their scoops, so about 2000IU. My horses are 1250-ish and up, so give 2000IU when from Fall to Spring when I feed hay.

[outerbanks77]

Saw my regular vet today and asked about this. He said he does like to see working performance horses with a higher level than just “above deficient” but felt like we should be safe to drop the water-soluble vitamin E. So I’m going to keep her on 8,000 iu of the SC powder. In fact, the new bag just arrived today. I’ll update again when I talk to the chiro vet and see if her recommendation has a research basis.

[JB]

Thanks! I’m all for the harder working horses being in the higher range.