Thanks, so is that ug/ml? Either way looks like your horse was 50% ish under the low end of the reference range? I’m glad to hear the supplementation has helped.
I haven’t got the result in writing yet (awaiting the vitamin E return) but vet told me they haven’t ever seen selenium so low except in extremely thin malnourished rescue cases that came in to the horse charity they worked for. He has historically been vitamin E deficient despite high levels of supplementation but it looks like his selenium has plummeted too. It’s a bit of a shock as selenium has always been fine.
It may well be very relevant to BBPs issues, as although vit E/selenium work together, and it is sometimes assumed that they are interchangeable to some extent, they also work synergistically, and with some horses, it would appear that deficiency in one or the other seems to impair the function as a whole if that makes sense!
For me, my horse suffers chronic vitamin E deficiency, perhaps to the point of vitamin E deficiency myopathy. Sometimes he has trouble getting up from lying down and it seems to improve on very high vit E supplementation so we think his muscles are affected. And because vit E and selenium go hand in hand I often add it to his routine monitoring of vit e. To be honest I hadn’t planned to test it this time as it has been normal every time but the vet misunderstood and ran it anyway, and thank goodness they did as it is shockingly low.
Part of a comprehensive poor performance competition horse work-up that did not fit a specific pattern of lameness/illness..…simply something to rule in or out as a contributing factor.
Just a thought BBP….I know that the vitamin E test is very labile, and if the sample has not been handled correctly, the result can be significantly affected….I don’t believe the same is true of the selenium test, but as your result is so out of the normal run of results, would it be worth your vet’s repeating it to check it is correct before supplementing?!
I had the same thought.
I notice that this is last years post, but I’ve just had the test on my two horses. They are both very low 40!!! I have tested my mare for everything. Never did a vet suggest this as a possible issue. I’m pretty annoyed about it, as I’ve spent a fortune trying to work out what is wrong. It’s been a long 7yrs since I backed her. When my youngster also started with muscular symptoms I had to look again. He reacted differently to her, but basically both had muscle weakness/soreness. Resulting in bad behaviour in her and nappy behaviour in him. She got so bad I stopped riding her. It made her so anxious about everything it was dangerous. When he started not going forward off the leg I knew I had to look at something different. I’d tested my ground previously. No one mentioned selenium? This time I went for a blood test and specifically asked for it. This was also after chatting to local people about the ground locally. I just hope now I can correct any damage done to them.
Recent blood test (10/24) showed selenium bang in the middle of the reference range. She was much improved in movement and general demeanour within a couple of weeks of starting supplementing the Selenium last yr. I pay great attention to making sure her balancer has the correct amount because so many just don't contain enough.
I’m so sorry your mare has other issues. I’ve been trying to find reasons my mare is like she is for 7 years. When my young gelding started having issues (different, but I think selenium issues. Muscle problems and reluctance to go forward) I asked for the specific blood test. I have now enlisted the help of a Nutritionlist to try and correct this. I really hope it is the answer to my problems with them.
I supplemented with Trinity Consultants "Alpha Selenium" when she was deficient and now use Progressive Earth "Pro Laminae" as a daily balancer. This gives 1mg/day and along with her forage seems about right