flintfootfilly
Well-Known Member
Also posted under a different title in vet section (looking for cause of tying-up).
Selenium affects muscle health, general immunity and reproduction (eg deficiency can cause retained placentas in a variety of species including horse).
So if you are debating whether or not to give a vit/min supplement or balancer, then forage analysis is great for giving an idea of deficiencies (if you have access to the NRC recommended amounts for comparison). But without a forage analysis, these maps at least give some indication of selenium status, and whether it's likely to be a problem in your area.
For anyone else struggling to find the cause of chronic muscle problems, causing work intolerance and signs very similar to those found in EPSM horses, you may find these maps interesting in identifying which areas are selenium-deficient. Selenium deficiency (and also vitamin E) can be a cause of muscle problems, so it's worth checking out in forage analyses.
Bear in mind what the veterinary textbook Radostits says: "Soils containing (less than) 0.5mg/kg of selenium are likely to support crops and pastures with potentially inadequate selenium concentrations ((less than) 0.05mg/kg DM).
It's also worth bearing in mind that whilst the maps show general trends relating to geography, levels can vary from field to field, and can be influenced by land use (eg types of fertilisers, other additives, industrial activities etc). However, it is generally accepted that it is geology which mostly influences selenium status.
England and Wales (scroll down to the second map, labelled "advanced soil geochemical atlas of England and Wales":
www.bgs.ac.uk/nercsoilportal/maps.html
On this map, the dark blue and the medium blue are deficient areas. In other words, around 70% of England and Wales are deficient.
Turquoise and green are great!
Scotland (NB these are predicted levels, rather than actual levels...... but at least they are an indication):
Map is on page 75. May take a while to open, as this is a large document
http://www.foodbase.org.uk//admintoo...t10-3-2010.pdf
Green is low.
Orange/red is high.
So, similar to England/Wales, much of Scotland is deficient.
Ireland
Search for "selenium" until you reach the page showing 4 maps of selenium status of soil, sediments etc.
Ireland
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/gsni/tellus/con...Conference.pdf
I can't see the scale clearly, but dark blue is the most deficient, then lighter blue and green.
This document does say that selenium is the most common deficiency in Northern Ireland.
America
And seeing as I'm on a roll now....... here's a map showing selenium levels in America (I know nothing about this website, but thought the map might be of interest to some. I know I've seen variations on this map previously.
gettyequinenutrition.biz/Library/SeleniumOverloadLookatYourHorsesHoovesandHair.htm
Sarah
Selenium affects muscle health, general immunity and reproduction (eg deficiency can cause retained placentas in a variety of species including horse).
So if you are debating whether or not to give a vit/min supplement or balancer, then forage analysis is great for giving an idea of deficiencies (if you have access to the NRC recommended amounts for comparison). But without a forage analysis, these maps at least give some indication of selenium status, and whether it's likely to be a problem in your area.
For anyone else struggling to find the cause of chronic muscle problems, causing work intolerance and signs very similar to those found in EPSM horses, you may find these maps interesting in identifying which areas are selenium-deficient. Selenium deficiency (and also vitamin E) can be a cause of muscle problems, so it's worth checking out in forage analyses.
Bear in mind what the veterinary textbook Radostits says: "Soils containing (less than) 0.5mg/kg of selenium are likely to support crops and pastures with potentially inadequate selenium concentrations ((less than) 0.05mg/kg DM).
It's also worth bearing in mind that whilst the maps show general trends relating to geography, levels can vary from field to field, and can be influenced by land use (eg types of fertilisers, other additives, industrial activities etc). However, it is generally accepted that it is geology which mostly influences selenium status.
England and Wales (scroll down to the second map, labelled "advanced soil geochemical atlas of England and Wales":
www.bgs.ac.uk/nercsoilportal/maps.html
On this map, the dark blue and the medium blue are deficient areas. In other words, around 70% of England and Wales are deficient.
Turquoise and green are great!
Scotland (NB these are predicted levels, rather than actual levels...... but at least they are an indication):
Map is on page 75. May take a while to open, as this is a large document
http://www.foodbase.org.uk//admintoo...t10-3-2010.pdf
Green is low.
Orange/red is high.
So, similar to England/Wales, much of Scotland is deficient.
Ireland
Search for "selenium" until you reach the page showing 4 maps of selenium status of soil, sediments etc.
Ireland
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/gsni/tellus/con...Conference.pdf
I can't see the scale clearly, but dark blue is the most deficient, then lighter blue and green.
This document does say that selenium is the most common deficiency in Northern Ireland.
America
And seeing as I'm on a roll now....... here's a map showing selenium levels in America (I know nothing about this website, but thought the map might be of interest to some. I know I've seen variations on this map previously.
gettyequinenutrition.biz/Library/SeleniumOverloadLookatYourHorsesHoovesandHair.htm
Sarah