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Not enough iron
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Anthie Booras
Is it possible to not have enough iron in a diet? The hay I’ve been getting this year has been coming back with really low iron. Which usually I’m sure everyone would be happy to see, but when I’m doing my balancing it’s showing a lower ratio then 4 to 1 with copper. Before adding any supplements it’s at a 10 to 1 ratio, but when I add in my ration balancer to balance out the zinc, copper, and manganese it ends up dropping my ratio of iron to copper to 1.7 to 1. Should I not really worry about it since my calculations don’t really account for what iron she gets from other sources like her water?
-- - Anthie Northern California August 2015 Eric's case history: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Anthie%20and%20Erin/Erin%20Case%20History%208-19-20.pdf |
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What is your iron level? Manganese? The reason you don't have to worry about it is your horse has been accumulating iron in his body for 14 years and being IR it is likely even higher than usual. If you want to know for sure, have a ferritin checked at KSU at your next vet visit. Sample handling is the same as for ACTH.
-- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com |
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Anthie Booras
My hay has 62 ppm iron and 85 ppm manganese. At 22 lbs of hay that put her at: 620 mg Fe, 60 mg Cu, 170 Zn, and 850 Mg. With her CA Trace Plus it brings her Mg to Zn to just under 1:1 and her Zn to Cu to 3:1 (with a 1/4 tsp extra Zn), but the FE to Cu ratio drops to 1.7:1.
I’ve never had hay this low so I guess it’s fine for now. I do all my own blood pulls. I’ll look into maybe sending a sample to KSU next time I pull any blood. -- - Anthie Northern California August 2015 Eric's case history: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Anthie%20and%20Erin/Erin%20Case%20History%208-19-20.pdf |
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Hi Anthie, I believe you mean Mn = 850 mg, and Mn to Zn is just under 1:1? If that's the case then that, and the Zn:Cu sound pretty close to perfect.
My understanding is you don't have to worry about the low Fe:Cu; it should be <4 for IR horses and lower is ok, too. According to Dr Kellon, iron-deficiency has only been documented in foals that are stalled with no access to the outdoors. IOW, no iron stores built up in their body yet, and no access to environmental iron (dirt). -- Kirsten and Shaku (IR) - 2019 Kitimat, BC, Canada ECIR Group Moderator Shaku's Photo Album |
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Anthie Booras
Yes thank you. I did not notice my typo.
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Anthie,
It is important, at least for small intestinal mineral absorption. Absorption in the large intestine would not be affected. A few months, or even years, of decreased iron absorption likely isn't a bad thing in a mature horse. -- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com |
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