IRON RELATIONSHIPS

Such an important topic when looking at your horses overall health and diet.  It delves into the critical role of the specific mineral ratios of Copper, Iron, Zinc & Manganese in your horse's diet. It discusses how an imbalance can lead to health issues and offers practical advice on achieving optimal mineral levels. 

A must-read for any horse owner looking to understand and enhance their horse's overall health.  It is not addressed in the majority of horse feed and supplements.

First, understanding the importance of the RATIO's between Copper, Iron, Manganese and Zinc. For optimum health you want a ratio between the four of 4:1:3:3 meaning for every 4 parts of Iron there should be 1 part of Copper, 3 parts each of Zinc & Manganese. Some healthy horses can cope with up to 10:1:3:3 meaning for every 10 parts of Iron there should be 1 part Copper etc. Metabolic and easy keepers are very susceptible to these ratios and thrive best with a 4:1:3:3 ratio. We hear the buzz phrase 'Iron Overload' but little is spoken about high levels of Manganese being just as problematic.

I feed a commercial feed/mineral supplement with minerals in it, shouldn't that cover it?

Issues arise when the Iron or Manganese levels are not balanced to Copper and Zinc levels. This issue is way more common than you think. It is not addressed in your typical large mass produced big brand horse feeds nor in your standard equine mineral supplement. If your lucky these 4 mineral levels maybe in ratio to each other in whatever you are feeding (often not - usually high Iron & Manganese levels and minuscule levels of Copper and Zinc) BUT have you asked the important question which is neglected - what does your horse eat the other 23.75 hours of the day? Yep! Forage.

Forage contains minerals and often in adequate levels that supplementation for specific ones are not needed. Iron and Manganese levels in forage are rarely low. Typically one is high, the other adequate whilst both copper and zinc deficiencies are very common.

So what does a horse actually need daily? NRC (National Research Council on Equines provides the known nutrient requirements for horses by weight, age, workload and reproductive status) recommends a daily intake per average 500kg horse.

Iron 400mg, Copper 100mg, Zinc 300mg & Manganese 300mg

Note the 4:1:3:3 ratio. However, it is not just the total amount per day that counts, the ratio of the 4 minerals to each other, counts just as much if not more. Therefore the ratio takes president over the values when balancing a diet through analysis's. Note that the 2007 NRC was the first version to set an estimated upper safe normal intake for iron in equine diets at 500ppm in the total diet.

So, if 400mg Iron and 300mg Manganese are very typically provided for already in our horses forage, and plain hard feed ingredients - why are they included in supplements and commercial hard feeds?

Lets look a bit closer at premixed feeds. Lets take a common commercial feed that everyone loves to feed for weight gain, and say we are feeding 1 kg of it. The recommend rate is 2.5kg minimum - very rarely do people feed at the recommended rates which is another problem within itself. This 1kg of feed provides:

Iron 200mg

Copper 50mg

Manganese 120mg

Zinc 200mg

This now means that Iron and Manganese levels are even higher when combined with the forage levels! Both copper and zinc have increased too but alongside the Iron and Manganese increase still doesn't address the optimal ratio of 4:1:3:3 or even up to 10:1:3:3. Now imagine feeding 2.5kg of said feed that would provide 500mg of Iron and 300mg of Manganese plus whats in forage levels. Remember a 500kg horse at maintenance needs 400mg of Iron and 300mg of Manganese and the safe upper limit of Iron daily is 500mg in total. It does bring Copper up to 150mg and Zinc 500mg but again it still does not address the ratio between the four minerals.

So what can be done do to address this?

• STOP: feeding commercial premixed feed that has added Iron and Manganese included especially those in very high levels ie: over 100mg per kg. Some companies will list these levels which are miniscule as they are what naturally occurs in the feed ingredients included and not synthetically added. Look specifically for Iron or Ferrous in the feed information.
• STOP: feeding equine supplements that have added Iron and Manganese.
• STOP: feeding high sources of Iron in feeds or ingredients such as Zeolite, Copra (large amounts), Beet (unless soaked and rinsed until water runs clear if you chose to feed), lucerne as only hay source - (feed a small amount lucerne and rest meadow).
• STOP: Feeding ANY iron supplement. Anaemia in horses is the most misdiagnosed problem and understanding the root cause is important. Anemia is a Iron and Copper disfunction not a lack of Iron. (Need to address oxidative stress damage to cells by correcting mineral balance, especially of copper, zinc and selenium).
• START: Feeding a targeted mineral supplement that contains no Iron, Manganese nor ingredients that are high in Iron, and high Copper & Zinc levels
• START: feeding plain whole feeds or a premixed feed that contains no ADDED Iron or Manganese.

So what's the big deal about unchecked Iron or Manganese?

Manganese is a trace mineral that is essential for bone development, reproductive function, digestion of fats and carbohydrates, disease resistance and for normal enzyme activity. It is required by horses to form chondroitin sulphate – a component of cartilage found in joints.

It is a poorly understood mineral in horses and no naturally occurring manganese deficiencies have been reported for horses which is likely due to the adequate or high levels found in forage and feeds.

Iron & Manganese have an interesting relationship as Iron can "pretend" to be Manganese in specific enzymes and they both may compete for the same absorption pathways. Manganese also has a strong likeness for ferritin, the protein that normally keeps ionized iron out of circulation. Ionized iron is a strong oxidising agent (think rusting). Because of this strong affinity, Manganese actually may worsen Irons toxic effects by reducing the number of available binding sites on ferritin. Manganese excess also corrupts iron sensing in liver cells, leading to overabsorption of iron. Manganese excess also interferes with phosphorus absorption and has been suggested to cause intestinal mineral competition.

Iron is a vital dietary element, especially for its role in oxygen transport (haemoglobin) and it is an essential component of enzymes and proteins involved in energy metabolism and the immune system.

It is known that high iron intakes inhibit at least zinc absorption. Many minerals have been found to potentially interfere with iron absorption in other species including calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese. In addition, free, ionized iron acts as an oxidant, which increases oxidative stress and inflammation. Research indicates the chronic inflammation caused by these excess free radicals in the body are thought to be implicated in the development of insulin resistance in mammals.

As Iron is so abundant in the equine diet, iron overload and iron interference with the absorption of other trace minerals is likely.

More Iron is never better as once Iron is absorbed, it is there to stay except for tiny amounts lost in sweat (5.09mg/L) and sloughed cells. Iron cycles very efficiently between haemoglobin and a few iron-containing enzymes and storage depots for iron, primarily the spleen and liver.

Symptoms of Iron Overload/Interference, Manganese Excess and/or Deficiency in Zinc and/or Copper

may include but not limited to:

Dull and bleached coats

Frizzy hair follicles

Excessive itchiness

Predisposed to infection

Red ends on manes & tails and the rusted look on darker horses

Constant hoof issues - abscessing, thin hoof wall, thrush, white line disease, poor hoof quality, shelly hooves, irregular cracks/black lines in hoof wall (not white line)

Metabolic Horses - IR, continued unexplained laminitic events, Cushings

Skin issues - scurfy/flaky skin, itchy, allergies, infections, sensitivities, rain scald & mud fever

Poor immune/health

Poor fitness/work tolerance/grumpy attitude

Predisposition to Arthritis

Increased risk of tendon/ligament problems

Liver disease and altered glucose metabolism - including IR

These findings are based off the extensive experience, knowledge, research and findings of respected USA vet Dr Eleanor Kellon who leads the way in equine mineral balancing.

For help with unchecked Iron in humans:

The Root Cause Protocol

Researched, presented and taught by Morley Robbins. The scientific, peer-reviewed literature from around the world — though not well known in conventional medical circles — is actually quite clear. All disease is caused by inflammation, better described as “oxidative stress”…

And the root cause of inflammation / oxidative stress is “cellular dysfunction” caused by an imbalance of 3 key minerals:

:1) Magnesium, 2) Copper, and 3) Iron.