Equine Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

05/11/2025

EQUINE MINERAL ANALYSIS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR HORSE OWNERS WANTING A QUICK FIX AND AN ANSWER IN A PACKET OR TUB.

It is quite amazing when someone's horse has been unwell for months - not quite right, crappy coat, poor hooves, general stiffness, nut job etc. Lab report showed severe deficiencies and or excesses of essential minerals. Owner or owners expect mineral analysis is going to cure the condition in a few weeks. If said condition or conditions not cured in a few weeks I am told mineral analysis does not work.

Owner of horse; I Don't have time to mix 6 powders, chaffs, grains, seeds and protein. Can't you just tell me what will be quick to feed but will fix my horse? Me; I told you that I only recommend as unprocessed feeds as possible and that you need to mix them yourself as all horses require different dosages of minerals and different feeds. Owner follows recommended diet for a few months, sees improvements in horse but then decides its all too hard when the initial purchase of minerals run out. Horse goes back on premixed feeds from unregulated feed industry supposed to suit all horses. Owner; I can't be bothered to follow your program as results take too long to see and I want a quick fix that's easy to deliver. Me; why own a horse as owning a horse requires great patience and perseverance!

Minerals are the spark plugs of life. When one mineral is in excess another will suffer. When some minerals are deficient health problems begin. So when horses, humans or any animal for that matter has an imbalance in mineral levels diseases, illness and metabolic changes occur.

Correcting mineral imbalances corrects, health and behavioural problems. It takes time to change the entire metabolism at a cellular level. Full metabolic cellular changes can take up to 12 months provided you feed your horse the correct dosage of minerals it requires, the diet that is suitable and you mix the feeds yourself. You are in charge of your horse's nutrition and accountable for your horse's health and well being.

05/11/2025

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105679
FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN OFF THE TRACK THOROUGHBREDS AS PERFORMANCE HORSES. Enlightening study

24/10/2025

We would love you to jump online and vote Gingerbaby as the number one restaurant and share it with as many people as possible
This means so
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Sal and Chris xx

23/10/2025

VICTORIA’s Spring Racing Carnival has been hit by shocking claims from Racing Victoria’s own chief vet, Dr Grace Forbes, who says she was pressured and bullied to allow high-risk international horses to race despite fears of “catastrophic injury.”

Dr Forbes has lodged a Fair Work bullying complaint, alleging top Racing Victoria executives and high-profile racing figures, including Aidan O’Brien and Nick Williams, pushed for “flexibility” in strict vet safety protocols introduced after multiple Melbourne Cup deaths.

She says this pressure went against her duty to protect horses and left her suffering “psychological and emotional exhaustion.”

Racing Victoria has refuted the allegations, insisting horse welfare remains their highest priority.

The case is now before the Fair Work Commission. More 👇

🐎 The controversy reopens painful questions about how far the industry will go for the “showpiece” carnival and at what cost to the horses.

Say



BAWCS 'caring with compassion'

23/10/2025

WORMERS ARE NOT THE SAME.

Had to do a deep dive into the differences between Strategy T and Ultimum as many seem to think they are the same wormer with the same active ingredients. This will solve the confusion!

Strategy T active ingredients: Oxfendazole and Pyrantel
Not effective against encysted strongyles

Ultimum active ingredients: Moxidectin and Praziquantel
Is effective against encysted strongyles
Broad spectrum and long lasting.

Note: encysted strongyles CANNOT be detected in FEC because they do not lay eggs.

Kerrymarsh@htma.com.au

05/10/2025

RECENT RESEARCH STATING EQUINE HAIR IS SUITABLE FOR MONITORING ACCUMULATION OF MINERALS AND HEAVY METALS.

The Journal ANIMALS IS RATED NO. 1 IN VETERINARY SCIENCES which means it is prestigious and influential. They often publish research which uses equine hair to monitor horse health and performance. So when I hear hair analysis is a con, is inaccurate, is a rip off, does not work, is nonsense etc, etc, I realise the ignorance and prejudices of people in the horse industry including some vets. The Journal ANIMALS does not question the validity of using hair but details the BENEFITS OF USING HAIR TO MONITOR HEALTH AND THE EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON THE HORSE.

The article " Hair and Blood Trace Elements (Cadmium, Zinc, Chrome, Lead, Iron and Copper Biomonitoring in the Athletic Horse: The Potential Role of Haematological Parameters as Biomarkers" (2024) found that exposure to pollutants, contaminants and metals cause liver, gastrointestinal problems, colics, anaemia, kidney and bone abnormalities in horse populations and that much of that is caused by hazardous environments.

Another Article in ANIMALS " Concentration of Selected Essential and Toxic Trace Elements in Horse Hair as an Important Tool for the Monitoring of Animal Exposure and Health" (2022) This article details how hair can demonstrate the entire body status of the horse and identify how essential and toxic trace elements can affect horse health plus the monitoring of heavy metals in oats. Conclusion: "FINDINGS FROM OUR STUDY CONFIRMED THE SUITABILITY OF HORSE HAIR ANALYSIS FOR MONITORING ANIMAL EXPOSURE AND HEALTH"

When someone decides to tell you or you read online or consult horse forums or someone produces old or flawed research that hair analysis is a waste of your money and does not work, tell them that is an ignorant response that shows a lack of current knowledge and bias.

Kerry Marsh BAgrSc

Animals 2022, 12, 2665 Dorota Cygan Szczegielniak and Karolina Stasiak.
Animals 2025, 14,3206 Francesca Aragona, Claudia Giannetto et al

29/09/2025

MARINE CALCIUM - ACIDBUF

Approximately four years ago I personally funded a small trial of marine calcium which is known as ACIDBUF to determine if it was more effective in raising calcium levels in horses than calcium carbonate as I was struggling to get an adequate level of calcium in many of the horses I was testing.

Prior to early 2021, the only calcium available in Australia was calcium carbonate or dolomite which has even less calcium percentage. Both of these forms of calcium are very poorly absorbed and did not adequately raise horses calcium levels. Marine calcium DOES indeed address the horse's calcium needs BUT absorption can be adversely affected by poor, acidic soils and soils high in Aluminium. Marine calcium also buffers acids in the gut provided the dose is correct for each individual horse.

If you want to purchase Marine Calcium sold under the name of ACIDBUF Please ring 03 54292411. This is the Australian distributor. Expect to pay anything between $35 - $42 for a 25kg bag. Ring them and ask for your nearest stockist. Apologies for those I have not got back to with this information. Too many queries on this to address individually.

Please note: I will not recommend a dose unless I have tested your horse as the dose is dependent upon: your soil and water type, age, breed, s*x, height, weight and workload. Dosages can be different for each horse. Australian horses have a large requirement for calcium ( more so than other countries) due to our depleted soils and oxalate grasses.

Kerry Marsh BAgrSC

27/09/2025

DAYLESFORD EQUESTRIAN
We have available 2 agistments spots available for discerning horse owners and riders who would like a quiet place for their horse with great facilities including a 60 X 20 metre indoor arena, a 20 x 40 outdoor arena, round yard, safe electric paddocks, on site owners, kitchen, bathroom, undercover yards and stables aand tack room. For full criteria pm Sally to book a time to inspect.
Www.daylesford-equestrian.com

11/09/2025

10/09/2025

IS IT SAFE TO ADD IRON TO YOUR HORSE'S FEEDS?

I am testing many horses with an an excess of iron. Almost all of these particular cases are feeding a currently very popular feed that promotes their products on podcasts. Many of their feeds and vitamin/mineral supplements contain iron.

Excess iron, iron toxicity or iron overload in horses is a very serious condition that is often ignored by vets, horse practitioners, feed companies, nutritionists etc. It is largely undiagnosed due to a lack of information and knowledge about mineral excesses, toxicities and environmental impacts.

Most of Australian soils have iron in varying levels. The grasses that grow on that soil uptake the iron, hence hay also contains a level of iron. Water from dams, bores and rivers also have a level of iron. It is unusual for an Australian horse to need supplemental iron.

IRON IS NOT SAFE to add to your horse's daily ration unless your horse is iron deficient WHICH IS RARE. Iron supplementation in excess to what your horse needs will create an overload or toxicity quite quickly more so if you have soils and water with elevated iron.

Common symptoms...again mostly ignored by equine health professionals. Stiffness and inflexibility usually in the hind (struggle with basic shoulder in movement), stiff joints, shuffling of hind legs, unable to engage hind properly, tripping, back pain, stiff back, general stiffness, liver stress/pain muscle loss in hind. THIS IS AN INTERNAL ISSUE that no amount of body work can correct.

Seriously..... do not swallow all the hype about podcasts promoting feeds containing iron. Clearly, there is a distinct lack of knowledge. READ THE LABELS OF EVERYTHING YOU FEED. Know how much iron is in your soil, know how much iron is in the horse's water source. MINERAL TEST your horse to determine the iron level, it's just the same as doing a soil test.

MINERAL Testing your horse will identify the level of iron and what other minerals have been affected and provide a diet to lower iron excess Do not add iron to your horse's feed unless you know for certain it is required.

PS. Excellent article in the Esteemed journal Animals about using HAIR MINERAL ANALYSIS. " Hair and blood trace Elements (Cadmium, Zinc, Chrome, Lead, Iron and Copper) Biomonitoring in the Athletic Horse: The Potential Role of Haematological Parameters as Biomarkers" Francesa Aragona et al. ANIMALS 2024.

Kerry Marsh BAgrSc htma.com.au

03/09/2025

DO NOT ADD ORGANIC SELENIUM TO YOUR HORSE'S FEEDS WITHOUT KNOWING YOUR HORSE'S SELENIUM LEVELS.

In the past month I have had 3 different messages about very unwell horses where the vets failed to find a diagnosis. The horses are from different locations but all suffering from similar symptoms; such as off feed, weight loss, shocking coat, hoof abnormalities and tail hair loss. The owners wanted to know if I could assist as expensive vet interventions and tests had not found a cause.

After lengthy discussions via phone, it was revealed that the owners had been dosing their horses with organic selenium without knowing exactly how much to add or what their current horses's selenium levels were. They had been advised of a dosage by the seller of selenium who is GUESSING THE DOSE. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. One of the owners of the horses was already feeding an inorganic selenium in a premixed feed and the others wanting organic selenium without knowing what status selenium was in their horses.

Selenium poisoning in extreme cases can make your horse's hooves slough off and the hoof wall separates!!!! Chronic selenium poisoning symptoms may include: off feed - anorexia, emaciation, hair loss, rough, shocking looking coat, gradual weight loss, swelling of the coronary band, hoof abnormalities, weakness, loss of performance, fatigue. It can take many, many months for a horse to recover from selenium poisoning. " The small difference between a deficiency and toxicity in terms of dietary intakes makes the risk of ACCIDENTAL SELENIUM POISONING HIGH"

The most accurate assessment of selenium levels in horses is hair MINERAL ANALYSIS where results can identify the past three years of selenium exposure. If you are going to mix your own feeds and add minerals ESPECIALLY SELENIUM without knowing what you are doing you will harm your horse. SERIOUSLY, why would you risk the health of your horse by allowing a reseller of minerals to GUESS the selenium dose for your horse?

This was a very expensive, stressful time for the horse owners who were thinking they were saving $350 by not doing a HTMA test before they started mixing their own feeds and dosing incorrect amounts of selenium.

kerrymarsh@htma.com.au

Bib: Veterinary Toxicology Basic and Clinical Principles. Ed. Ramesh C. Gupta 2007
References: Analysis in HORSE HAIR as a Means of Evaluating Selenium Toxicoses and Long Term Exposure. Thomas Zane Davis, Bryan Stegeimeier. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. May 2014

NOTE: Selenium is an essential trace element that needs to be added to the diet of Australian horses( at the correct dose) as our soils are selenium deficient.