Dr . Ensminger Cites Vitamin Need In Horse Diet
28 February , 1963
Dr . Ensminger Cites Vitamin Need In Horse Diet
The Vitamin Story ; Onc-A-Day for the “ Hoss ”.
Beri-beri was known to the Chinese as early as 2600 B . C ., and scurvy long occurred among sailors fed on salt meat and biscuits . However , for centuries these and other maladies were thought to be due to toxic substtances in the digestive tract caused by disease producing organisms , rather than food deficiencies . More time elapsed before the discovery of vitamins . Of course , there was no medical profession prior to 1835 , the earlier treatments having been based on superstition and witchcraft rather titan science .
The Vitamin Background
Largely through the trail and error method , it was discovered that specific foods were helpful in the treatment of certain of these illnesses . In 1747 , Lind , a British naval doctor , showed that the juice of citrus fruits ( now known to be high in vitamin C ) was a cure for scurvy . More than a century later — in 1897 , it was concluded that the disease beri-beri was common to a diet of polished rice ( deficient in vitamin BI ). Also , at a very early date , the Chinese used a concoction as a remedy for night blindness . And Cod-liver oil was used in treating or preventing rickets long before anything was known about the cause of the the disease .
Finally , in 1912 , Funk , a Polish scientist working in London , first referred to these nutrients as " vitamines ” ( later the “ e " was dropped ; thus the word vitamin ). The actual existence of vitamins , therefore , has been known
Horses For
SALE Colts — Mares Show Horses
Two Stallions In Service MERRY BOY STUD BOYCE ' S BILLY SUNDAY Come To SEE ME or PHONE AT NIGHT CY 4-2758 — Unionville , Tenn . R . C . BOYCE
Barn on Highway 41-A Four Miles North of Shelbyville , Tenn .
By Dr . M . E . Ensminger Clovis , California
for only 50 years , and only within the last few years has it been possible to see or touch any of them in pure form . Previously , they were mysterious invisible “ little tilings ” known by their effects . In fact , most of the present knowledge relative to the vitamin content of both human foods and animal feeds came through studies with animals .
It has been well said that we are gradually learning to teed our children as well as our aniamls . This correctly implies that animal feeding is quite scientific . However , in an attempt to shower a beloved mount with kindness , horsemen are frequently gullible to needless concoctions — including various vitamin preparations .
Needed In Horse Rations Certain vitamins are necessary in horse rations in order to permit proper growth , development , health , and reproduction .
A severe deficiency of vitamin A may cause night blindness , reproductive difficulties , uneven and jioor hoof development , respiratory troubles , incoordination , fanciful appetite , and certain leg bone weaknesses . When vitamin A deficiencies appear — or preferably before such symptoms are evident — the horseman should add to the ration green , leafy hay , not over I year old ; green pasture ; yellow corn ; carrots ; or stabilized vitamin A .
Foals sometimes develop rickets due to a lack of vitamin D ( this disease may also be caused by a lack of calcium or phosphorus , or by an incorrect ratio of these two minerals ). The telling symptoms : enlargement of the knee and hock joints , and bowed legs . This condition may be prevented by exposing animals to direct sunlight as much as possible , by feeding sun-cured hay and suitable minerals ; and / or by feeding the foal a vitamin D supplement such as cod-liver oil or irradiated yeast .
Horses seem to require vitamin E , but most practical rations contain liberal quantities of it . Rather than buy costly vitamin E concentrates indiscriminately , therefore , add them to the ration only on the advice of a nutritionist or veterinarian .
A deficiency of riboflavin ( one of the B vitamins ) may cause periodic ophthalmia or moon blindness .; This malady may be lessened by feeding green hays and green pasture — feeds high in riboflavin — or by adding crystalline riboflavin at the rate of 40mg . per horse per day . Other B vitamins may be essential , but horses usually get enough of them either in natural rations or by synthesis in the intestinal tract .
While vitamins may be purchased at the corner drug store , they can usually be supplied at lower cost and greater palatability through natural feeds .
Horse “ Fingerrinting ”
Horses are identified by methods much like the human system of fingerprinting used by the FBI and by police departments throughout the world .
With registered horses , marking is a means of ascertaining ancestry or pedigree . In race horses , an infallible means of identification is necessary to prevent a ' ringer ”; the name once given to a horse that was falsely identified , with the idea of entering him in a race with slower horses where he was almost certain to win .
In the early 1920 ’ s , the most common camouflage for a ringer was a coat of paint — hence the terms “ dark horse ” and “ horse of another color .” Formerly , the ringer ' s nemesis was rain ; today it is the lip-tattoo system or the photographs of his chestnuts . Through these the public is guaranteed the identity of each and every horse running in major races . The liptattoo consists of branding , with forgery-proof dye , the registry unmber under the upper lip of the horse , with a prefix unmber added to denote age . The process is both simple and painless .
More recently , Pinkerton ’ s and others have " fingerprinted ” the horse ’ s chestnuts or night-eyes — the horny growth on the inside of each of the four legs . Studies have revealed that the chestnuts of no two horses are alike , and that from the yearling stage on these protrusions retain their distinctive sizes and shapes . The chestnuts are photographed , and then classified according to size and distinctive pattern .