Vitamin E (tocopherol)
Fast fact: Horses fed supplemental vitamin E in a Norwegian study had an increased antibody response to vaccines.

How your horse uses it: Vitamin E and the mineral selenium combine to protect body tissues from free radicals, oxygen molecules that "steal" electrons from other molecules, setting off a chain reaction of destruction in cells. Where it's found: Growing forage--particularly alfalfa, timothy, meadow fescue and Kentucky bluegrass--contains the greatest amounts of vitamin E, but the quantity decreases rapidly as the grass matures and dries. Grains contain very small amounts of vitamin E.

Dietary requirements: Nutrition experts recommend that the average horse receive at least 50 IU per dry weight kilogram of feed per day and that growing, lactating, pregnant or high-performance horses receive 80 to 100 IU per dry weight kilogram daily. Horses recovering from injury or illness may benefit from even higher levels as recommended by a veterinarian.

If he doesn't get enough: Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM), equine motor neuron disease and other neuromuscular diseases have all been linked to a lack of vitamin E. Horses kept on pasture during the growing season are likely to receive plenty of vitamin E, but those kept off pasture and fed older hay may not get enough. If he gets too much: Signs of vitamin E toxicity have never been seen in horses. However, since vitamin E can interfere with the utilization of other fat-soluble vitamins, the suggested upper limit for an average-sized horse is 37,500 IU.

Excerpted from an article by Christine Barakat in EQUUS Magazine, Issue 263 (September 1999), copyright 1999 by PRIMEDIA Enthusiast Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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