To Gallop or anyone else who can share correct information about the synthesis of minerals in horses.?

Question

In humans, calcium carbonate cannot be utilized as a calcium source (verified in extensive studies since 1993, one source being New England Journal of Medicine and there are many others).  Taking a Tums and thinking it is good for you as added calcium is a fallacy.  Cheap and expensive vitamins have only calcium carbonate as their calcium source so that is useless.   In using rice bran pellets to supplement your horse's calorie level, the manufacturing company adds calcium carbonate with the theory being that this will bring balance to the rice bran which is sorely lacking in mineral balance and can be very harmful due to that fact.  Horses, like humans, are mammals but their systems handle some things very differently from say humans or dogs.  If these companies are adding the calcium carbonate to balance the minerals in rice bran, are they actually accomplishing the establishment of mineral balance or is it just there to apease our minds or can a horse actually absorb this as a calcium source and achieve the mineral balance as it was intended.  Personally, I doubt that the horse can utilize calcium carbonate as a calcium source and seeing it on the ingredient list of rice bran pellets does not assuage my very serious concerns.  Could I please have your opinions accompanied by any studies or well documented information to the contrary.  Thanks for the assist.

FarmGirl13 · Accepted Answer

probably best to ask in horses section BUT my horses I feed trace minerals such as wysong chelated minerals which are natural dirt like trace minerals which do not need to bind to add value to food. Bran is more for fattening the horse vs giving any real nurtitional value, the real mineral value comes from green green clean hay but that being said if the hay was grown in sorely lacking soil filled with chemical fertilizers you would be lacking in trace minerals still. That is why I feed a basic chelated mineral supplement on the advice of my wild horse expert vet/naturopath. when my first wild mustang came home, he had been in the pens for an extensive amount of time and began licking dirt, he did this to recoup the lost minerals from the poor hay at the blm. this is where the natural diet began for horses the study in general of the wild ones. http://www.wysong.net/products/equinechelamin-natural-horse-supplement.php this is the most natural supplement for horses quality organic minerals. also using rock salt like himilayan salt helps. one thing to note is if you look at a box of lets say cheerios for people, the minerals and vitamins are added and not naturally occuring. the only true food we eat with any naturally occuring minerals is red meat and fruit and veggies, the rest is filler, the same with horses. I use bran in the winter to supplement calories only not expecting any true nutrition from it. hope this rambling helps

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To Gallop or anyone else who can share correct information about the synthesis of minerals in horses.?

1 Answer