This article first appeared in the March 2021 digital edition of Equestrian Life. To see what’s in the current issue, click here. 

Slow insidious accumulation of heavy metals may still occur and has the potential to negatively affect our horses.

Heavy metal toxicities

By Dr Maxine Brain

The occurrence of acute heavy metal toxicity (HMT) is rare nowadays but did occur with a lot more frequency when the use of heavy metals was common. However, the slow, insidious accumulation of heavy metals may still occur and has the potential to negatively affect our horses.

The easy accessibility to the internet and increased awareness of health and disease prevention has made most people aware of the risks associated with the ingestion of heavy metals, and as such, the use of many heavy metals for manufacturing products has been discontinued.  But the presence of heavy metal residues in the environment cannot be totally ignored as a potential source of intoxication.

Recently, a new service has become available where the presence of a heavy metal can be identified using a hair sample (HTMA or Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis).  Heavy metals can be deposited in a variety of organs, including hair, however, unlike other organs in the body, the hair is readily accessible for testing and once the metal is incorporated into the hair shaft, it remains there as a permanent record.  Toxic elements can be more highly concentrated in hair than either blood or urine, making detection of small levels of heavy metals easier in hair than other more conventional tests.  It is also a relatively inexpensive test to perform…

Read the full article here in the March 2021 issue of Equestrian Life!