04-23-2014, 09:42 AM
That's an awesome in-depth analysis of minerals and what they do! I'm not sure at all what minerals we have/don't have here on our soil except that I know there are dangerous levels of selenium in some spots. I lost a horse to selenium poisoning a few years ago when I boarded her at a friend's house, and Cuzco used to lose all the hair on his back every June when the weeds came in. His hair stayed in for the three years when I took away his minerals in late spring. Cuzco lost his hair again last summer when I left the loose minerals out for everyone. I thought my mama goats should have them. None of the other goats lost hair though, which is kind of weird. I kind of wonder if Cuzco has a high selenium "build-up" in his body that the other goats don't have yet. Anyway, since the selenium problem I haven't let my horses have a mineral block again. They get plain salt because every other type of mineral mix contains selenium and they already lose enough hair in their manes and tails every summer.