Commercial Hair Analysis in Horses: A Tool to Assess Mineral Intake?

The research article investigates the reliability of hair mineral analysis in horses as a method to assess their mineral intake. The findings suggest that there are significant inconsistencies in the results among different laboratories, indicating that the method may not be a reliable tool for this purpose.

Research Methodology

• Four warmblood horses of around fourteen years old were selected for the study.
• The horses were fed with hay and a commercial mineral supplement under maintenance conditions.
• Mane hair samples of 2 to 3 cm length following laboratory guidelines were collected from these horses to represent a feeding period of one to two months.
• These hair samples were then sent to three different commercial laboratories that analyzed the mineral content using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy.
• The mineral intake of each horse was calculated based on the content of minerals found in the feedstuffs themselves via ICP-MS.

Study Findings

• The results of the hair mineral analysis varied significantly between the three laboratories, showing a lack of consistency.
• Some laboratories interpreted the results differently: two suggested that the selenium supply was insufficient in all horses, while one indicated it was adequate.
• There was a high degree of variation in the same sample, as well as differences in reference ranges, among the three laboratories; the mean coefficient of variance varied from 10% for selenium to 58% for iron.

Conclusion

• The inconsistent results and high interlaboratory variation observed in the study bring into question the reliability of hair mineral analysis as a tool to accurately determine mineral intake in horses.
• The range of interpretation among laboratories suggests that mineral intake assessment in horses using hair mineral analysis may not provide a true representation of actual intake.