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Interrelationships Between Age and Trace Element Concentration in Horse Mane Hair and Whole Blood.
Abstract: The use of hair as a sample matrix to determine the mineral status of an animal has received a lot of interest. The objective of this study was to determine if the trace element content in horse mane hair changed with age when evaluated in a group of horses representing a large age range. As a second objective, whole blood trace element content was evaluated, and its relationship to mane hair trace element content, as well as age, were tested. Therefore, mane hair and whole blood samples were obtained from 59 horses, ranging from 2 months to 26 years in age, housed on the same farm. Mane hair samples were washed, and hair and blood digested and analyzed for 11 trace elements. Weak correlations (P < .05) between age and mane hair trace element content was detected for arsenic (r = 0.29), copper (r = -0.39) and selenium (r = -0.27). While the mane hair color did not affect trace element concentration, greater variability was detected in the black mane hair samples. This resulted in outliers that were removed from the final statistical analysis. However, data is presented to the reader both ways. Correlations were also detected (P < .05) between age and whole blood iron (r = 0.62), selenium (r = 0.76) and zinc (r = 0.47). This is similar to what has been reported in horses using serum or plasma. The trace element concentrations of mane hair and whole blood were not correlated (P > .05) in this study. However, the concentrations of trace elements in mane hair were higher than that of blood. Trace elements, specifically chromium and lead, that were below detection levels in the blood, were detectable in mane hair. This suggests that mane hair may be a potential means to investigate suspected exposure to excessive levels of trace minerals or heavy metals that are difficult to detect in blood.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2020-01-11 PubMed ID: 32172912DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102922Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research investigates whether the mineral content in a horse’s mane hair changes with age and explores the relationship between mane hair and whole blood trace element content. It provides new insights suggesting that mane hair can be a useful biomarker for exposure to trace minerals or heavy metals that are hard to detect in blood.
Methods
- The study collected mane hair and whole blood samples from 59 horses ranging from 2 months to 26 years in age, all housed on the same farm.
- The mane hair samples were washed thoroughly, and both the hair and blood samples were digested and analyzed for 11 different trace elements.
- The statistical analysis was done to determine any correlations between the age of horses and the trace element content, both in mane hair and whole blood. Some outliers were found in the black mane samples and they were removed from the final analysis yet presented both ways in the research.
Main Findings
- Weaker correlations were found between the content of specific trace elements (arsenic, copper, selenium) in horse mane hair and the age of the horses.
- Contrarily, stronger correlations were found between the age of the horses and the amount of certain trace elements (iron, selenium, and zinc) in their whole blood. This finding aligns well with past research studies using horse serum or plasma.
- Moreover, it was found that the color of the horse’s mane hair did not affect the concentration of trace elements, although more variation was observed in black mane hair samples.
- Interestingly, the research also showed that the concentrations of trace elements in mane hair were generally higher than those in the blood.
- Mane hair was able to detect trace elements such as chromium and lead which were not detectable in blood samples. This suggests that mane hair could be a reliable source to detect exposure to trace minerals or heavy metals.
Implications
- This study reinforces the potential use of mane hair as a viable sample matrix to determine an animal’s mineral status.
- The ability of mane hair to detect traces of certain minerals not detectable in blood may provide a new approach in the investigation of excessive exposure to particular trace minerals or heavy metals in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Brummer-Holder M, Cassill BD, Hayes SH.
(2020).
Interrelationships Between Age and Trace Element Concentration in Horse Mane Hair and Whole Blood.
J Equine Vet Sci, 87, 102922.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102922 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Electronic address: mieke.holder@uky.edu.
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Copper
- Hair
- Horses
- Selenium
- Trace Elements
- Zinc
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- van Bömmel-Wegmann S, Gehlen H, Barton AK, Büttner K, Zentek J, Paßlack N. Zinc Status of Horses and Ponies: Relevance of Health, Horse Type, Sex, Age, and Test Material. Vet Sci 2023 Apr 16;10(4).
- Jachimowicz-Rogowska K, Topczewska J, Krupa W, Bajcar M, Kwiecień M, Winiarska-Mieczan A. Seasonal Changes in Trace-Element Content in the Coat of Hucul Horses. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 14;12(20).
- Cygan-Szczegielniak D, Stasiak K. Concentration of Selected Essential and Toxic Trace Elements in Horse Hair as an Important Tool for the Monitoring of Animal Exposure and Health. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 4;12(19).
- van der Merwe D, van den Wollenberg L, van Hees-Valkenborg J, de Haan T, van der Drift S, Vandendriessche V. Evaluation of hair analysis for determination of trace mineral status and exposure to toxic heavy metals in horses in the Netherlands. J Vet Diagn Invest 2022 Nov;34(6):1000-1005.
- Rosendahl S, Anturaniemi J, Vuori KA, Moore R, Hemida M, Hielm-Björkman A. Diet and dog characteristics affect major and trace elements in hair and blood of healthy dogs. Vet Res Commun 2022 Feb;46(1):261-275.
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- Nava V, Aragona F, Potortì AG, De Caro S, Di Bella B, Litrenta F, Fazio F. Bioactive Element Biodistribution of Different Biological Substrates in Sheep and Goats. Animals (Basel) 2025 Jun 6;15(12).
- Hisaeda K, Ono T, Shimokawa-Miyama T, Hata A, Iwata E, Hiasa Y, Ohzawa E, Tozaki T, Murase H, Takasu M, Nishii N, Kitagawa H. Differences in serum iron concentrations between the summer and winter in Noma horses. J Equine Sci 2025;36(1):1-9.
- Halo M Jr, Kirchner R, Tirpák F, Slanina T, Tokárová K, Kováčik A, Miškeje M, Greń A, Formicki G, Halo M, Madeddu R, Massányi P. Essential and risk elements in horses affect haematology, serum biochemistry and oxidative status parameters. Sci Rep 2025 Jan 28;15(1):3489.
- Janíček M, Massányi M, Kováčik A, Halo M Jr, Tirpák F, Blaszczyk-Altman M, Albrycht M, Stawarz R, Halo M, Massányi P. Content of Biogenic Elements in Sheep Wool by the Regions of Slovakia. Biol Trace Elem Res 2025 Apr;203(4):1886-1897.
- Mierzyńska Z, Niemirska M, Zgonina K, Bieńkowski T, Hryniów K, Świder P, Pawlak K. Multi-Elemental Analysis of Hair and Fingernails Using Energy-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED XRF) Method Supported by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP MS). Molecules 2024 Feb 7;29(4).
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