With Kate knowing of his potential and how he should be behaving, a decision was made to try and find answers by ordering some base line blood tests on him to check his trace element levels.

His results came back very low in selenium which is not uncommon as New Zealand soils are known to have low levels. Subsequent testing of the whole herd revealed that they all had lowered levels, but not to quite the same degree. A deficiency in selenium shows up as a depressed immune system, poor performance, stiffness after exercise and in more extreme cases, can involve impaired cardiac function, difficulty swallowing and paralysis.

All the horses have now been put on a supplement which will improve their general health as well as make them feel better too. We have noticed an improvement in Eeyore’s movement and also he is back on the road to living up to Kate’s praise of being a good boy.

We will continue with ongoing annual blood tests to monitor their levels as too much selenium can also become a problem for which the symptoms are mane and tail hair loss, crumbly or cracked hooves, increased salivation and respiratory rates.

All this attention from the Veterinarian costs money but it's essential for a healthy herd.  If you would like to make a donation toward our ongoing herd costs head over to our donations page here.