The Use Of Trace Minerals
In The Prevention And Improvement Of Laminitis
by Carlos Cortelezzi, VMD Podology

Many years ago, around 1983, I heard about some very unique Trace Minerals that had some incredible effects over the different areas of the body of the horses. Some of these included an anti-inflammatory action, an enhancing effect over the absorption capabilities of the digestive tract, a mineralizing effect over depleted bone structures, an antioxidant effect and an antitoxic effect, which prevented many of the every day food poisonings and related sequels, of the kind that ended up causing the frequently seen Laminitis. These minerals in question belong to the group of the Moutmorillonites, and are found as naturally occurring compounds, that originated from fossilized animals, plankton, algae and plants, from ancient ocean sea beds that are found today as rocks. There is no way to copy one of these natural formulas with the kinds of minerals that are usually used off the shelf, to form a premix, which is the way trace minerals are sold for animal or human use.

Since these natural formulas contain heavy metals in concentrations as little as parts per million, with diluted gases and most of the known oligoelements, the rare presence of these are recognized in the body as catalytic agents, that help dissolve products of the digestion process that are not usually dissolved, protecting the body from the effects of heavy, indisolvable molecules that travel through the different systems, arriving to the perypheric blood vessels, where they cause toxicity that kills the cells of the vessels and cause necrosis or death of the surrounding tissues. This is roughly what causes the inflammation and death of the laminae of the hoof, which allows for the Coffin Bone to rotate, in a process generally called Founder.

Taking these notions in consideration, we set out to test the effect of this product, in a Paso Fino, ranch in Colombia, the Criadero La J, in Cali, in the year 1993. I observed the test until 1996. There were 18 foundered horses when we started, from a population of 150 in stalls. That's more than 10 %. Some of these had very bad Founder signs, with soles that were so deformed and perforated, that we couldn't count the abscesses that appeared in them. Some had to have a surgical procedure to alleviate the pull of the deep flexor tendon, that rotated the Coffin Bone by mechanical pull. This is called a Tenectomy. Some others had a demineralizing process to their Coffin Bones that weakened the bone, causing an unbearable pain.

We started the treatment with the Trace Minerals administering 2 ounces a day, for a period of 20 days. Then we reduced the dose to 1 ounce daily. I had the chance to oversee the trial for three consecutive years. In a matter of 20 days we started to observe some changes that were very promising. The hair started to change, together with the skin and nail tissues (hooves). The growth of the sole was noticeable and the appearance of elastic, harder, new tissue was observed. These findings were seen with the use of the Trace Minerals alone. No other known hoof enhancers of the biotin or methionine type were used, although the combination of them could be very promising; as it could be the interaction between these Trace Minerals and the regular veterinary prescriptions that are used in these cases. Once these initial changes took place, a better displacement of the horses was observed. Although the vast majority of them never returned fully to be used in the ring, a visible improvement of the laminitic condition took place. Horses that could not walk did so and can now live a productive and comfortable life that will allow them to reproduce.

But the real effect of the Trace Minerals was observed as the first year of treatment was completed: no more rotations occurred and the Laminitis cases became so infrequent that we could expect them only when major changes of the food components took place, such as in the changes of seasons, from rainy season to dry or vice versa. We went from more than 10% incidence to zero rotations. In other words, some prevention of the Laminitis was observed, I feel due to the power of these minerals to disrupt the formation of heavy, toxic molecules that could cause damage to the blood vessels that conform the Laminae. This was true even with aflatoxin levels (fungus) of more than 40 parts per million, when the standards were no more than 20 parts per million allowed. These were verified through tests taken in the field by a company as large as Purina. Other desirable effects of the use of these Trace Minerals were the fact that it reduced the amount of grain administered to the horses. Since the components allow for the absorption of some lignified portions of the grass, converting them into digestible particles, a lot of the food eliminated by the intestine as unprocessed was used by the body, resulting in less food needed per day to maintain the same body weight. As much as 20% less grain!! Which prorated into 550 horses that ended in the Trace Mineral program, gave the ranch savings of 20% in the purchase of food for the whole herd. That translated into thousands of dollars. For adult horses, the amount of grain given twice daily was less than 2 pounds!! Improvement of the bone density of the Coffin bone was also observed through X-rays. The same could be said for those horses that were diagnosed with arthritis in the hocks (bone spavin). These tended not to show the symptoms of the arthritis so much, so long as they were in the Trace Mineral treatment.

In conclusion, what was said to us about the use of the Trace Minerals was confirmed in many ways, and in some others it was enhanced... No one would have expected so many uses and results from just one single product. It is the kind of supplement that I would recommend, when results are needed in treating and preventing Laminitis, although for what we have seen, these Trace Minerals do a whole lot more than that.

BACK TO ARTICLES MENU