|
|
Discussion on B vitamins and aggression??
|
| Author |
Message |
Member:
Hwood
|
Posted on Sunday, Jan 1, 2006 - 1:58 pm:
Dr. O,
Following,} is a quote from a letter I received today in a newsletter from Julie Goodnight, director of Certified Horsmanship Association, of which I am a long-time member. I wonder if you have heard similar things about vitamin B? I know there have been some posts about aggressive horses over the past few years, and it sometimes seems as if it may not all be connected to training.
excerpt follows:
B vitamins can cause aggression.
Julie: I would just like to make a comment on the lady who has an aggressive mare who charges. I just bought a 3 year old APHA mare that I paid a lot for because of her very quiet attitude. I brought her home and she became increasingly aggressive and violent. She started charging me. I found out from a friend that there are some quarter horse/paint mares that become aggressive when fed any kind of B vitamins. I had this confirmed by the Vet who produced the vitamin supplement we had been giving her. Within three days of being off this vitamin, she was on her way back to her normal self.
|
Member:
Lilly
|
Posted on Sunday, Jan 1, 2006 - 2:31 pm:
Holly Wood,
I once owned a young mare that was boarded at a barn with a variety of other horses. Several of the horses were started on the multi-vitamin supplement Accel and behavior changes were noted. The barn manager described my horse as being "pissy". All of the horses were taken off of the supplement and their behaviors returned to normal.
Ann
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Monday, Jan 2, 2006 - 7:17 am:
Hello All,
There is no single B vitamin. The B vitamins are a class of vitamins mainly known for their water solubility characteristics. We do know that some vitamins given in large overdoses, niacin is one that comes to mind, that human users report that it makes them feel odd when taken in huge doses. But the doses so large it is hard to imagine anyone affording giving similar doses to horses. I cannot find any such reports in the literature nor is this something I have noticed in vitamin supplemented horses. On the other hand unless feedstuffs are substandard or you are addressing a specific disease problem it is unlikely this supplementation is helping anything.
DrO
|
Member:
Hwood
|
Posted on Monday, Jan 2, 2006 - 10:59 am:
Thank you, Ann, for sharing your experience, and, Dr. O., for your input. I wondered if there were recent studies. Thanks.
|
|
|
