The roles of vitamins, trace elements, and minerals needed by the horse
Berries, seeds, root vegetables, herbs, and other green plant parts from nature are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements for the horse. Each of these nutrients has its own important roles.
Vitamin A: helps build and maintain soft tissues and bones. Produces the pigments needed for the formation of the retina. An important vitamin for vision.
Vitamin B1: essential for converting sugars, conducting nerve impulses, and oxygen metabolism.
Vitamin B2: necessary for fat and protein metabolism and for converting food into energy.
Vitamin B3: an important promoter of cellular metabolism. Also participates in DNA repair. Also relates to the production of sex hormones and stress hormones.
Vitamin B9: a significant vitamin for nervous system and bone marrow function. Prevents spinal bifida in the fetus and promotes cell renewal.
Vitamin B12: an important vitamin affecting the growth and development of the nervous system. Also influences red blood cell synthesis and intestinal function.
Vitamin C: a powerful antioxidant that enhances the absorption of other vitamins and minerals. Helps prevent heart disease and supports the development of teeth, gums, the skeleton, and joints.
Vitamin D: affects, among other things, the body’s metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency causes disturbances in calcium and phosphorus metabolism, which can manifest, for example, as stress fractures or skeletal development disorders.
Vitamin E: a strong antioxidant that is needed especially as the fat content of the diet increases. Vitamin E supplementation is also needed in stressful situations, for animals that train a lot, and for breeding animals during pregnancy and lactation. Vitamin E protects muscles from oxidative damage and thus helps prevent muscle injuries.
Calcium: strengthens gums and teeth, is essential for blood clotting, and acts as an activator for several enzymes. It is also linked to muscle function.
Phosphorus: participates in the development of bones and teeth, milk secretion, muscle tissue formation, and cellular metabolism.
Iron: relates to oxygen transport and storage in tissues, energy production, and biochemical mechanisms in the brain.
