{
   "copper": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Horses can tolerate moderate oversupplies of copper without known negative effects. You should nevertheless always try to formulate rations which provide copper in recommended amounts. "No red lines please!"\n \n\n",
         "solution": "Study your ration to try and reduce the amount of concentrates or vitamin/mineral mixtures with a high copper content.\n\n \n\n \n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Copper (Cu) has many roles in metabolism: Copper contributes to enzymes which are used for synthesis of elastic connective tissues, in mobilization of iron from body stores, and in pigment synthesis.\n\nCopper deficiency may lead to osteochondrosis and other skeletal diseases.\n\n",
         "solution": "Good sources of copper are usually the commercial vitamin/mineral mixtures, and commercial concentrates produced for horses.\n\n \n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "phosphorus": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Excess phosphorus reduces calcium absorption and can lead to abnormal skeleton development in young growing horses. Too much phosphorus can also interfere with iron uptake and should be avoided.\n\n",
         "solution": "Reduce the amounts of vitamin/mineral mixtures with a high phosphorous content and feeds like wheat bran. Study the contribution of the different feeds in the ration to the total intake of phosphorous.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Phosphorus is required for mineralization of the skeleton, and for the energy metabolism in all cells in the body.\n \n\n",
         "solution": "Phosphorus-rich feeds include wheat, oats, barley and commercial concentrate mixtures (5-8 g/kg). Grass hay contains 1-2 g phosphorus per kg.\n.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "vitamin_b1": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Moderate over feeding of vitamin B1 has no known negative effects.\n\n",
         "solution": "Consider reducing the intake of high B1 feeds and supplements.\n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) is under normal healthy conditions produced in sufficient quantities by the large intestine of the horse. When stressed or when workloads are high B vitamin production can be reduced and supplementation is recommended. The ratio of grains to forage also influences B vitamin production with high grain and low forage diets negatively impacting on production. Always feed adequate forage.\n\n",
         "solution": "Concentrates and most vitamin/mineral mixtures for horses are supplemented with vitamin B1. Bakers yeast and brewers grain are good sources of B1.\n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "iodine": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Over feeding of iodine (I) may cause fetal damage or lead to weakly or stillborn foals.\n\n",
         "solution": "Reduce the feeding of mineral mixtures with iodine, avoid iodized salt and avoid supplements which contain marine algae (seaweed).\n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Iodine (I) is required for the formation of thyroid hormones (thyroxine) which control the metabolic rate of all animals. Iodine deficiency leads to goiter and reduces metabolic rate.\n\nFoals born to mares with iodine deficiency or a deficient supply of iodine may be weak or stillborn.\n\n",
         "solution": "Good sources of iodine are seaweed, fishmeal, commercial concentrates (where iodized salts are commonly used) and common mineral mixes.\n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "cobalt": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Whilst there are no know toxic effects of a moderate excess on cobalt this situation should be avoided.\n\n",
         "solution": "Consider reducing the level of supplementation in your diet.\n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Cobalt (Co) is required for production of vitamin B12. The majority of forages provide adequate cobalt.\n\n",
         "solution": "Cobalt is not always added to feeds or supplements, instead additional B12 is provided. Consider feeding rations or supplements with a high B12 value.\n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "protein": {
      "+": {
         "text": "The diet contains too much protein. Excess protein is unnecessary and cannot be stored by the body and so must be excreted. High levels of protein can negatively affect performance and development.\n\n",
         "solution": "Reduce protein content in the diet. Consider using lower protein feeds and if necessary reduce pasture access during spring and autumn periods if grazing is rich and readily available.\n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "The diet does not provide enough protein. A low protein intake has many effects for horses. For young growing horses body growth and muscle development will be affected negatively. For broodmares low protein is connected with early embryonic resorption, low foaling weights and poor milk quality. For performance horses insufficient protein effects recovery and development of muscle. Low protein may affect all horses through a reduced appetite, weakened hooves and dull coat.\n\n",
         "solution": "Increase the protein content of the diet through use of higher protein feeds and supplements such as soyabean meal. Consider higher protein forages such as alfalfa or earlier cut haylages. Analysing your forage for protein is important as it provides a significant contribution to the daily diet.\n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "starch": {
      "+": {
         "text": "If you have been warned about too much starch in a meal, you should distribute the concentrates and grains in the ration throughout the planned meals, and introduce more meals if necessary. You can also try to replace some of the concentrates with roughage (hay, haylage, beet pulp) of good quality. You can read below more about starch and how this feed component is digested.\n\n",
         "solution": "Starch is a carbohydrate found in plant seeds and roots, such as grains or potatoes, and is an energy reserve for the plant. For comparison, animals use fat as their energy reserve. Starch is the most energy-rich part of the grain. The content of starch in oats and barley is about 500 g per kg (50% of the weight), and there is slightly more starch in barley than in oats.\n\nDigestion of starch in the horse\nWe want as much as possible of the starch to be digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Starch which is not digested in the small intestine will be passed on into the caecum, which is very large in the horse. Here, starch may create imbalances in the microbial flora and lead to a fall in pH and a reduced digestion of fibre.\n\nThe chemical and physical structure of starch varies between grain species. The starch in oats is more easily digested than starch from barley and maize. This has practical significance for the horse because the horse can digest more oat starch in the small intestine than starches from other cereal species. When barley and maize are treated with pressure and heat, as is common in the commercial production of feed mixtures, the starch becomes more easily digestible, and behaves more like oat starch in the digestive tract.\nGlucose is produced when starch is cleaved by several enzymes in the small intestine, and is then absorbed into the blood. A meal of cereals will in just a few hours give the horse elevated blood glucose (blood sugar) concentrations. Blood levels of glucose are regulated by the hormone insulin. Increased secretion of insulin takes place after a meal, and the hormone promotes the storage of glucose in the form of glycogen in liver and muscles. Glycogen is an important energy store for the horse, and is mobilized quickly when needed, for example during strenuous exercise and competitions.\n\nHorses are sensitive to variations in blood sugar. Some horses, especially ponies, may have trouble regulating blood sugar (a form of insulin resistance). Some horses may also become excited if the blood sugar concentration rises quickly (heating). It is therefore important, when planning feeding, to consider the amount of starch each horse will receive at every meal.\n\n\nBecause of its properties, starch is both an important source of energy in the horse's ration, and also a feed component that can cause adverse reactions in the digestive system. As mentioned earlier, we do not want too much undigested starch to arrive at the caecum. At the same time, we do not want the starch to be too easy to digest, since this will give rise to excessive increases in blood glucose levels. It is therefore important to have a good grasp of how a starch-rich ration affects your horse, and how you can achieve a digestion profile for the starch that balances the two effects mentioned above. With PC-Horse you have the means to ensure that the amount of starch contained in each meal is within the recommended limits.\n\nIn normal healthy horses, we recommend that a single meal should not contain more than 1,5 grams of starch per kg body weight. This means that a horse weighing 500 kg should not get more than about 750 grams of starch per meal. Since cereals and grain mixtures contain 400-500 grams of starch per kg, you should not give more than about 1,5 kg of grain or concentrate mix per meal. If your horse has a high energy requirement and receives a high proportion of grains and concentrates in its diet, we recommend increasing the number of meals per day, or changing the distribution of feed between meals if you become aware that the amount of starch per meal is too high.\n\nIn PC-Horse, you can distribute the horse's overall ration over individual meals. You will then be given a clear warning when the amount of starch in one or more of your meals exceeds the recommended limits. For horses that have trouble regulating blood sugar, or easily develop symptoms of "tying up", it will be beneficial to provide less starch per meal than the recommended 1,5 g/kg body weight. As an alternative you can feed vegetable oil (see below), thus reducing the amount of grain or concentrate mix in the ration, without depriving the horse of too much energy.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n\n \n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Not enough starch\n\n",
         "solution": "Add more starch\n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "vitamin_e": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Moderate over feeding of vitamin E has no proven detrimental effect, in fact recommendations for vitamin E intake have increased over the last two decades.\n\nToo much may however affect the utilization of other lipid soluble vitamins (A, D and K).\n\n",
         "solution": "Consider reducing use of high vitamin E feeds and supplements.\n\n \n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant for lipids in cell membranes. Vitamin E has a samilar functions as selenium. Deficiency leads to muscle dystrophy (white muscle disease) and to uncoordinated movements and lameness.\n\n",
         "solution": "Concentrates and most vitamin/mineral mixtures for horses contain vitamin E. Special vitamin/mineral mixtures for vitamin E and selenium are marketed in most countries.\n \n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "vitamin_b6": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Moderate over feeding of vitamin B6 has no known negative effects.\n\n",
         "solution": "Consider reducing intake of high B6 feeds and supplements.\n\n \n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) is under normal healthy conditions produced in sufficient quantities by the large intestine of the horse. When stressed or when workloads are high B vitamin production can be reduced and supplementation is recommended. The ratio of grains to forage also influences B vitamin production with high grain and low forage diets negatively impacting on production. Always feed adequate forage.\n\n",
         "solution": "Concentrates and most vitamin/mineral mixtures for horses are supplemented with vitamin B6. Bakers yeast and brewers grain are good sources of B6.\n\n \n\n\n"
      }
   },
   "vitamin_d": {
      "+": {
         "text": "Over feeding for prolonged periods vitamin D will lead to intoxication characterized by abnormal bone development (hypermineralization), calcium deposition in blood vessels and heart and kidney, and other organs damage.\n\nStiff gait, loss of appetite and a generally poor condition may be symptoms. Blood samples show abnormally high calcium levels in plasma. Some plants contain vitamin D analogs which may lead to vitamin D toxicity.\n\n",
         "solution": "Provide less vitamin D rich vitamin/mineral mixtures. Substitute commercial (vitamin-fortified) concentrates with grain. Be careful of giving more than one vitamin/mineral mix as many will contain vitamin D.\n\nDo not give cod liver oil if the ration already contains a lot of vitamin D.\n \n\n \n\n\n"
      },
      "-": {
         "text": "Vitamin D is a precursor for hormones which regulate calcium metabolism in the body. Vitamin D deficiency leads to abnormal development of the skeleton (rickets), poorly mineralized bones and reduced appetite and muscle strength.\n\n",
         "solution": "Vitamin D is produced in the skin when horses are exposed to sunlight. Sun-cured hay, cod liver oil and most concentrate and vitamin/mineral mixes are good sources of vitamin D.\n\n\n \n\n \n\n\n"
      }
   }
}