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  Discussion on SELENIUM DEFICIENCY - BLUE CIRCLE AROUND THE IRIS
Author Message
New Member:
Dicolled

Posted on Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 - 7:11 pm:

Hi everyone, I am a new member from Australia. What a great source of information this website is!

My question is - what causes a blue line to form around the iris of a horses eye? I have recently been told that it can either mean a selenium deficiency or and iodine overload...? All 6 of the horses on my property have this blue line.

One of my quarter horses has recently been diagnosed with degenerative joint disease of one carpal joint - he was born and bred in a notoriously deficient selenium region of Australia. He is almost 13 and the vet has told me to retire him - NOW!

Just to quickly fill you in, he hasn't been worked for almost 2 years now due to lumpy, suspicious looking knee. Not really lame but has lost a lot of flexion in the joint. Vet 2 years ago said not to worry about xrays. Xrays were taken 3 weeks ago by a different vet - he was quite shocked at what he saw - expected the horse to be more lame.
Could supplementing with selenium now be of assistance to his osteo-arthritis? I have started glucosamine and chonDrOitin and have a magnetic wrap on his leg just above the knee.
I don't expect him to make a full recovery but it would be nice to ride him occasionally without causing him harm.

Thanking you in advance for any information you can give.

Di Colledge
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 - 9:17 pm:

My paint horse benefits greatly from daily usage of a joint supplement (the one I use is Corta Flx). The suggested dosage for that supplement is based on an 1100 pound horse, but he weighs more than that and has some severe problems. He does not do well on a "maintenance dose" but avoids lameness for the most part when kept on a
"loading dose" continuously. The manufacturer's representative confirmed that if problems are greater, some horses will require a higher dose to realize the benefits.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Sep 19, 2005 - 8:22 am:

Concerning the blue edge to the iris, it actually is on the cornea and does border the iris and is normal. Many horses have this though it varies remarkably in how obvious it is. I don't think it is pigment but a difference in the way it refracts light.

We cover arthritis of the knee pretty well at Equine Diseases » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Front Limb » Overview of Lameness of the Knee (Carpus). Be sure to follow the link to the general article on arthritis. If selenium in the diet is now adequate I doubt further supplementation will help. When to retire this guy is dependent on when you think it is unfair to the horse to make him ride but if the horse is worse the day after you are asking for too much. I have seen many of these horses where stumbling became the first issue that resulted in retirement.
DrO
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Monday, Sep 19, 2005 - 11:35 am:

My Egyptian Arabs have this blue circle, and interestingly many of the Egyptian people I have met also have this circle.
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