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A study conducted at a Japan Racing Association training center has found a correlation between low zinc levels in horses’ blood samples and disease states such as fever, infection, or inflammation.

Researchers measured zinc level in the blood of 210 healthy Thoroughbred horses at rest and an additional 391 horses that had just finished a bout of intense exercise. Using the results, they determined a range of 41 to 79 micrograms per deciliter for zinc levels in normal horses.

The next step was to measure zinc levels in horses that had various conditions such as fever from an unknown cause, cellulitis, shipping fever, or tying-up. They also tested zinc levels in horses that had been experimentally infected with a strain of Streptococcus equi bacteria.

Results showed that zinc levels were below normal in horses with cellulitis, shipping fever, and other fevers. Zinc levels dropped for the first day after inoculation with S. equi but returned to normal within four days. Horses with tying-up showed no difference in zinc levels compared to normal horses.

This research does not prove that low zinc levels will produce disease in horses; it simply establishes that measurement of zinc levels is a possible marker for some type of inflammation.

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