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Recent studies report high levels of nickel in legal performance and recovery products for horses, potentially identifying a new performance-enhancing issue for those involved in equine sports.

“Nickel has similar chemical and biological properties as cobalt, leaving some in the industry wondering if nickel is currently being used as a substitute for cobalt,” explained Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research.

Cobalt stimulates the production of red blood cells, which explains why it is used for “blood doping.” Because of its misuse, certain racing jurisdictions have instituted a policy whereby penalties are given to trainers for horses that test above a certain threshold.

According to one group of researchers*, some equine products advertised to have “blood-building properties” do not include nickel on the list of ingredients, leaving owners and trainers unaware that their horses are receiving this trace mineral. Although nickel is not banned, its potential use as a performance-enhancer clearly has safety and ethical issues that owners should recognize.

So how much nickel does a horse actually need every day?

“Nickel does not have its own entry in the most recent edition of Nutrient Requirements of Horses, so we don’t know how much is actually necessary. That said, micronutrients are only required in small amounts, and most diets are assumed to provide adequate nickel,” said Crandell.

The maximum daily recommended amount of cobalt is 0.1 mg/kg of dry matter, and these levels are typically obtained through normal feedstuffs and supplementation is usually not necessary.

“To avoid dietary issues, owners and trainers are encouraged to seek the assistance of an equine nutritionist to provide a balanced diet and assess the use of nutritional supplements,” advised Crandell.

In light of the concern regarding nickel oversupplementation and for the overall safety of competitive horses, Thevis and coworkers* suggested nickel should be monitored in equine-doping test programs.

*Thevis, M., M. Machnik, I. Schenk, et al. 2016. Nickel in equine sports drug testing–Pilot study results on urinary nickel concentrations. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 30:982-984.

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