Selenium buildup linked to unusual hoof damage in a racehorse

Abstract

From summer 2018 to summer 2019, several Thoroughbred racehorses held at the Miho Training Centre of the Japan Racing Association inadvertently ingested excessive amounts of sodium selenite, resulting in typical chronic selenium (Se) poisoning - the so-called alkali disease. The typical abnormality was a hoof wall disorder with a circumferentially deep ring and/or transverse hoof wall cracks parallel to the coronet on all feet and appearing after excessive ingestion. One affected Thoroughbred male was unique in that all the hooves had a rough surface with a very fragile hoof wall, but no wall rings or transverse cracking. This horse was euthanized because of dysstasia due to the permanent foot pain associated with hoof wall deformities in the front feet. To detect Se deposition in the hooves, we used energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis to measure the Se signal intensity of each lesion. Characteristic Se-kα signals were emitted from the areas of histologically damaged hoof wall at 33.76 ± 11.78 (mean ± SD) counts per second (cps)/mm. In contrast, the signal from the uninjured proximal hoof wall was 1.43 ± 0.14 cps/mmand that from the uninjured distal hoof wall was 1.51 ± 0.23 cps/mm. The much greater Se deposition in the injured hoof walls suggests that their disintegration was caused by alkali disease. These results indicate that atypical hoof wall abnormalities due to alkali disease can be diagnosed by EDXRF analysis.