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Sulphur

By VQ1Professional review pending · updated

What it does

Sulphur reaches the horse almost exclusively as part of amino acids. Methionine and cystine build, among other things, keratin — the structural protein of hoof horn, hair and skin.

Why it matters

Anyone who keeps an eye on the ration's protein supply covers sulphur automatically. A separate sulphur item in ration calculation is therefore unnecessary.

When it becomes critical

An isolated sulphur deficiency plays no practical role as long as protein and amino acids are right. Targeted sulphur supplementation beyond the usual feed is normally not required.

How much a horse needs

No daily reference figure is published for sulphur on its own. Cover is assumed once the ration carries enough protein — and with it methionine and cystine.

Baustein schwefelhaltiger Eiweißbausteine und damit von Horn, Haut und Fell; kommt über das Eiweiß im Futter mit.

Equine Applied and Clinical Nutrition (Geor/Harris/Coenen), Tab. 10-4, S. 194 (S 5). Zweite unabhängige Lesung: EACN-Kontrolllauf 30.06., am 23.08. an der Quelle nachgemessen — Regel 41 erfüllt. Öffentlich seit 24.08. (Elli, Punkt 139 ②). Schwefel steht in PF Tab. 6.3 NICHT (Lesung A, 20.08.).

Cited values

Requirement and limit values for Schwefel (third-party citation with provenance per value).
TypeValueUnit / contextSource
Toxic from5g/kg Futter-TSEquine Applied and Clinical Nutrition (Geor/Harris/Coenen) (2013, Tab. 10-4, S. 194)

Careful when comparing: the requirement is given **per day**, the upper limit **per kilogram of feed dry matter**. These are different reference bases and cannot be compared directly. The upper limit is also not a target — it is the amount at which harm begins.

No requirement norm: Schwefel gelangt fast nur ueber die schwefelhaltigen Aminosaeuren Methionin und Cystin ins Pferd — also ueber das Eiweiss. Beide Leitwerke drucken deshalb keinen eigenen Tagesbedarf: Rang 1 fuehrt zu Schwefel Koerperverteilung und Bilanz, keine Bedarfsspalte. Wer die Eiweissversorgung im Blick hat, versorgt Schwefel mit. (Equine Applied and Clinical Nutrition (Geor/Harris/Coenen), Tab. 10-14, S. 209 (Koerperverteilung und Bilanz — keine Bedarfsspalte), 2013)

Interactions

Diagram of the interactions of Schwefel; the numbered list below names them in detail.Schwefel12
Diagram of the interactions of Schwefel; the numbered list below names them in detail.
  1. Schwefel ↔ Kupfer
  2. Schwefel ↔ Selen

Sources

News on equine nutrition — explained plainly, when there is something worth saying.