http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com/cobalt.htm
Cobalt (Co), one of the microminerals, is important for blood cell formation.
The microbes in your horse's digestive system, particularly the cecum and large intestine, use the Co from your horse's diet to convert it to Vitamin B12. This vitamin is then used in conjunction with iron and copper in the formation and maintenance of blood cells.
The horse will usually consume enough Co through a typical diet.
All the common feedstuffs include at least 0.05 mg/kg dry matter, if not more (legumes usually contain around 0.6 mg/kg dry matter except in deficient areas).
The requirement has been set at 0.1 mg/kg dry matter, so this is easily reached through the typical diet.
This next link suggests horses are often cobalt deficient (not what many other articles suggest however)
http://depaoloequineconcepts.wordpre...ncy-in-horses/
This last link talks about human requirements but while it tells us how much B12 we need it does not tell us how much Cobalt that is. It does however state that < 1.4mg (1400ug) of cobalt supplement will not harm one but I don't know how to relate that to 200ug/l
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamin...-minerals.aspx
Cobalt is a trace element that forms part of the structure of vitamin B12, one of the B vitamins.
Good sources of cobalt
Cobalt is found widely in the environment. Good food sources of cobalt include:
fish
nuts
green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach
cereals, such as oats
How much cobalt do I need?
You should be able to get all the cobalt you need from your daily diet.
Cobalt is a major part of the structure of vitamin B12. Therefore, if you get enough vitamin B12, you will also get enough cobalt.
Adults need approximately 0.0015mg vitamin B12 a day.
What happens if I take too much cobalt?
Having high amounts of cobalt for long periods of time could affect the heart and might decrease fertility in men.
What does the Department of Health advise?
Having too much cobalt could be harmful. However, cobalt is currently not used in supplements in the UK and the amount we get from food is not harmful.
Having 1.4mg or less a day of cobalt supplements is unlikely to cause any harm.
Footnote: I looked this up after reading TeeCee's post about Cobalt occuring naturally but NOW his post has gone
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