Studies have recently found that people taking high-dose vitamin E supplements daily had an increased risk of dying, but equine nutritionists say we shouldn’t extrapolate that to horses.

Study lead author and internist Edgar R. Miller III, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says, “Our study shows that use of high-dose vitamin E supplements certainly did not prolong life, but was associated with a higher risk of death.” In a report posted at CBSNews.com Miller says the risk of death starts to increase at 150 IU daily, but at 400 IU, the typical dose available in vitamin E capsules, the risk of dying from any cause is about 10% higher than for people not taking the vitamin. At 2,000 IU of vitamin E, the risk increased more than 20%