Of course I’ll be talking to my vet but I had a general question I thought you all might have experience with. My new Dutch wb is an easy keeper just on free choice hay, Vermont blend pro, and some alfalfa cubes. Always been forward thinking. He got a little anxious and VERY forward when the weather turned cold. We are focusing on ground work through the winter but I’m wondering if something like magrestore could help? But I wasn’t sure how much would be overkill with the vt blend . Any other suggestions to just take the edge off? He is 6 and still green. Anyone else have one that is just different in the colder weather?
What makes you feel more Mg will help something that came on with the colder weather? It’s not something that “takes the edge off” unless there’s a deficiency causing that edginess, and a diet like yours isn’t deficient. Could HE be metabolizing it in a way that he actually is a bit deficient? Sure, but given that he’s 6, the weather turned cold, the odds of it not being that combination, and being a Mg issue, is almost none.
I think everyone who’s owned or ridden enough horses finds a lot more energy in the horse once cooler weather hits 
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Not much, just looking at calming supplements and that seems to be a common theme. Thanks for the input! You’re right I’m probably overthinking it, it’s winter 
Mg is commonly, but mistakenly, viewed as a “calming mineral”, probably because many “calming” supplements contain it. Reality is, Mg deficiency is not common at all. There are many more reasons for an un-calm horse, including training, over-fed, and a young horse in Winter 
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Really appreciate this, thanks again!
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I used to feed extra Magnesium with KIS Trace, which already has a good amount in there as well. My horse showed some symptoms of Mg deficiency and a DVM Chiro actually recommended trying MagRestore for him because his back was in spasms. I fed several different kinds including MagRestore and it seemed to maybe help? It certainly didn’t hurt.
Fast-forward to almost a year ago and I was still feeding heaps of Magnesium and horse was fine, but I moved him to a new boarding barn and he lost his marbles. Yes, cold weather, but he’s honestly not one that gets spooky due to weather, wind, etc. It’s one of his finer qualities, lol. In his case it was ulcers that were making him bonkers, and pulling him off of daily Equioxx, treating his ulcers fully, and making a few tweaks to his feeding program to support a happy tummy completely brought him around. The extra magnesium has since been stopped (I have an entire unopened bag of Uckele Mag Ox actually), and he’s fine. He’s on TC Balancer Gold, which has a nice amount of Mg already, and he gets half a serving of KIS Trace (which has several goodies I like to keep on the higher end (Mg, Cu, Zn, Biotin, Amino Acids) for his feet. He’s good there. But what I HAVE added is some Vitamin B1 (thiamine) which I know is another common “calming” supplement. I honestly cannot remember what made me start…probably FeedXL telling me he was low in that, LOL…but I honestly noticed that his “react now, think later” approach to new and unusual things has reversed and he’s much more reasonable and gets over things quicker. Or at least it seems that way to me! I bought a big bucket of it and he gets one scoop a day, so meh…why not? It’s pretty inexpensive to try.
FeedXL always says a horse is deficient unless the diet contains something with a lot in it, and it’s ridiculous that they don’t have the disclaimer that B vitamins are not essential nutrients because healthy horses make their own.
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I know, I know. I realized that when no matter what it was telling me his B6 (which I didn’t even realize was a thing) was low.
Regardless, I think the B1 does something for him. Whether it actually does or not is beside the point, LOL!
I’ve gotten over my FeedXL addiction though. Thank goodness. I envisioned myself going mad like Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind. Ingredients comparison charts wallpapering my house. The eternal search for the perfect ratios! Maddening!!!
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So is the consensus no additional magnesium is needed if being fed the full dose of Vermont Blend Pro??
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VBP has 6gm. Is that enough for your horse? Only your horse can say But if there’s no suspected need then no, because forage is also supplying a decent amount.
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I reached out to Custom Equine Nutrition and asked about dosage …apparently I’ve been over dosing my herd by double 
I thought VB Pro was 2 tablespoons twice per day …my horses are generally 1200/1250lbs …and 2 that are 1300-1400lbs… Nicole said VB Pro serving is 2 tablespoons total per day …she said that would work for all of mine …but wouldn’t hurt if I gave an extra tablespoon to the bigger guys…I’m wondering now if I cut the dose in half now like it’s intended if I will see any difference??
Are you sure she said 2 tablespoons? It’s 2 ounces by weight, which is 1/4/c by volume, a day, for a 1000lb horse
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I think she is talking about tablespoons of magnesium, NOT of the VT Blend Pro itself.
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I have tried MagRestore, but it causes pretty intense diarrhea for one of my horses. Had the vet do a blood magnesium level and it was elevated but not by much.
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When I weighed mine, 2 ounces came to 2 tablespoons for me and I have been feeding that twice a day per the instructions. 4 tbsp = 1/4 cup which is the full days recommendation, or at least that’s how I interpreted it.
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what was your actual question to her? Her reply sounds like she’s talking about the salt that a full 1/4c serving is providing.
Either way, VBP isn’t a total of 2tbsp per day for a 1000lb+ horse. I just did the measuring, and 4 of my tbsps is a skimpy 1/4c
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My original question was what is the correct dose of VB Pro for 1250+lbs horses …and that was her response??
which surprised me because I told her I had been giving 2 heaping tablespoons twice /day -which is a a little bit more than 1/4 cup recommended amount for a 1000lb horse ??
My original question was what is the correct dose of VB Pro for 1250+lbs horses and if additional magnesium is needed ??…and that was her response?? which surprised me because I told her I had been giving 2 heaping tablespoons twice /day -which is a a little bit more than 1/4 cup recommended amount for a 1000lb horse ??
