Vet has recommended “high dose” of magnesium in the form of a supplement. What magnesium supplements do y’all use? How much are you feeding?
A palm of 52% mag ox from the feed store. It’s $30/year and gets the job done. There are all sorts of alternatives if spending money on your horse makes you feel good.
I recently had a young trainer tell me that high doses of magnesium make a horse feel “punky” and that is why we see multiple doses of PP administered in the hunters. I wasn’t able to find any science to back that up. Any thoughts folks?
I tried Quiessence recently. It has 7 or 7.5mg per scoop and recommends loading with one scoop per 250lbs body weight (dropping to half that when results are noticed). I failed to read the label properly and gave my guy one scoop and noticed a reduction in his anxiety and reactivity.
This time I got Pureform magnesium which offers 4.5mg per scoop and recomends 1-2 scoops per day as advised by your vet. I am using 2.
I’d ask your vet to be specific in how many mg your horse should get.
I use MagRestore which is magnesium Malate. It is much more absorbable into the system than magnesium oxide. Therefore not as much is needed.
i feed one enclosed scoop daily. The scoop is two grams.
Your vet should have given you some ballpark number of Mg to aim for (but I get it that he didn’t). What is it for?
Generally, when someone needs a “high dose”, they are talking about 10-20gm of Mg. Mind you that that is elemental Mg, so how much of a given Mg product entirely depends on how much elemental Mg is in it.
As for the myth that MagOx is poorly absorbed - that is based on initial, poor studies from 30-40 years ago. More recent studies show upwards of 60% bioavailability. Add to that the fact that it’s the highest concentration, at about 60%, and that’s a pretty high dose of elemental Mg in a serving.
https://performanceequinenutrition.c…-in-horses.pdf
9 Oral MgO, MgSO4, and MgCO3 have equivalent digestibilities (50%–70%), with their absorption rates higher than those from organic sources.
So that’s oxide, sulfate, and carbonate
Per this, MagOx is the most efficient from a serving size perspective
The maintenance requirement of 13 mg/kg/d of elemental Mg could be provided by 31 mg/kg/d of MgO, 64 mg/kg/d of MgCO3, or 93 mg/kg/d of MgSO4.
4 Likes
Bulk Magnesium Ox 56% from California Trace. I feed about 7-8 grams. Must be mixed with something as it’s a powder (I use soaked alfalfa pellets…I guess some horses will eat powder, mine will not). I’ve been happy with it and it’s inexpensive. https://www.californiatrace.com/zcart5/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=42&zenid=ajfqg2ssjugmuvjca97omv1o82
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZY0ILU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Is the same as ProMag and MagRestore. About 1/2 tablespoon normally, 1 tablespoon loading.
Thanks for all the info! If I go with with the 50 pound bag of food grade magnesium oxide, what dosage should I use? Or what do y’all use? Vet thinks his recent aggressive behavior is due to a mag deficiency.
