I do know what magnesium does! But mag oxide I believe works just as good. U may have to feed more then the chelated but U will know when u are feeding the right amount for the horse Bc they will get runny stools but only Bc there getting more then they need not Bc it’s nust a stool softener. But again I’m not expert on it it’s just what I have learned and read from what another ppl feeding it.
At 56-6% elemental magnesium, the highest, by quite a bit, of any of the forms, and at a pretty high bioavailability, MgO is the best place to start, with a good chance of desired results.
Other forms may have higher bioavailability, but a much lower elemental Mg content.
That said, some horses do respond to some forms, either better or at all, than others. But MgO is a cheap place to start.
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https://ker.com/equinews/importance-magnesium-horse-diets/
MgO has an approximate bioavailability of 50%-ish. So at 56-60% elemental Mg, that means a lot more Mg being used
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How much do you add daily to their feed?
I will ask my local feed Co-Op if they have it or can get it.
I feed 10-15 grams.
'top dress on the feed (beet pulp based mash.)
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On the uckele 2lb container, is says up to 360 day supply in. A 2 lb jar each scoop is 4g. I email California trace company who also sells magnesium oxide (which I did end up ordering) 5 lbs 15.8g in a ounce. They say that would give me a 80 days supply. Does that seem like not a lot? I maybe thought 5 lbs would offer more days then 2 lb? 2 lb (from uckele) is 58% the 5 lbs (from California trace) is 56%. Once I go thru the magnesium I just ordered I go to my mill and get it from there after reading the comment I never thought about them they have Its for 13$ for 40 lbs bag! Agh. I bought the 5 lb for 29$ (shipping) and the 2 lb jar was (18$)
Husband just told me about an article in Farriers Journal that cites two studies, one UK, one USA, that found no effects, helpful or harmful, from giving horses magnesium. Kind of interesting reading he said, with all the current hype to supplement with magnesium…
You’re not doing the math.
1lb = 16oz = 454gm
2lb = 32oz = 908gm
5lb = 80 oz = 2270gm
No matter how you slice, it there, are the same number of ounces in 1lb.
1oz = 28gm. Many places just say 30gm.
MgOx is 15gm (ish) per oz no matter what size bag you get, or what size scoop you use. If you’re using the 4gm scoop from Uckele, you have to use 7 scoops (1oz) to get to 15gm.
The CaT scoop provides 1oz of MagOx for the same 15gm.
You have to look at the serving size and equalize things to be on the same playing field.
Okay now i see it. Yes math isn’t my strong suit and never was growing up. Guess I just seen it as more lbs bag should give u more days. Thanks for putting it all out. Also good to know that 1 ounce (roughly) is 15gm
What is the math for calculating vit e? So I have that
correct! Lol and not addding to much. I use 1000 iu capsules. Plus there is 750 that is is California trace. There is no other grain or pasture grass so really that’s the only source of vit e beside the real little from the hay and hay pellets he gets.
Keep in mind the 1oz = 15gm of elemental magnesium only applies to MgOx,and only when it’s a straight MgOx product.
Every product with Mg will tell you how much magnesium, and they mean elemental magnesium, is in what type of serving. It’s then up to you to figure out how many servings to get to the amount of Mg you want.
@JB @Ghazzu & others - nobody touched this question… and I’m curious too. I thought alfalfa was naturally higher in magnesium?
Somewhere buzzing around the back of my brain is something about enteroliths developing in horses fed a high alfalfa diet, and that the magnesium level was a contributing factor?
What do you mean? Add 1000 (times however many of those capsules you’re using) + 750 and that’s the total IU. If the only source of E is supplemental feeding (because there’s little to none in hay, only fresh grass), then make sure the horse is getting 1-2IU per 1lb body weight. I prefer 2IU/lb.
Here’s an excerpt from an article in JVet Intern Med:
"In this study, alfalfa was identified as a risk factor for enterolithiasis. However, alfalfa cannot be solely responsible for the formation of enteroliths, because most horses fed an alfalfa diet do not develop enteroliths. Alfalfa has both high magnesium and protein content that can result in higher levels of ammonia nitrogen in the ascending colon of horses during digestion, as well as providing magnesium for the precipitation of struvite…Lack of exposure to daily pasture grazing was an additional risk factor observed in this study. Cohen et al identified increased risk for enterolithiasis in horses fed alfalfa hay and under stall confinement. The findings of this study are in agreement with their observations. Several potential actors associated with time at pasture, such as activity level, differences in patterns of ingestion, and changes in colonic contents as a result of ingestion of grass, should be considered when evaluating the effect of pasture access on disease development. Daily access to pasture could be associated with increased activity. Exercise has been demonstrated to reduce retention time for particulate digesta and to increase digestibility of dry matter in equids. "
( Hassel et al. J Vet Intern Med 2004;18:346–349)
In the above study, “high levels” of alfalfa were >70% of the diet.
