Overreactive horse - would magnesium help?

[RedTurtle]

Hi everyone!
So I’ve had this 6 yo gelding for 4 months now, and I’ve already accepted his lowkey antsy behaviour as a normal thing for him. He stresses when he’s out in the paddock, especially when out alone, begs to come back in and is only really content and relaxed in his stall or when I tack him up. When we ride he works himself up over small things, he spooks at absolutely nothing at times; like he anticipates something to spook at, even though there’s nothing there. But he also reacts to minor sounds he’s heard many times before, like the sound of someone sweeping. He also grows tired very fast, even though he gets ridden 5-6 times a week, fairly hard. Not to mention he loads incredibly easily, but is insanely restless in the trailer when on the road. Here he stresses a lot, paws the floor of the trailer and moves around. When I check on him he’s breathing heavily and has usually worked up quite a sweat.
I had accepted this behaviour as a norm for him, but I did some research today and discovered that it could be a magnesium deficiency that’s causing this behaviour from him. I’d like to add that at home, when grooming him, he acts very mature; he never spooks or overreacts. At his current stable, there aren’t any grass fields available(the owner hogged those for her own horses), so the only grass he gets are the 10 minutes or so, that I hand graze him 3-4 times a week.

I’d like to know if there’s anyone here who have tried magnesium on their hot/nervous/sensitive horses, and seen any effects?
Thanks

[Tyrus_Mom]

Yes, yes, yes. I currently do for my guy (Friesian/Percheron). A friend at the place I board just started an oversensitive Arab on magnesium with good results. I still get a bit of silliness from time to time from mine, but the magnesium supplement is working overall for him.

[walkinthewalk]

Another yes yes yes.

I use magnesium malate (MagRestore from Performance Equine Nutrition), which is supposed to be more absorbable than magnesium oxide.

While my horse is 25 and a retired trail horse, he has always been an anxious horse and would say “no” just to say no if he woke up on the wrong side of sawdust. He is also soy and grain sensitive.

removing all grains and products using soy as the protein source helped tremendously, but adding the magnesium malate was the final push to see a constantly well-mannered and willing horse that I only used to see glimpses of.

An added bonus to the magnesium malate was that it seems to also keep his environmental allergies at bay:)

MagRestore is not cheap but I have learned if any health issues are serious enough where a horse is concerned, the fix is not going to be cheap.

[Baboo]

I have used Quiessence for a senior OTTB mare and it has made a noticeable, and very positive, improvement in her temperament. She is much easier to live with now! I definitely think it is worth a try, and I found the results were evident quite rapidly in my mare’s case.

[Posting_Trot]

Yes, I’ve used Horsetech’s MMX supplement (magnesium and B vitamins and Trpytophan) and that has worked very well.

[cayuse]

A yes from me, too. One of my minis is over reactive to noise and can be a bit on the nervous side. The noise issue made him difficult to get focused on the task at hand. Magnesium has worked wonders for him. I have been using Magrestore.

[Scribbler]

If the anxiety is caused by a magnesium deficiency it will help. If not, not. It’s a cheap and fairly safe thing to try out.

[JB]

You could give it a try, but I’m curious why you’re singling out the over-reactiveness, and not focusing (also) on the heavy breathing and the lack of fitness despite regular work. All of the symptoms make me think PSSM, or even Lyme disease.

What’s his diet? Breed?

Vitamin E deficiency and/or selenium deficiency would be other things to rule out. The odds are good he’s not getting any, or enough E from his diet, as a lot of feeds don’t have enough to even meet the minimum of 1IU/lb body weight, let alone the better level of 2IU/lb.

[Snowdenfarm]

@Scribbler

If the anxiety is caused by a magnesium deficiency it will help. If not, not. It’s a cheap and fairly safe thing to try out.

This. Worth a try to see if magnesium deficiency is causing the anxiety.

Vitamin E since he is not getting grass – 1600 IU/day (per equine nutritionist).

Google “selenium map” and find out whether your area is high or low. I know he is not getting grass, but it could be in your hay. Also, check the label on your feed before supplementing as they can get too much selenium. https://thehorse.com/129317/selenium-a-balancing-act/

What about treating for ulcers? He is in a new home and, even if caused by a nutrient deficiency, he is having anxiety. Have you checked out the generic Nexium thread? That is also a cheap and fairly safe thing to try. https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/9650940-esomeprazole-nexium-for-equine-ulcers

[JB]

Vit E amounts are less about absolute amounts, such as just 1600IU/day, and all about IU per pound body weight. 1-2IU/lb body weight is the goal for most horses. I much prefer the higher end, and hard-working horses may need 3-4IU/lb.

[RedTurtle]

He’s a Danish Warmblood, and he gets an appropriate amount of vitamin E in his feed already. Also, I just checked the contents of his feed closer, and I realized that there is no actual magnesium in his feed. I feel like a bit of a dumbass but eheh. Thanks for your help though, guys

[lorilu]

I also use MagRestore from Performance Equine Nutrition Inexpensive and I do believe it makes a difference. https://performanceequinenutrition.com/

[JB]

@RedTurtle

He’s a Danish Warmblood, and he gets an appropriate amount of vitamin E in his feed already.

May I ask which feed it is? So many dont’t have enough E

Also, I just checked the contents of his feed closer, and I realized that there is no actual magnesium in his feed. I feel like a bit of a dumbass but eheh. Thanks for your help though, guys

I’ve never seen a regular commercial fortified feed that didn’t have magnesium

[tipzythegreat]

I actually am a big fan of CCC (Calm, Cool and Collected) by Equifeast. Their research says that magnesium has a sedation effect on the horse. I use it, and I like it. My horse is super calm to flat, but he just has a switch he flips jumping and can be a total dragon. CCC helps give him and me an extra second to stay in control and jump around. I tired a few other things without success.

Just wanted to say it’s worth checking it out! https://equifeast.net/ccc-cool-calm-…ollow-on-pack/

[JB]

@tipzythegreat

I actually am a big fan of CCC (Calm, Cool and Collected) by Equifeast. Their research says that magnesium has a sedation effect on the horse.

Oral supplementation of Mg doesn’t have a sedative effect. A sedative effect is not at all the same as quieting down a horse who is amped up because of a deficiency. Where is their research? I can’t find it on their site.

Besides, there isn’t even any Mg in it:

Active ingredients:
Vitamins: D3, B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin). Minerals: Calcium (from VCAL)

It would work to help horses who have a B1 deficiency, which can be brought on by excess stress, a high-NSC diet, and some other issues.

[beowulf]

@JB

You could give it a try, but I’m curious why you’re singling out the over-reactiveness, and not focusing (also) on the heavy breathing and the lack of fitness despite regular work. All of the symptoms make me think PSSM, or even Lyme disease.

What’s his diet? Breed?

Vitamin E deficiency and/or selenium deficiency would be other things to rule out. The odds are good he’s not getting any, or enough E from his diet, as a lot of feeds don’t have enough to even meet the minimum of 1IU/lb body weight, let alone the better level of 2IU/lb.

What JB said :yes:

I just want to chime in and say that Lyme can manifest in very weird ways! I’ve dealt with it in lots of horses before, but the symptoms are not always consistent. My gelding surprised us with a very high titer last week… His only symptoms were a general jumpiness that is unusual for him (he is a very chill guy) and getting out of breath very easily. We knew something was off… but didn’t expect lyme!

I am with JB that I think something else is going on. Reactive to sounds, overreactive in general, worked hard, out of breath easily, and stressing in general make me suspect something physical unrelated to a magnesium deficiency. Are you positive he is sound? Don’t rule out soundness issues, ulcers, PSSM, or lyme …

[ASBJumper]

I put my Saddlebred filly on MagRestore because even though she’s my 4th purebred and i’m used to the “alert, looky, sensitive”, she was waaaaaaaaay overreactive. As in, go in the stall and touch her and she’d jump sideways like you poked her with a cattle prod if she wasn’t expecting to be touched. Also, when being lunged, she wouldn’t relax, even after 10-15 minutes of trot/walk transitions. She’d have 8-12 poops (often just 1-2 nuggets) in a 15-minute span - every.single.time. Just constantly amped, tense, reactive to every sound, touch, dancing around and dropping her back for the surcingle or saddle, etc.

I put her on Magnesium (MagRestore pellets), and within 3 days I noticed a difference. Within a week she was a completely different horse. Nowadays I might get one full poop out of her during one 20-minute session. Most of the time she doesn’t poop at all. She’s no longer jumpy, antsy and she’s just overall soooo much more chill. Still an alert, looky Saddlebred but it’s the “normal” level of lookiness that i’m used to with the breed.

Really happy with the results! And I know it doesn’t matter all that much, but - the pellets smell freaking AMAZING, and are very palatable.

[dungrulla]

If it’s useful to anyone input-wise I take magnesium supplements myself. I’ve found them very helpful for sleep, and they tend to help a lot with the muscle stiffness I get due to my arthritis.

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

I am with @beowulf and check to make sure there isn’t another underlying condition.

That said, my last horse was a 0 to 100 reactive kind of horse under saddle and in hand due to some trauma he suffered on the track. He would spook (a true fear spook) at horses coming head on at him or if a horse looked “out of control” in his mind he would wheel and run way and than stop once he felt he was safe. I did all the positive training possible, hanging out in a busy arena until he stood calmly, riding with his buddies and making the spook bubble smaller, and everything my vets and trainer could think of.

He was ulcery and treating them helped and a side effect was the addition of magnesium to his diet. Than the studies on magnesium came out and both vets and my farrier recommended I get him on a high dosage daily. I started with loose magnesium but he wouldn’t eat it up. I ended up using Magnesium 5000 by MVP at 4 oz per day (a 1300 lb horse in work) and he was much calmer. He would still spook, he was still weary and worried about horses riding with him and I still had to be hyper aware of where other horses were in the area but he was so much happier.

[tipzythegreat]

As far as the research @JB here’s their video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JKe4Bvh4E4

Whether it’s true or not, I’ve no idea. But I found it suggested on CotH years ago, and it has helped my beast.