I’ve seen plenty of threads on feed-thru magnesium supplements, but has anyone used Magnesium oil as a topical treatment for sore/tense muscles?
Why would one use that?
If a horse is deficient magnesium it will readily, and safely be absorbed by giving an oral supplement made for horses.
If a horse is not deficient in magnesium what good can come of forcing it into his body?
There is (fringe?) belief in human medicine that magnesium is very poorly absorbed orally and is better absorbed transdermally. Hence magnesium oil.
I don’t see how that would work in equines, with their haircoat. And my experience is that magnesium oil STINGS…I don’t see a horse standing for that.
The skin absorbs magnesium very, very well, and in people, it’s much easier to get more Mg into the body topically, than to take larger oral doses of it which may lead to diarrhea. Some forms are more likely to do that than others, but skin contact is just faster and, afaik, doesn’t cause those issues, unless possibly you’re just soaking in it all day, every day lol It’s just not going through the GI tract.
Forcing Mg into the body if he’s not deficient is pretty harmless, at least at the levels normally fed. It’s a difficult deficiency to diagnose through any reasonable lab work, and it’s really quite safe to supplement at a reasonable level and see if things change. Doesn’t matter if that’s orally or topically.
The problem with the horse is the hair. You’d have to rub it in well to get it to the level of the skin. Not too difficult for horses with thin Summer coats, but not really an option for a thick-coated horse in January lol Your best best would be the areas with the least amount of hair - inner thighs would be my choice.
Mg oil is really cheap to make. Really cheap. Why not? It’s a wonderful thing for people, and Mg does in people the same thing it does in horses, so I’d say give it a try. Thinking about it, the inner thighs are something that IMHO should be massaged way, way more than they ever are, so working Mg oil into them would have dual benefits.
The big question is - how much do you use? I have no idea.
Interesting. Was this a homemade Mg oil, or store-bought? I’ve made Mg oil and used it on myself. The worst part is a bit of stickiness. There was never a remote hint of even any tingling.
Store bought. Ancient Minerals. Supposedly it only stings if you’re deficient? You must be fine :lol:
At this time the only proven documented way to overdose a horse on Mg is to give too much epsom salts via NG tube…
The symptoms are kidney insufficiency, calcium deficiency, and intestinal damage.
I don’t see any benefit of Mg oil being worth risking that.
Deficiencies are rare magnesium supplementation isn’t needed if horse is on a good diet. Diet alone provides plenty of mag. Here’s a link on it http://www.thehorse.com/articles/275…s-it-necessary
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Given that the only known OD is too much mag sulfate orally, where it has to travel through the whole GI tract, and even then the issue also has to do with dehydration, why do you feel the Mg oil, which is topical, would be remotely a problem? You’d have to probably literally soak in the stuff.
Hmmm, I respectfully disagree with that information, which is really hard to say as I tend to really trust what The Horse puts out.
Mg deficiency isn’t as rare as she makes it out to be. And I take big exception to this:
“There are rumors that magnesium supplementation can be used to help treat equine metabolic syndrome and improve insulin sensitivity,” she said; however, she added there is no scientific evidence that confirms or denies these suggestions."
There IS evidence that Mg is necessary to metabolize glucose. When there’s not enough magnesium, carb metabolism is reduced, and there’s a reduced insulin response - essentially that’s insulin resistance. It’s not a coincidence that so many IR Horses improve just with adding sufficient magnesium to the diet.
She also says:
“As there is generally a large amount of magnesium in vegetative matter (i.e., grass, hays, and grains), deficiency is rare in horses.”
While the presence of Mg is indeed technically enough, that doesn’t mean its context allows absorption. For example, feeding hay too high in indigestible fiber results in lower Mg availability of whatever’s in the hay.
As well:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/288…r-the-ir-horse
“In 1999, I did a field trial of magnesium supplementation for cresty laminitic horses/ponies based on a “folk remedy” in the U.K. Surprisingly, it actually helped. A literature search revealed a strong link between magnesium deficiency and IR in humans and ultimately those early equine studies.”
Horses who are in harder work may not be able to get all the Mg they need from their diet.
What I suspect is that most horses are not deficient enough to have obvious symptoms. The NRC guidelines are pretty much for enough health not to have issues. They are often not enough for optimal health. They even admit that many of their numbers are based on what’s either in the dam’s milk, or as found in the typical feral horse diet. It’s not possible to accurately determine the Mg status of a horse via bloodwork. Too many horses have improved with additional Mg for me to believe that deficiencies are rare. What is rare is a deficiency bad enough to cause major issues.
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I tried magnesium oil on my mare with head shaking syndrome. It came as a freebie with an order of other items. The instructions were to rub it on her poll and it was supposed calm the nerves attributed to causing the headshaking. I gave it a try and I saw absolutely no benefit. Oral magnesium did help her a little so I was kinda hoping the topical would also.
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Interesting on the link,i have great respect for Dr Kellon i frequent her IR/Cushings group. Good hay as in tested hay so one knows what’s lacking. Not just guessing that hay is good by looking at it,i test my hay every year. From test my hay is providing plenty of MG. Also feed free choice ADM Growstrong excellent product horses like and consume regular. According to my link only 5 mg is needed of magnesium think that’s what it said would have to reread it.
I have in past tried supplementation of MG and saw no results as far as horses being less spooky. Cresty necks didn’t change either.Have poster children for IR Arabs. From link you provided for cresty necks and fatty deposits supplementing with acetyl-l-carnitine reduces both. So one could use it to reduce the cresty neck and fat deposits on a fat horse i might just give the acetyl a try. Exercise is key for IR horses so need to get them moving daily. Of course exercise for a sound healthy horse not one that is currently in a laminitis attack.
They have nothing telling of what symptoms would be IF horse was deficient in MAG. Muscle soreness could be from lots of things so that wouldn’t be a oh horse is Mag deficient deal. My pasture is also tested and provides plenty of mag,fatty boys are on pasture 24/7. Only 10 acres but well managed ten acres,maybe too well managed it’s very lush grass. I see people talking about supplementing mag but is it truly needed?? in every horse’s diet,i’m sure too much isn’t good either. I’m one who your better off going on the conservative when feeding horses,as in only supplement IF needed. Test hay and feed, feed that has high standards for their ingredients. There are a lot of cheap feeds on market that are just that cheap you get what you pay for.
I’m a big believer in testing hay & pasture then there is no guessing on what horse needs.
@cayuse which product was that? How much did you use? Mag oil is much less a “spot toner” as it is an effect on the whole body. I can’t imagine the amount of oil used on the poll is anywhere near enough for a horse.
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@grayarab there actually is information on what symptoms result from a Mg deficiency of enough severity. That doesn’t mean those symptoms are always and only from lack of Mg, which is where things get complicated. And things like IR symptoms are also a complicated mess, and not only due to insufficient Mg, which is why adding it doesn’t always help.
I agree that testing forage on a regular basis is idea. But it’s impractical for so many people. There are so many people who get hay from a dealer who in turn gets hay in on a weekly basis from a variety of suppliers, so going by looks and smell is the best they can do.
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Hay testing isn’t ideal for me but being i have fat horses i need to know NSC level. I try to keep it at 10% or below also like to know Mag levels and other minerals. I do have a equine nutritionist who balances the diet of my horses,it’s done yearly according to test. Just tested pasture and will review diet ,with equine nutritionist again here in a few weeks. If pasture comes back to high NSC fatty boys will have to be limited on grass, and they will be very unhappy campers.
Has anyone here used the supplement Hero?? is it worth the money and does it really do what it says. Haven’t been on IR/Cushing group very busy time for me. Working many long days at work.
Yes i understand not everyone can test so have to go on looks and smell of hay.In a perfect world everyone would be able to test hay,but it’s not a perfect world.
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Heiro is a very interesting product. On paper, it looks like very expensive pee, and based on that, I wouldn’t give it a second thought.
BUT, I have since read too many stories of it having done wonders for a given horse (while also doing nothing for others) that it has become a “only way to know is try it” answer from me now, when asked.
Can you link to any reputable studies done on this Mg oil? Done with horses? Something that can verify in a preparation of x amount of Mg in x oil applied in ? manner shows that x amount of Mg was absorbed by the horse (e.g. the blood concentration of the test subject went from 1.0 mg/dl to 2.6 mg/dl or similar? How often would Mag oil need to be given to keep blood levels stable, fluctuations in Mg levels are problematic.
A safe orally given dose range for Mg has been established, What is a safe and effective dose range for what consentration of Mg in what type of oil? What type of Mg? Mg sulfate, Mg oxide?
As was pointed out, will an area of skin need to be shaved?
No, because as I said above, there aren’t any studies on it, and even though it’s safer to use a lot more, there’s no information out there on how much you’d have to use for a horse. Even for people, it’s a matter of determining if 10 sprays, or 20, or 50, produce the desired results over time. It all depends what’s going on as well as how much Mg is being consumed.
What is a safe and effective dose range for what consentration of Mg in what type of oil? What type of Mg? Mg sulfate, Mg oxide?
Magnesium oil is not just about adding some random type of magnesium into any oil. It’s not even oil
Magnesium oil uses distilled water with dissolved magnesium chloride flakes. That’s it. Heat the water, add the flakes to saturation, and let cool. It’s about a 1:1 ratio of flakes to water.
As was pointed out, will an area of skin need to be shaved?
That’s why I said probably the easiest area of application would be the inner thighs - little to no hair.
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Thanks JB.
I will let others spritz their horses inner thighs and continue using my oral Mg supplements.
Do you know if there is any contraindication to applying Mg oil to the inner thigh of a breeding stallion or nursing mare?
Very interesting on the mag oil. Think i’ll skip the Hero supplement ,requires feeding alfa pellets or the such and fatties don’t need any extra feed. The mag oil though is very interesting deal ,think doing oral would be easier, well maybe depending on situation.
Nutrition & supplements are of great interest to me, as i’m always looking to learn more on both subjects.
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It came from the company that makes MagRestore. They sent me a free sample (which was nice of them) with an order I placed after having discussed how their MagRestore seemed to helped my mare with her issues.
This was about three years ago, so I can’t remember exactly how much I used, but it wasn’t a huge amount, enough to moisten her poll and rub it in.
I like and still use their magnesuim pellets on a different horse for different reasons, but I had no luck with the oil.
