Magnesium for Horses

Magnesium--it's more than just a symbol on the periodic table.  It's a major mineral that you and your horse both need!  Up until a few years ago (when I took equine nutrition courses), I had no idea of how important it was in the horse's diet.  According to Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD, "Magnesium is involved in so many aspects of the structure and function of the body that it's virtually impossible to think of anything that doesn't involve magnesium." 

The National Research Council (NRC) recommends 0.015 grams of magnesium per kg of your horse's bodyweight (per day).  While magnesium is found in forages and many commercial feeds your horse may be consuming, it may not be enough.  The only sure-fire way to know how much of the mineral your horse is getting is by testing your pasture or hay and closely examining your feed labels. 

Common signs of a magnesium deficiency are:

• irritability
• hypersensitivity
• muscular symptoms (twitching/ spasms)
• stilted gait
• reluctance or inability to canter
• difficulty controlling hind end when turning

However, these are also symptoms of exessive calcium, so you will want to make sure you're not feeding too much calcium instead (i.e.--alfalfa).  The optimum Calcium to Magnesium ratio is 2:1.   

Equine nutritionists and vets may also prescribe supplemental magnesium for extremely anxious or  spooky horses and also for horses with insulin resistance or laminitis.   Studies have shown observable benefits of feeding magnesium for horses with these conditions.

When I learned to balance my horse's diets, I found that they all needed more magnesium (along with several other minerals).  I have one horse in particular that I've noticed a considerable difference in since balancing her diet.  She's always been on the irritable side (or what I always called 'marish'), had extremely sensitive skin, and has been continuously sore in the back--all symptoms that go along with magnesium deficiency.  Since being on a balanced diet however, these symptoms have improved noticeably.

So where does one get magnesium?  It's a common ingredient in many supplements, but to solely increase magnesium and not other minerals, you will want to feed magnesium oxide or a supplement like Quiessence. I get my magnesium oxide from Horsetech, but I hear that some feed mills carry it as well. 

Ta-ta!