# Does magnesium oxide calm horses? (and update !)



## niagaraduval (29 December 2011)

Hi,

So a small update on the saga of having my horse at home - Horse is fine, being ridden every day, walked in hand around the grounds and turned out but only supervised by me and not very long, just so he can be silly and use some energy up.

Anyway, We have decided to get him a friend we are building a new stable next to his one and we will be offering a stable for DIY livery for someone, loads of people are looking for a place so I am very confident about finding someone straight away. Field has to be re-fenced and there are a few things that need to be done but all should be ready for next month. (ie: getting electrics in etc).  Horse has settled in better but is still nervous at times. I'm just telling him he won't be on his own for much longer lol.

In the mean time, I was thinking of getting him a calmer ? He is a good boy when ridden (although slighty 'hot', but he is ridden everyday and has always been a flighty one since I have owned him), but sometimes quite nervous in his new stable. When making noise next door to his stable (where the new stable is being built) I can hear him jump about at the slightest noise, but sometimes when bashing the wheelbarrow about in front of his door he doesn't jump at all.

Is it worth giving him some magnesium oxide (found it on ebay) to make him less nervous for the time being ?  Does it really work ?


I repeat, this is SHORT TERM, he will have a friend in about a month. I am not planning to leave him on his own as I can see he's not happy and needs a companion, We are doing everything to get the new stable done on time so he won't be alone much longer. The stable will be ready in about a month. I have my loanee who wishes to buy a horse and is looking at some at the moment and she would put her horse here. He might have a companion sooner but we plan to have it finished for next month.


Please - no nasty replies about him being on his own, he will have a friend very soon, we can see he's not happy on his own and are doing everything to sort this out and make him happy. In the mean time he is ridden, lead about and turned out everyday on a very strict routine that is kept to, I am also spending all my free time with him grooming and just keeping him company as is my loanee.


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## Roasted Chestnuts (29 December 2011)

I didnt find they worked with my mare.

Also if I were you I would take on someone with another gelding, IME mares tend to be the ones with Separation issues and form more of a pair bond. My geldings havent really bothered as much.

No being nast yjust trying to help you out.


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## niagaraduval (29 December 2011)

Festive beastie - That's fine, I was thinking the same thing and I am also a gelding person. Any advice appreciated!


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## lisab (29 December 2011)

I'm not sure whether the magnesium works or not.  I put mine on Magic about 3-4 weeks ago because of behaviour issues and he is a lot better.  

But I completely changed his diet too (took him off high energy haylage, comp mix and put him on to steamed hay, low energy haylage and cereal-free feed).

I tried him without the Magic for 3 days when the first tub ran out as it is very expensive (£28 tub lasted 3 weeks on the loading dose).  He started acting up again so I bought another tub.

So it looks like it may be working.  I don't see it doing any harm so it is worth a try.


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## Miss L Toe (29 December 2011)

I would try Feedmark steady-up: here is the best discount code [invoice must be £60.00]
WINT-GBDT-F4 [£20.00 off]
I think this will give you a good result without worrying about upset tummy.
Maybe a farmer could lend you a pony/ goat in the meantime.
I only feed  Fast Fibre and forage when horse is on rest., he never gets any cereals.
Best thing is to soak all sugars out of forage  [2 to 10 hours] and keep the haynet full.


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## Burnttoast (29 December 2011)

You'll only know by trying, because if magnesium (or calmers based on it) work then the horse is deficient in Mg. Since this includes many horses in the UK it works fairly often, however! If you find it works (cheapest as magox, rather than a branded calmer, and you can give a more realistic amount) then it would be better for your horse to have it all the time, to make up for the lack of Mg in his feed/forage, rather than as a short-term measure. But there are people on here who know far more than me on this subject!

On the other hand, if this is new behaviour for him then it's just as likely to be related to the new place and to being on his own, and may well resolve when he's settled and has a suitable friend.

Sorry, not hugely helpful!


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## Waffles (29 December 2011)

It's used to treat heart burn and gastric problems in humans.  Overuse can damage kidneys in humans and, I assume, could do in horses.  I'd be careful with the stuff.


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## Pearlsasinger (29 December 2011)

You've made a wise decision IMO.

TBH, I'd expect any supplement to take a while to take effect, so probably it would just about be effective when your new stable is built!

That was a good suggestion about asking around for a temporary companion goat or similar.


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## Hollywood (29 December 2011)

I have a youngster who can be a bit jumpy so after reading recommendations on here I put her on Mag Ox, brewers yeast, and micronised linseed with her high fibre feed. I'm always sceptical about these things but to be honest I can see an improvement she is very chilled and looks a picture - I bought mine off ebay and it is much cheaper than branded calmers.


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## hessy12 (29 December 2011)

I used Magnesium on my mad ex horse, and it made not a jot of difference I'm afraid to say. I tried ALL calmers on the market, all to no effect. If you do a search on this forum for 'calmers' you can see all the threads about them.


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## BentleyBelly (29 December 2011)

Magnesium supplements only work if the horse is deficient in magnesium to start with. Valerian can help but is not allowed in competition. A balanced diet with plenty of turnout and exercise is your best bet. So jealous that you are able to have your horse at home, I would love that, good luck finding him a nice buddy x


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## Oberon (29 December 2011)

No, magnesium doesn't calm a horse.

It provides an often deficient, essential, mineral and eases the symptoms (muscle twitching and pain, hoof pain, agitation to name a few) and gets the horse back to what should be his normal state.


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## Oberon (29 December 2011)

Waffles said:



			It's used to treat heart burn and gastric problems in humans.  Overuse can damage kidneys in humans and, I assume, could do in horses.  I'd be careful with the stuff.
		
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It is easily excreted via the urine in horses. 

Being heavy handed with it would find the biggest problems would be with competition with other minerals and therefore imbalance.

I agree that caution with minerals is always a good idea

Interestingly the scary mineral with horses is iron.


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## coss (29 December 2011)

Oberon said:



			It is easily excreted via the urine in horses. 

Being heavy handed with it would find the biggest problems would be with competition with other minerals and therefore imbalance.

I agree that caution with minerals is always a good idea

Interestingly the scary mineral with horses is iron.
		
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Please say more re iron - in my region there is "norvite" and they put a lot of iron in their supplements - my horse refuses to eat it after a couple of days, i respect his view and don't give him it anymore.

OP - sounds like you've got a great action plan for your horse. It may be worth trying a magnesium supplement but as others have said, if it makes a difference then your horse is deficiient in Mg so it would be a long term supplement, if it doesn't make a difference then your horse is not deficient but you'll have only bought a small quantity. I'm not a strong believer in calmers after a friend used some on her horse and i think it had the placebo affect on the rider/owner- they thought it was making a difference but i don't think it was. Horse isn't on it now and i find her calm enough to work with when given strict guidelines of what is allowed and what isn't


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## GingerTrotter (29 December 2011)

Its works for my nervous twitchy horse - my vet recommended it and he's been on it ever since. I ran out once and he went back to his awful eye rolling panicy self within a week.

Dont worry about him being on his own, I was in the same situation as you 4 years ago. Bought a house with land but only had one horse at the time, I moved him after I built a field shelter and he soon settled in didnt worry about having no friends (i think he liked having the hay bale all to himself!) He was on his own for about 6 months with no lasting damage. He now has 2 friends thanks to my promotion and pay rise 

Good luck.
x


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## Oberon (29 December 2011)

coss said:



			Please say more re iron - in my region there is "norvite" and they put a lot of iron in their supplements - my horse refuses to eat it after a couple of days, i respect his view and don't give him it anymore.
		
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Very wise to respect his wishes

The only way horses can excrete iron is via sweat and the sloughing of intestinal cells. They cannot easily excrete excess like they can with virtually everything else.

There has never been a documented case of diet related anaemia in a healthy horse - yet there are a barrage of iron rich supplements out there (catering to our human fear of lack of iron) some of which have enough iron to kill a foal!

This added to the often high levels in our forage, over-supplementation in commercial feeds (look out for the suffix oxide - that's partly iron) and rusty drinking vessels - we have a real excess!

The following section is from Dr Kellon;

"Iron overloaded livers are a common finding at necropsy in horses......excess iron has many effects, including predisposition to infection secondary zinc and possibly copper deficiency, predisposition to arthritis and increased risk of tendon/ligament problems, liver disease and altered glucose metabolism  including insulin resistance and overt diabetes. In a self-perpetuating cycle, IR and diabetes also increase iron absorption."
http://mmbr.asm.org/content/42/1/45.full.pdf

Either way, I'll never feed Red Cell again!


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## Dubsie (29 December 2011)

I would think your money might be better spent getting a radio and a stable mirror for him as 'company' for now.


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## StarcatcherWilliam (29 December 2011)

I tried a magnesium calmer on my mare and it didn't really help.  She was kept alone and was a bit stressy, so I thought I would try it.  A stable mirror really helped with the situation and she did calm down a lot.  She now has a pony companion and is worse than she was before!  She has massive separation anxiety and totally freaks out if the pony is out of sight for just a few seconds.

I'm not sure whether having a livery as a companion is a great idea, as when the owner wants to ride their horse, it will need to be separated from yours, which could lead to all sorts of problems for you.  Of course, you won't know until you try it.

Magnesium calmers do work with some horses, so its worth a try.  And a stable mirror is also a great investment.

Good luck, I feel for you as I am in the same situation!


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## keepmeinmind (29 December 2011)

We get ours from Natural Animal Supplies, its 99% pure and has helped my mare and is only about £12.


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## applecart14 (29 December 2011)

keepmeinmind said:



			We get ours from Natural Animal Supplies, its 99% pure and has helped my mare and is only about £12.
		
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I feed that to my gelding too who is 14 and old enough to be calm on the roads!
Its very good, like the previous poster says its only about £12.


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## Morgan123 (29 December 2011)

I could be wrong on this but think i read somewhere that the uptake of mgox in the gut is minimal so it's barely worth feeding compared with actual calmers....i'll look it up....


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## milz88 (29 December 2011)

I read that magnesium oxide had to be fed with the correct quantity of calcium (limestone flour?) In order to aid absorption. Does anyone know the correct quantities or indeed the best solution for feeding magnesium oxide?


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## Mike007 (29 December 2011)

Magnesium oxide is both safe and readily absorbed. It works wonders on a horse with Mg defficiency. Bob the not a cob strays into a world of complete insanity(admittedly a very short stroll for him) in the spring. Magnesium Oxide brings him back to his normal excentric self. He becomes aggitated and even more irrational when the forrage is defficient,eg offer him a carrot and apparently you are trying to kill him


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## Tammytoo (29 December 2011)

I second the suggestion of stable mirror and radio.  If he settles with a mirror, then that's a bonuas for when his eventual stable mate goes out for a ride.

He's bound to be a bit jumpy with strange noises in a strange place - particularly if he can't see exactly how the noise is being caused.  He's used to wheelbarrows.

Consider it from the horse's point of view.  If you were suddenly taken, with no explanation, and shut in a room in a strange house all on your own and then you heard strange bangs and thumps from the next room you would probably get a bit twitchy!


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