Ridecamp: [RC] Add magnesium ??

Need advice from the nutrition folks...

It has been suggested to me that I add magnesium oxide to my gelding's feed
to see if his spookiness is (at least partially) the result of a deficiency.

This horse is, indeed, spooky.  The only really bad part is when he's
startled at speed.  It's all over in a second or so, but in that moment he
drops his front end and spins 180 degrees.  He doesn't go far.  He's just
startled, and he reacts fearfully until he realizes that everything is okay.

He's boarded in north-central Maryland, where he's at pasture except for the
twice-daily meals he gets in his stall.  Those meals consist of a couple of
cups of wet shredded beetpulp with a handful of sweetfeed and his
supplements -- SeE (we're very deficient here and he's tested annually to
make sure he's not getting too much), HT20 (a biotin supplement), and
powdered garlic (very effective tick repellent).  In the winter, when his
diet consists mostly of hay (grass hay, locally grown) he also gets a
vitamin supplement.

I don't believe that the little bit of sweetfeed he gets is implicated in
the spookiness.  A couple of years ago his meals consisted of nothing but
sweetfeed, and I've not seen any difference with the switch to mostly bp.

Would magnesium oxide be likely to help?  Should I have a blood test done
first, and, if so, what test should I ask for and how do I interpret the
results?  If I give him the magnesium, how much?

Thanks for any info you can give.

Cindy



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
 Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=