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> From: Quentin & Libby Llop qhll@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ?I've seen it [magnesium sulfate] used (in large doses) 
> to put?down horses. A few CCs will take the edge off
> ?a race horse, a liter will?kill them.
Injecting magnesium (if I understand correctly, magnesium sulfate does not 
exist in liquid form as, if you add water to it, it breaks apart into the 
separate ions Mg++ and SO4--) in excessive amounts directly into the blood 
stream is not the only thing that can kill it, doing so with calcium, 
potassium?or sodium?can do the same thing.? All these electolytes are essential 
to be maintained within a fairly narrow range in the bloodstream (and the body 
has mechanisms in order to achieve this) and in excess amounts, especially if 
delivered directly into the blood stream in vast quantities thereby overloading 
the inbuilt regulating mechanisms, can cause cardiac arrest.

One "liter" of any of them, depending upon the concentration of the liquid, 
will kill a horse.? Although, at an endurance ride, my horse was given an IV 
treatment of 5 liters of fluids with both calcium and magnesium added to it (in 
fairly small concentration), and it didn't kill her.? So, whether one liter of 
Magnesium Sulfate will kill a horse if it is injected directly into a vein 
depends upon just how much magnesium sulfate there is in the liter.

And yes, injecting some magnesium solution directly into the blood stream can 
have a quieting effect on a horse (i.e. causing hypermagnesmia) because too 
much magnesium depresses the central nervous system, but feeding it is less 
likely to have this effect unless the kidneys are not functioning properly in 
order to filter out the "too much magnesium."? Or you feed so much of it that 
the kidneys don't have the chance, but a more likely symptom of feeding too 
much magnesium sulfate is for it to NOT be absorbed out of the GI tract at all, 
but rather to draw water (or more water if you fed it in solution) INTO the GI 
tract and act as a laxative.? Magnesium sulfate is pretty good for doing this.? 
Magnesium oxide (another common form that magnesium feed supplements take) will 
also have this effect, but not quite as strongly.

kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)

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