Duncan, you're terrific. I agree a Ca;P ratio below 1.0 is a Bad
Thing, because the body will pull the extra calcium it needs from
anywhere it can get it, including bones if necessary. The ratio should
be 1.2 or higher, although anything much over 2.0 is excessive in Ca.
However, I disagree that feeding more phosphorus is the way to "balance"
excessive calcium, as cited above. If you're feeding alot of calcium,
adding more phosphorus doesn't change the fact that you're feeding alot
of calcium. Look at it this way (and Duncan, I know you know this, this
is for any of the newbies that maybe don't know):
As an example, we've all been told that humans shouldn't consume more
than 30% (or is it 20?) of their daily calories in the form of fat. So,
one fine day, you decide you want to slurp down a pound of butter for
lunch, along with about 4000 calories. Coming to your senses, you
realize, "OH NO! I'm only s'posed to eat 30% of my calories in the form
of fat!" So, to "balance" all that lard, you wolf down another 9,333
fat-free calories (ie, about 27 pounds of fat-free chili) so that,
burping and lying bloated on the floor, manufacturing more methane than
a '56 Buick, you can proudly pat yourself on the back that only 30% of
your calories that day were in the form of fat.
Does this sound like a good approach to nutrition? Sounds to me alot
like my ex-husband during Superbowl weekend, but still not very good
nutrition. Do you now understand why feeding excessive phosphorus to
balance excessive calcium does not necessarily make the ration a good
one---or at least the best one possible?
> In another post you indicated a magnesium figure of 0.7%. This is a very high number.
> Alfalfa which is also high is half that. It is magnesium that is the probably culprit
> in enterolith formation and the reason many refuse to feed alfalfa.
This is true, however, NRC cites numbers based on "average" alfalfa's
content of magnesium. Alfalfa grown in California is SEVEN times higher
than the "average", which makes Mg even more of a problem. I was taught
that incidents of enterolith formation is highest in California (where,
obviously, a whole bunch of horses are fed straight alfalfa), and also
highest among Arabians, although I don't think anyone knows for sure why
Arabians should be particularly at risk. At least I don't. Do any of
the vets (or anyone else) on-line have any idea why this may be?