Magnesium in grass?

[rupertsmum]

My boy moved to a new yard in March and has progressively got more mad! He is an ex racer and has always been quite calm. Now what I'm wondering is, do you think that the grass in the new yard is lacking Magnesium (all the fields are on very fine sand) compared to much heavier clay and greensand in the old yard?

So....if I gave him a magnesium based calmer, he may settle again. A magnesium calmer has not worked on him before (at shows) but if lacking now, could this be the answer?
He is very calm to handle-just the riding. He is very settled in his field and stable etc

 

[Zuzan]

I'd suspect you were short of a number of minerals.. however getting the balance right means you really need to get the forage analysed.

Excess of one mineral can inhibit the uptake of another so the overall balance of what your grass has will be a better indicator.

Another thought is that if the soil is really sandy and poor it might well have been fertilised with a high nitrogen fertiliser to make the grass grow... this can be problematic for horses.

 

[rupertsmum]

the farm is organic so not fertilised and the hay comes from a different number of sources so not easy to do the anaysis.

I will try a broad spectrum mineral supplement and see if that helps

 

[Zuzan]

even if your soil is not fertilised I would still get the soil / grass analysed as depending on the bedrock and water the minerals available may not be correct.

 

[cptrayes]

When did you get him? Are you comparing this spring with last spring? If not, all spring grass is low in magnesium and you could try Magnesium Oxide (available on eBay) 25 g a day. It flushes through if they don't need it. Lots of barefooters feed this rate constantly. I do. Cheapest way to buy it is as calmag, 25kg for £9 from a farm store. Also sold as calcined magnesite and powdered dolomite.

 

[Miss L Toe]

Can you try him stabled during the day [high sugars in grass], when he can get hay and a feed with minerals plus magnesium, I find my calmer takes ten days to work, so be prepared for a time lapse, in the meantime do a lot of ground work, not ridden to "get connected"

 

[Miss L Toe]

the farm is organic so not fertilised and the hay comes from a different number of sources so not easy to do the anaysis.

Organic fertilisers are available to replenish nutrients lost by grazing, cropping and leaching
http://www.carrs-fertiliser.co.uk/paddockchoice/
organic farming does not mean no wormers or antibiotics, it is a management system using more natural methods which in many ways are better for the planet and for the farm.

 

[MyBoyChe]

The first spring I had my ex racer he went a bit mad in the spring, I now feed a mag supplement all year round and increase/decrease as required spring and autumn. The one thing I would say is that his behaviour was the same ridden and on the ground, it was almost like grass staggers in cattle. He was almost unable to stand still, fidgeting and kicking out, generally hyped up and stressy. He is now fine as long as Im careful with his diet, he also has brewers yeast every day!