Magnesium, salt, cresty necks.

[Chinchilla]

Have heard crestiness can be due to magnesium deficiency or 'off' magnesium/calcium/phosphorus ratio. Did also read (can't remember where, annoyingly) that crestiness can actually be fluid oedema due to hyperkalemia, hence it being beneficial to supplement sodium - as bogstandard sodium chloride table salt, in horses whose condition is basically good except for their having cresty necks.

My mares fit being not really obese but cresty/tending to show regional adiposity - palpable, almost-but-not-quite visible ribs, still got shoulders and withers, slight gutter on the NF but not on Diva. They're definitely fatter than I'd like for this early in the summer though. (Not that it will be an issue if we continue to not have rain ).

So just wondering people's thoughts on this really as I've been sort of on the fence about potentially giving supplements for a few weeks now. On the one hand happy to do if it will be beneficial, on the other hand would rather not be feeding them unnecessarily. But I do struggle to exercise them enough/or at least consistently enough, for that alone to be an effective strategy for weight management.

 

[ester]

Within weeks of taking F off the additional magnesium (was getting balancer) when I cut everything back as a response to his liver issues he had a crest and tail head fat. The latter I'd not seen since I bought him 12 years previous.
Been back on it since and despite the fact that he now does no work no issue with fat pads since.

 

[Chinchilla]

Hmm interesting you mention fat pads on the tail head... mine have those too, despite the fact that you'd think trotting up and down a hill all day would eliminate any possibility of a flabby behind ? Sort of assumed they had those just because they're overweight but when their fat deposition is weird it's sometimes not all that easy to tell. It's just concerning me that despite significantly increased movement and no/very little grass (and it's fairly low quality soil), they've still got these solid necks.

What do you use for magnesium supplementation?

 

[Pinkvboots]

Just buy plain magnesium oxide Google intra labs it's the cheapest I could find it's the high percentage purity as well.

 

[ester]

ditto intralabs.
Both my forage sources (wilts and somerset) have been high in calcium so insufficient mag in the equimins
Try it

fwiw my vet also pointed out F's crest but mum hadn't realised what he was getting at (while he was redoing liver bloods) it's not always non existent on mag but it's not solid.

 

[Chinchilla]

ditto intralabs.
Both my forage sources (wilts and somerset) have been high in calcium so insufficient mag in the equimins
Try it

fwiw my vet also pointed out F's crest but mum hadn't realised what he was getting at (while he was redoing liver bloods) it's not always non existent on mag but it's not solid.

Looking at the prices I'm going to just try it. I'm skint (thanks Corona) but seeing as it's so cheap might as well TY both . Can't really go wrong when it's £4.80 for 500g posted.
We've discussed the new forest's crestiness with the vet before in the context of potentially trialling metformin or levothyroxin but vet suggested it would be easier and cheaper to manage through diet and exercise first as these are expensive but low bioavailability so lots of expense which might not even work. Both horses are treated as laminitic/EMS hence track and very minimal diet.

 

[ester]

Be interesting to know how you get on

 

[Chinchilla]

If it works I'll stick updated crest photos up. I do keep records of everyone's condition throughout the year so have tons of photos of how they look on different diet/exercise/turnout regimes and stuff.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I have bought from them for a while now and you can buy such a varied amount and it's so cheap, I think it definitely helps I feed mainly in spring or when grass is growing then give them a break in winter or even this week I have stopped feeding it as the grass has just stopped growing.

 

[WandaMare]

One of my mares has got really cresty in the last couple of weeks despite quite poor grass and weight not too bad. She's 15.2hh cob cross, what dose would i need to give her to see if it helps?

 

[ycbm]

Calmag - calcined magnesite- is the cheapest way to feed magnesium. £15 for 25 kilos.

 

[Chinchilla]

Calmag - calcined magnesite- is the cheapest way to feed magnesium. £15 for 25 kilos.

Can you post a link please? I can't find 25kg version, really really sorry. But having it in bulk would be really useful.

 

[ester]

You'd want to check they will eat it first though .

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Just buy plain magnesium oxide Google intra labs it's the cheapest I could find it's the high percentage purity as well.

Thanks for the link, I’ve just bought a 2 kilo bag ?

 

[ycbm]

Can you post a link please? I can't find 25kg version, really really sorry. But having it in bulk would be really useful.

Sold at agricultural suppliers, it's used by farmers.

Progressive earth's cheapest mag ox is calmag, misleadingly labelled.

 

[ycbm]

One of my mares has got really cresty in the last couple of weeks despite quite poor grass and weight not too bad. She's 15.2hh cob cross, what dose would i need to give her to see if it helps?

Try 25 grams and reduce it if her wee goes cloudy or increase it if it doesn't.

yes it's a lot!

.

 

[Frumpoon]

That's interesting....would feeding sodium balance the magnesium deficiency?...

I'd sort of always that thought that as Magnesium is a calcium channel blocker it works on calming horses like beta blockers do in humans

 

[ester]

The important ratios are calcium to magnesium, and calcium to phosphorous. Both should be 1.5 to 2.0:1 iirc

 

[Frumpoon]

The important ratios are calcium to magnesium, and calcium to phosphorous. Both should be 1.5 to 2.0:1 iirc

This is too complicated for my simple brain....

In a slightly porky horse that has a crest neck and a nervous disposition - would feeding a bit of salt help or hinder or are the two things maybe not linked?

None of my lot will eat magnesium even with molasses etc

 

[Chinchilla]

Within how long of starting the magnesium should I be seeing a difference please, if it's going to make one?

 

[Pinkvboots]

Thanks for the link, I’ve just bought a 2 kilo bag ?

That's how much I buy

 

[Tihamandturkey]

My ISH mare started showing signs of a cresty neck about a week ago - not overweight otherwise.

Short grass is the very devil ?

Have been giving her magnesium for 5 days & noticed a difference already.

 

[OldNag]

I am wondering if I feed enough. No crestiness but I am super wary as he had laminitis in his old home some years ago.

I now feed Equimins Advznced complete and I add Mag Ox. Have been using Progressive Earth 99% but running low so may try another.

I give about 4g (I think). 13.2 pony. Would you feed more?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

My Connie a big crest due to be gelded late and nothing brings it down so it is really hard to tell if there’s a problem and last year it caught me out and he got very mild laminitis. DP has started to show a crest for the very first time this year and he was very footsore so I am treating them both as though they are laminitics at the moment. Muzzled turn out is restricted to 2 hours morning and 2 hours in the evening, soaked hay and lots of exercise. I was hoping to see an improvement with the magnesium but so far nothing has changed but it’s early days.

 

[Chinchilla]

Bit of an update: Diva looks good. Neck reduced in size and softer and getting quite muscly.
NF still got f*cking big crest, 10g a day isn't doing anything. Does it need to be increased? Decreased? She's still not overweight at all - just got a neck you could see from space...not sure what else to do. Going to speak to the vet when she comes out to see the Cushings shettie in a month or so. What can I do in the mean time? She's not footy, no other laminitis indicators and has always been cresty but still not particularly happy about it. (Am I overthinking it?)
Neither of them are in any sort of work whatsoever, if that makes a difference.
(pics not great but best I could get today).

no hate please

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

I've been giving my Welsh D Mag Ox (progressive earth) for around a year now & his fat pads on his shoulders have gone & not come back, he hasnt really ever had a crest but gets little bumps along his upper neck in summer, this totally disappeared over winter (on hay) but is back now although always soft. I've recently also started feeding salt (just SAXA red tablesalt from Tesco). I definitely think it helps! He's around 530kg & I feed as the packet suggests - 2g per 100kg of bodyweight so around 12g of Mag ox & salt wise I just match it. He's out 24/7 on a short grass track & has this daily in his feed, field track is widened to its max (only posts & wire in the middle) after rain followed by sun in case of a flush & they have hay in their feeders instead to make up food requirements.

 

[hellfire]

I feed my IR pony magnesium from inter labs (not far from me and know the owner well) and I swear by it. The stuff he produces is better than most and no I take no commission ?. When he started producing it he had no idea it helped horses so was delighted when I explained the benefits and he added dosage instructions.
Such a difference when he’s not on it. Helped with the fat deposits massively and crest not to mention his temperament. No amount of exercise was getting rid of them but feeding mag helps a lot.