CalMag or

[Jessey]

Bo seemed to get a bit quieter on the FG30 science formula claming supplement, but rather than spend a fortune nt hat I thought I would try and get some CalMag - is that what its called - or what are the other types that work too?

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[Jessey]

MagOx - I found it :D

What rates do you feed these at?

[Peanut]

Doesn't it say on the packet? I think Bay Mare is a calmag fan if she's around.

[Jessey]

I haven't found a packet to read yet - can't find anywhere local that stocks it :rolleyes:

[No_Angel]

Ive just had a scout on the net and cant find them, id be interested in looking into them.

[Remmy]

Just a word of caution - CalMag type stuff is gritty and shouldn't be fed long term as it may irritate your horse and possibly cause colic. Mag Ox is a very fine powder and can safely be fed. There are two types, light and heavy. If you are using the heavy then typically 10g per 100Kg of bodyweight. I 'think' that you need to feed 10x the amount of the light powder.

These amounts are a guideline and if your horse gets loose poos then you need to feed a little less :)

[Remmy]

Just a word of caution - CalMag type stuff is gritty and shouldn't be fed long term as it may irritate your horse and possibly cause colic. Mag Ox is a very fine powder and can safely be fed. There are two types, light and heavy. If you are using the heavy then typically 1g per 100Kg of bodyweight. I 'think' that you need to feed 10x the amount of the light powder.

These amounts are a guideline and if your horse gets loose poos then you need to feed a little less :)

I've just edited this to give some more accurate info on weights!

[Jessey]

Thanks for that Remmy, my youngster had sand colic last year so will definatly avoid CalMag :eek: So the Mag Ox would be fed at 100g per 100kg - that seems alot for a fine powder????

[Remmy]

So the Mag Ox would be fed at 100g per 100kg - that seems alot for a fine powder????


Gosh... putting it that way, half a kilo per day is a lot of powder! Hum, will have to recheck that figure or someone who uses is might like to chip in here. This is only for the Mag Ox 'light' though.

The 'heavy' is suggested to be fed at 10g per 100kg though :) That's a much better amount to feed and doesn't look so scarey in the feed bucket.

[Jessey]

Thanks, I am going to go shopping on saturday to get something :rolleyes: so the heavy is the one to go for then?

[Remmy]

Yes, go for the 'heavy' grade fine powder.

I thought I'd let you know what doseage I'm using. I have a very sore footed boy and he's about 500kg. He gets 3x10ml scoops which gives 18g of Mag Ox. Some people suggest using quite a bit more for horses with feet probs over a shorter period. I'll probably up this ration for a couple of weeks then drop back down to 20/30ml again.

My other cob is about 450kg and he is on 10ml (6g) a day. He doesn't have any feet probs but can be spooky. He's much less twitchy now having been on it a couple of weeks.

Phew... hope that's doesn't confuse you any more:rolleyes:

[Bay Mare]

Based on circumstantial evidence people tend to be feeding about a 20 ml blue scoop of CalMag per day for a 500kg horse (15 ml Mg per day was mentioned in passing by a nutritionalist at a recent RCVS conference). You don't need to feed as much MagOx and I can't remember the dosage but I think that it's about 15 ml per day for a 500kg horse.

Some EPs are finding better results with Mg if table salt is added too at a dosage of about 20ml per day and then reducing the salt if the horse starts to refuse his feeds.

The first signs of Mg 'overdose' would be loose droppings though in reality you'd probably have to be feeding about 100 ml plus per day for this to occur.

There are some horses who can't take CalMag but who seem to be ok on MagOx. These seem to be horses who already have irritated gut linings anyway though, at least that is the experience of the people who I've been talking to about it.

It's a fascinating field and so much of it is based on circumstantial evidence. There's no doubt, though that Mg does have a big part to play in a lot of things including behaviour and feet/LGL.

[martini55]

I got some magox from my ep- only cost £7. Her instructions (for a 500kg horse) were to start by feeding 20ml for a fortnight and then reduce to 10ml. However, that was specifically for me so I don't know if you need to normally start with the higher dosage? I believe it is safe to feed up to 40ml but this should not be done for a period greater than 2wks.

[Bebe]

I've fed CalMag at a dose of 20g per day with no problems at all for the last 3yrs.

I've just bought some MagOx as I think my mare has recently experienced a bout of low grade laminitis and the MagOx is purported to be the better option for horses experiencing metabolic problems. According to the feeding instructions that came with it I'm feeding a rounded tablespoon per day, this provides 5.6mg of Magnesium. It's too early to know if it's giving better results than the CalMag, if it doesn't I'll go back to CalMag, if it does I'll keep using the MagOx (it's substantially more expensive though).

Martini55, who's your EP? I suspect they've bought a big sack and are selling at cost to clients (which is very nice of them) as 1kg has just cost me over £17.

[capalldubh]

Martini55, who's your EP? I suspect they've bought a big sack and are selling at cost to clients (which is very nice of them) as 1kg has just cost me over £17.
Think she's the same as mine - Deane Roberts - she got a giant sack of the light powder and has been dividing it up (must be a messy business). I was very relieved to get it - up till it arrived I'd been grinding up Holland and Barrett Mg tablets in my pestle and mortar - 20 a day :eek: I was getting nice strong arm muscles.

Apparently, from another source, they are carrying out trials now - I think in Vet College in Edinburgh. Anecdotally, they are noticing improvements in other things as well as the feet with horses in the trial - including respiration and skin probs. So the lady who shares my field bought another load from my EP to try on her angsty sweet-itch pony :) It will be interesting to hear the initial trial results, hopefully quite soon :)

[Jessey]

Very interesting all round - I am having a job finding anywhere that stocks either :rolleyes: none of the local tack/feed shops know what I am talking about and the feed wholesaler thought I was mad too :p
Has anyone sucessfully mail ordered it? or know how to find a proper agrcultural merchant? :rolleyes: :D

Jess had sand colic last year so I think CalMag would be risky with her, but really I want it for Bo, he is spooky and also has some slight feet issues - don't get me wrong he will happily trot over stones (he's barefoot) sound as a pound but he has some weakness at the side of his foot which almost a year back on Farriers Formula hasn't fixed (normally we have good results with FF on him) and he also had a mild bout of lami last year. Though as Jess is also going to remain barefoot I don't think it would hurt her to have a little for maintainance and she also gets eaten alive in the summer so if it helped that would be great :D

[Bebe]

Has anyone sucessfully mail ordered it? or know how to find a proper agrcultural merchant?

www.harbro.co.uk will courier a big sack to you, cost me £28 for 20kg including carriage last time I ordered. 20kg should last you a few years if you're only giving it to one or two horses.

I do have a contact for MagOx but can't remember the details offhand, it's £95 for a sack though so I'd get a smaller amount to try first.

Barefoot Basics (I'd google it for web addy) will sell it in smaller quantities via mail order too, both CalMag and MagOx are available.

[Jessey]

Thank You :D The Barefoot basics site is pretty good - much easier than the other one ;)