Dr. Getty, I have been reading on 2 of my horse boards about people feeding magnesium to their horses. The cresty, chubby ones are finally losing weight.

My Haffie mare is somewhat cresty and could stand to lose a few pounds, but I really don't know if I should feed her magnesium w/o consulting an expert.

Even if you think I should feed her masgnesium, should I feed it to my normal-weight TWH mare too?

And which product? The expensive ones packaged for horses or the el cheapo 50# bag meant for cattle at the feed store? Dosage?

Thank you!

Where are you from? Charlotte, NC area

How did you locate this forum? referred by a friend from another board

Hi Wendy,

Magnesium is often low in horses' diets, so adding some is a good idea. Generally, a comprehensive multiple vitamin/mineral supplement will have additional magnesium, and that is sufficient for most horses.

But, if a horse has a cresty neck or fat deposits elsewhere, it indicates a degree of insulin resistance. Magnesium is very helpful in this case. I would not suggest, however, feeding just plain magnesium. I prefer combining it with chromium and B vitamins, as with the product Quiessence.

The dosage depends on the degree of the problem. You can start out with 3 ounces of Quiessence.
(providing 15 grams of magnesium) and then reduce it once you start seeing results.

Hope this is helpful!

All the best,

Dr. Getty