Magnesium supplementation is gaining popularity amongst horse owners. However, in any discussion about magnesium, it’s important to assess the issue of toxicity. In this article, we outline how you can safely give magnesium supplements to your horse every day.

Magnesium is a vital mineral that makes up approximately 0.05% of your horse’s mass. Typically, 60% of magnesium is found in their skeleton, while 30% is found in their muscle, with the remaining 10% located in other soft tissues and their blood.

When a horse has low levels of magnesium that are unable to sustain bodily functions, it’s difficult to replace magnesium with diet alone. Without supplementation, your horse’s body must borrow magnesium from their bones and soft tissues to eliminate this deficiency.

However, this cycle often becomes vicious as your horse has to continuously deplete the limited magnesium reserves in their body - increasing the risk of potentially dangerous behavioural issues and eventually leading to a number of health problems.

Magnesium and Toxicity

Thankfully, when given at the recommended dose, many equine magnesium supplements, like Placide, are safe for daily use. In fact, magnesium toxicity is extremely rare as your horse’s body is able to excrete excess magnesium via their urine and manure.

Adhering to the recommended dose not only limits wasted product - and money - but ensures that you avoid over-supplementation, which can have a laxative effect. With Placide, just one daily dose provides your horse with the recommended daily intake of magnesium.

When choosing the right magnesium supplement for your horse, you should also consider the type of magnesium, and whether it’s organic or inorganic. At Placide, we only use organic chelated magnesium, which has been shown to:

• Have a higher absorption rate
• Promote faster positive changes in behaviour and health
• Provide optimum levels of magnesium in one small daily dose

Choose Placide M

If you’re searching for a magnesium supplement for your horse, we recommend you consider Placide M. Our most popular equine pacifier, Placide M is suitable for use in any horse that is experiencing issues linked to low magnesium, including nervousness or excitability.

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Placide is the number one equine calming supplement in New Zealand. Containing organic, chelated magnesium, Placide works to relax muscles, reduce stress and support your horse’s health for improved performance in less than one week. Click here to find out more.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended as veterinary advice. At Placide, we encourage you to make health care decisions for your horse based on your own research and in partnership with a qualified veterinarian.