Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Clicking noise--Maureen's question about magnesium (long)

Maureen--

It sounds like the mare might have felt off-balance while trotting, and was
cantering because she felt more stable that way.  One thing I found
interesting as I was reading through some textbooks to research the problem
was that what we typically refer to as grass tetany is a cattle problem.
Grass grows so rapidly in the spring that it can't take up magnesium very
efficiently, so cattle that aren't supplemented in the fall and winter with
hi-mag mineral don't have adequate stores of magnesium, and we end up with
animals that can convulse and die.  On the other hand, research with pigs
has shown the loss of equilibrium and trembling that Rae's mare was
exhibiting when a magnesium deficiency was induced.  I think this is one of
those differences associated with non/ruminant versus ruminant that we
sometimes see.

Magnesium plays several roles in the body.  It is extremely important in ATP
production--the energy currency in the body.  It's also closely associated
with calcium and phosphorus, and regulates  neuronal irritability. Big
words, but basically this effects the ability of the muscles to respond to
nerve impulses.  It is also involved in the maintenance of the central
nervous system (which might explain the equilibrium angle), heart muscle,
blood vessels, and bone structure, and calcium regulation.  The tetany is a
result of the magnesium deficiency throwing off the ion balance in the
muscles.  Like calcium, sodium, and potassium, magnesium has a positive
charge on it, so a deficiency of magnesium would cause a shift in the
overall electrical charge in muscle cells and affect their ability to
contract properly.

Marshall Jurgens, the author of one of my favorite feeds texts, defines
tetany as "a condition where animals have localized, spasmodic muscular
contractions".  Most of us are familiar with the concept that if we suffer
from muscle cramps in our legs that potassium helps that problem.  Potassium
has a single positive charge, and magnesium has a double positive, so a
deficiency in it can be expected to have an even greater effect on muscle
spasms.

I mentioned the potassium angle for a reason--I've mentioned before (and so
has Susan Garlinghouse) that minerals don't act independently of one
another.  Excess potassium reduces the body's ability to absorb magnesium,
which reduces the body's ability to retain potassium, and can lead to a
potassium deficiency.  This would make the muscle problems more apparent.  I
know that endurance riders supplement electrolytes frequently, and with good
reason.  But if the diet is borderline on magnesium balance, this potassium
in the electrolytes might be just high enough to cause a marginal magnesium
deficiency.  Rae's horse was fine the next morning, and she did eat normally
after this episode, so I suspect that she was able to get enough magnesium
either from her food or from a mineral supplement to restore the balance and
clear up her problem.

There is also a close association between magnesium and calcium and
phosphorus, and prolonged magnesium deficiencies can result in calcium and
phosphorus deposits in the aorta among other places (there's that blood
vessel angle again.)  I don't think this is relevant in this case,
though--the fact that the mare recovered overnight suggests that any
deficiency was temporary.

I tend to get carried away sometimes--did this help or confuse you?  =)

Lisa
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ridecamp Guest" <guest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 9:38 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] Clicking noise


> Maureen A. Fager trottin27@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Lisa said "but the fact that Scarlet's insistence on
> cantering instead of trotting and her trot feeling "weird", along with the
wobbling and trembling sound like a magnesium deficiency--it can cause an
equilibrium problem sometimes."
>
> Lisa, would you be able to elaborate on this, or perhaps can you tell me
where to find more information on a magnesium deficiency?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Maureen
> Reno, NV
>
>
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 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=