I had the unfortunate experience of putting a horse down for a rare
hemorrhaging kidney. This, plus the fact that I stated that we've been in
drought, caused me to ask the vet to run a blood panel on my two remaining
mares. I also asked to check Vit E and selenium (because we are a known high
selenium area). One test required shaving hair from the horse's flank. The tests
came in low on magnesium, high side of normal on selenium. Vet recommended Horse
Plus III to compensate for magnesium because it is balanced but has no selenium.
Re-tested after 3 months, horses still low side of normal but thought it would
be okay, till the dirt- and wood-eating started. Magnesium blocks are available
at any feed store here, mainly used for cattle. But the dirt- and wood-eating
stopped when I provided the block. When confined and given brome and native
grass hay (grown on our own land) I have watched them go from the hay to the mag
block to water, hay to mag block to water. I guess this tells me they need it, I
just wanted to know if I should be monitoring how much they get by giving them
magnesium oxide or continue to let them have free access to the block.
> Last year my
horses tested deficient in magnesium.
How was this test done?
It
is my understanding that blood tests for magnesium are unreliable for telling
what is the magnesium state of a horse. Did you use some other form of
test? And what made you do this test in the first place (why would you
test for magnesium, were there some symptoms that provoked it)?
