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Re: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse? - Pam DeMerchantI've found the feed changes I've made have the most significant impact on spooking behavior than any of the training methods I've used. My spooker is highly susceptible to sugar. Without it, he's a totally different horse. Of course, it's not easy to remove it from the diet, but try to eliminate as much as possible. My gelding is fed Purina Ultium. He also gets worse with alfalfa. I try to give him a small scoop of feed instead of treats like carrots due to the sugar content. I use Quiessence (a magnesium/vitamin B supplement) and it helps, but I don't give it to him regularly, just when the spooking really gets out of hand. No easy answers or anything foolproof, but some suggestions of things that have helped me. Pam -----Original Message----- From: Jennifer Fleet <jlthompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Aug 31, 2005 4:45 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse? Okay, I've had it with the spook and spins. After almost three years of riding Shahtahr and managing to sit his huge spooks, he finally dumped me at a CTR this weekend. He was unusually nervous and spooky during the morning of the ride, and did three huge spooks at NOTHING (drop and spins) within an hour. The second one sent me flying. I have heard that supplementing with magnesium can have a calming effect on some horses. I used it on my mare years ago and I recall it helping somewhat. My gelding is on the following feed: morning: 1 flake alfalfa or alfalfa/bermuda mix (depending on what the barn owner buys) evening: 1 1/2 flakes orchard grass hay that I supply (he'd get grass both feedings but I have to pay for it on top of full board and at $15/bale I can't afford it) 2 scoops Platinum Peformance vitamin/mineral supplement 1 cup ground flax seed 2,000 iu vitamin E 5 lbs carrots glucosamine and MSM supplements (MSM is withdrawn before rides) So....given the above, I'm wondering if additional magnesium would help....he already gets alfafa in the morning, which I believe has a high magnesium content, so it might be pointless to try. Platinum Peformance has a producet called Platinum Gentle that is magnesium, calcium, and thianine (sp?) - an amino acid that has a calming affect - it is all legal for competition and is formulated to be fed along with Platinum Performance without causing any imbalances. Could this be of any benefit, seeing's how my horse is already getting alfalfa in the a.m. ? Any other suggestions to try? Valium, Prozac, Xanax, a bullet? LOL Just kidding Shahtahr! Jennifer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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