How Much Magnesium Does a Horse Need?
Magnesium requirements for horses were last formalized by the National Research Council (NRC, 2007). For a 500 kg (1,100 lb) adult horse at maintenance, the baseline need is 7.5 g of elemental magnesium per day—about 0.02 g per kilogram of body weight.
When the Minimum Isn’t Enough
That figure assumes cool weather, moderate forage quality, and little stress. Daily targets rise when a horse works harder, sweats heavily, grazes high-potassium spring pasture, travels frequently, or struggles with metabolic issues. In practice, most nutritionists aim for 10–15 g per day for the same 500 kg horse under these real-world conditions. Healthy kidneys excrete excess magnesium efficiently, so this range remains well below levels linked to digestive upset.
Practical Feeding Tips
• Analyze forage first. Hay typically supplies 0.12–0.25 % magnesium; lush grass can run lower.
• Count concentrate contributions. Many commercial feeds add only 2–5 g per daily ration—often insufficient for working horses.
• Choose a bioavailable source. Nupafeed® MAH® Magnesium bonds pharmaceutical-grade magnesium to aspartate-hydrochloride carriers, ensuring consistent uptake without gut irritation.
• Introduce gradually. Begin with a short loading phase, then step down to maintenance and split the dose between meals.
Signs You’re On Target
Within a week of correcting a shortfall, horses commonly show a looser stride, calmer focus, and fewer post-exercise muscle twitches. If tension persists, investigate pain, ulcers, or training factors before increasing the dose further.
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