RiteBalance

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about supplementing magnesium in horses for everything from behavior and muscle tension to hoof concerns and metabolic issues. Along with that comes a common question:

“Magnesium oxide or magnesium glycinate?”

Here’s the short version: the answer is not as simple as “glycinate is more bioavailable.”

First: Magnesium oxide (MgO) is not “non-bioavailable”

A common claim online is that magnesium oxide is poorly absorbed or essentially unusable. That is not accurate. Research in horses suggests MgO has respectable absorption, often estimated around 50–70% depending on conditions.

What matters most: elemental magnesium

Bioavailability matters—but so does how much magnesium you’re actually feeding.

Magnesium oxide (MgO) = ~56% elemental magnesium
Magnesium glycinate = ~20% elemental magnesium

For example, feeding 20 grams of each:

MgO

11.2 g elemental magnesium
~5.6 g absorbed (assuming 50% absorption)

Magnesium glycinate

4 g elemental magnesium
~3.2 g absorbed (assuming 80% absorption)

So even with higher absorption, glycinate may still deliver less total magnesium because it starts with much less elemental magnesium.

The takeaway

This does not mean glycinate is “bad” or never useful. But the blanket statement that it is automatically better oversimplifies the conversation.

Before supplementing magnesium, ask:
👉 Why are you supplementing it?
👉 How much elemental magnesium are you feeding?
👉 What problem are you trying to solve?

If the goal is simply increasing magnesium intake, magnesium oxide remains a practical, well-studied, and cost-effective option for many horses.

Sometimes the better question is not which form sounds better—but how much usable magnesium the horse is actually receiving.

Random Horse Person Question:
“Which vitamin E supplement should I use — Bulk Supplements Vitamin E Powder or liquid Emcelle Tocopherol?”

Short answer: it depends.

Longer answer: it depends on whether you’ve actually tested your horse or you’re just guessing, which is less than ideal.

Let’s break this down:
________________________________________
If your horse has been tested and…
If blood levels are normal and you’re just maintaining:
👉 The Bulk Supplements Vitamin E Powder is generally fine.

It’s cost-effective, straightforward, and perfectly adequate for maintenance when deficiency is not in the picture.
________________________________________
If your horse IS low in vitamin E

Now we’re in a different lane — this is where form matters.

If testing shows deficiency, you want a form that actually moves the needle in blood levels efficiently:
👉 Liquid natural vitamin E options such as:
• Nano-E
• Elevate WS
• Emcelle Tocopherol

These are designed for better bioavailability and faster correction of low levels.
________________________________________
And since someone always asks:

Yes — of the liquid options, Emcelle Tocopherol is often the better value based on a price per 1,000 IU.

________________________________________
Bottom line:
• No deficiency? Powder is fine.
• Confirmed deficiency? Go liquid and fix it properly.
• Guessing without testing? NOT a good supplement strategy.

Spring is springing… and so is that pasture 🌱

It’s exciting to finally see green grass again after winter—but before we throw the gates open and let horses live their best lush-grass lives, let’s talk about what’s actually happening inside the horse.

Here’s the deal:
Spring pasture is naturally higher in NSCs ( starches & sugars) and protein. That nutrient spike is great… in moderation. But when introduced too quickly, it can overwhelm the digestive system and lead to issues like gas, loose manure, colic risk, or even laminitis in sensitive horses.

Why does this happen?
A horse’s digestive system is incredibly adaptable—but not instantly. The enzymes in the foregut and the microbes in the hindgut are constantly adjusting to whatever diet they’re regularly “seeing.” When that diet suddenly shifts (hello, lush pasture buffet), those systems need time to catch up.

If the transition is too fast:

Hindgut microbes can ferment rapidly → excess gas + pH changes

Microbial populations can shift in the wrong direction

Undigested starches & sugars may “spill over” into the hindgut

In severe cases, this can increase laminitis risk—especially in easy keepers or metabolically sensitive horses

So what’s the best approach?
🚦 Go slow. Seriously!

A gradual introduction allows the digestive system to adapt safely. A simple schedule (adapted from Legacy Equine Nutrition) might look like:

Day 1: 15 minutes

Day 2: 30 minutes

Day 3: 1 hour

Day 4: 1.5 hours

Day 5: 2 hours

Day 6: 2.5 hours

Day 7: 3 hours

Days 8–12: ~4 hours

Day 13+: Full turnout

We know—not every farm setup makes this easy. If space or management limits you:

Use a grazing muzzle to reduce intake

Rotate through dry lots, arenas, or stalls to control exposure time

Keep hay available before turnout so horses aren’t diving into pasture on an empty stomach

Your turn 👇
How do you transition your horses onto spring pasture?
Do you go by the clock, use muzzles, or just hope for the best and cross your fingers? 😅

Is 14% Crude Protein “Low” for a Performance Horse?

We often hear concerns about performance horses not getting enough protein when fed a commercially fortified feed with 14% crude protein. Before drawing conclusions, it’s important to step back and evaluate the entire diet—not just the number on the feed tag.

Here’s a simple example:

Scenario

1,100 lb horse

Consuming 2% of body weight in grass hay (≈22 lb/day)

Hay testing at 10% crude protein

4 lb/day of a 14% crude protein fortified feed (minimum recommended rate)

Moderate workload

Estimated minimum protein requirement: ~770 grams/day

Protein Intake Breakdown

From hay: ~999 grams

From fortified feed: ~255 grams

Total daily protein intake: ~1,254 grams

Requirement: ~770 grams
Intake: ~1,254 grams

In this example, the horse is consuming substantially more protein than the estimated minimum requirement.

Key Takeaways

✔ Crude protein percentage on a feed tag does not tell the whole story.
✔ Forage typically provides the majority of a horse’s daily protein.
✔ Total daily intake matters more than the percentage on a single feed.
✔ Feeding fortified feeds at their recommended rates is essential to meeting overall nutrient needs.

When evaluating muscle maintenance or performance concerns, always assess the complete diet—including forage analysis, feeding rates, and overall energy intake. Horses don’t eat feed tags—they eat total diets.

If you’d like help evaluating your horse’s ration, we’re happy to help you look at the full picture.