More Info

What are the feeding directions for EZium?

Feed one (1) enclosed 70 g measuring scoop with ration twice daily or as recommended by your veterinarian or a qualified nutritionist.  

Because EZium contains a chelated source of Magnesium, the recommended dose does not provide an excess of Magnesium which can interfere with the absorption of other nutrients or cause diarrhea.  The quantity of the highly available source of Magnesium provided by feeding two level scoops of EZium per day has been found to be ideal for most "average" horses.  But no horse is "average"!!!!!  So for maximum health and performance benefits, your horse may require slightly more or less.  Feel free to contact us to discuss your horse's specific needs.  We also have a team of EZium users that can help address your questions one-on-one.

  • How long before I will see an improvement?

    Most users begin to see an improvement in their horses within two to three weeks. Horses with a severe deficiency have demonstrated better performance within four days.


    Remember, Magnesium is not a calming supplement. It simply assists your horse's muscles to relax/recover and his nervous system to respond more normally to stimuli. This recovery process does take a little time.

  • Is EZium Safe for Pregnant Mares?

    Yes.  All ingredients in EZium that are approved for feeding to all classes of horses.  

  • Other products contain a higher level of magnesium than EZium. Wouldn't they be a better value?

    It is not the amount of total magnesium in a supplement that is important.  What is important is the amount of magnesium that is in a form the horse can actually absorb.


    Remember there is a lot of magnesium in the food the horses eat already.  Massive amounts.  Magnesium is the third highest mineral in any food.  Calcium and phosphorus are first…then magnesium.   I looked at timothy hay.  It has 0.13% magnesium.  This means for every pound of timothy hay they will get around a half gram of magnesium…..so a horse eating a standard 10 pounds of timothy hay a day would get 5 grams of Mg just from the hay.  The trouble with this is that much/most of the magnesium they get from hays and grains is not in a form that the animal can absorb.  Most magnesium supplements out there also have Mg in a form the horse really can’t absorb.  


    The percent magnesium in EZium (3.75%) means that if you analyze the EZium, 3.75% of the total weight of the product is magnesium.   Breaking that down per scoop, there is a total of 2,624 mg or 2.624 grams of TOTAL magnesium per scoop, 1.750 grams comes from the 100% bioavailable form of the product.  

     

    No one has done the nutritional work to determine how much “digestible/available” magnesium is required per day per horse. This value is not known.  All you can do is look at deficiency symptoms and see them disappear (or not) with supplementation.  


EZium contains less than 6% Non-Structural Carbohydrates

Horses with metabolic concerns such as Cushing's Disease, Laminitis, Equine Metabolic Disorder, or Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) require reduced levels of Non-Structural Carbohydrates (sugars and starches) in their diet.  High levels of Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSC) in these horses can create a rapid spike in blood glucose.  Most veterinarians and nutritionists recommend that the levels of NSC be below 12% for these horses.  Grains can supply as high as 40-60% NSC.    

Many veterinarians recommend the use of Magnesium supplements to support horses with metabolic concerns.  You can feed EZium with confidence knowing that the ingredients in EZium will not contribute significantly to the total NSC in your horses diet.  
What makes EZium different from other Magnesium supplements?

EZium contains a chelated source of Magnesium called Magnesium Glycinate.  Research shows that true metal amino acid chelates such as magnesium glycinate are the most bioavailable, best absorbed, and most retained of all mineral forms currently on the market.  The unique ring formation that is characteristic of a true amino acid chelate provides stability and protection during digestion for optimum mineral absorption.  Most economically priced supplements contain only inorganic forms of magnesium, such as magnesium oxide or perhaps small amounts of other organic forms of magnesium.  The magnesium in EZium is absorbed 4.1 times better than the magnesium in magnesium oxide. 

  • Chelated Forms

    The carrier amino acid protects the Magnesium and prevents it from interacting with other compounds in the diet, allowing it to be completely and totally absorbed.


    The unique heterocyclic ring formation that is characteristic of an amino acid chelate provides stability and protection during digestion for optimum mineral absorption.


    The chelated structure enables the mineral to travel through the animal's digestive system and be absorbed precisely where and when it is the most advantageous to the animal without getting tied up along the way by antagonistic factors from feed or water.  Magnesium glycinate behaves and is absorbed as if it was a di-peptide, not a mineral.  The gut actively absorbs amino acids, di-peptides, and tri-peptides intact throughout the entire length of the small intestine without the need for them to be first digested.  The Magnesium is actively transported across the intestinal wall directly into the bloodstream along with the carrier amino acid.


  • Mineral Salts

    To be absorbed, Magnesium from mineral salts such as Magnesium Oxide must first break down into its positively charged cation (Mg++) and its negatively charged anion and become soluble.  This can ONLY occur in the acidic environment of the stomach (low pH) and early part of the small intestine (duodenum).  Here protein carriers bind with the free (soluble) Mg++ ions and transport them to the bloodstream.  There are only so many protein carriers available, so feeding more Magnesium will not increase the amount your horse can absorb via this mechanism.  Further, Magnesium and Calcium share common carriers.  So if you provide an excess of Magnesium, it will interfere with your horse's ability to absorb Calcium. 


    Once the digesta mixes with pancreatic juices and bile in the small intestine, the contents become more basic (higher pH) and the charged Mg++ chemically interacts with other charged particles, becoming insoluble.  So, if not absorbed in the duodenum, the insoluble chemical compounds formed between Magnesium and other nutrients are simply excreted as waste in the feces, giving your horse access to neither. 

  • Organic Sources

    While better absorbed than mineral salts such as Magnesium Oxide or Magnesium Sulfate, organic mineral complexes such as Magnesium Citrate or Magnesium Proteinate are too large to be actively absorbed without first being digested.  Once the Mg++ ion is freed by digestion to become soluble (and therefore available for absorption), it is also subject to the same interfering chemical reactions as are mineral salts, particularly the formation of insoluble compounds that cannot be absorbed.   So absorption of these compounds is also limited to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum) via the limited number of protein carriers available.

What are the symptoms of a Magnesium deficiency?

Mild Deficiency Symptoms

 

  • Nervousness and flighty behavior
  • Muscle cramps and spasms
  • Resistance to training
  • Tension and tight back
  • Hypersensitivity
  • Inability to focus and relax
  • Poor tolerance to work
  • Excessive sweating and increased respiration
  • Anhidrosis
  • Increased severity of inflammatory responses
  • Exacerbation of pain responses

 

Severe Deficiency Symptoms
  • Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomylosis (Tying Up)
  • Muscle cramps and spasms
  • Lack of muscle coordination with the potential for collapse
  • Deep, exaggerated, rapid, and labored respiration 
  • Metabolic dysfunction and weight gain
  • Convulsions
  • Death due to respiratory failure
Could my horse be Magnesium Deficient? 

If your horse is a performance horse, the most likely answer is YES.  Exercise, sweating, and the stress of competition can increase your horse's Magnesium requirement.  To make matters worse, the form of Magnesium in even the best feeds and forages can't be readily absorbed by your horse.  There is no accepted test for assessing your horse's Magnesium status.  Blood levels are poor indicators of your horse's Magnesium status because only 1% of the body's Magnesium is in the blood.  Most is in the cells or in the bone where it can't be tested.  The best way to diagnose a Magnesium deficiency is by assessing the presence or absence of the symptoms of a deficiency.

How would I know if my horse is deficient in Magnesium?

Assessing the magnesium status is difficult because most of the Magnesium is inside cells or in the bone.  Blood levels are poor indicators of Magnesium status.  Homeostatic  mechanisms maintain extracellular concentrations within narrow limits over a wide range of dietary intakes.  The best way to diagnose a Magnesium deficiency is to assess the presence or absence of the symptoms of a deficiency.

What factors can cause a Magnesium deficiency?

Performance Demands

Strenuous exercise places enormous demands on your horse's Magnesium stores. Magnesium is required for the proper function of the enzymes responsible for the generation of cellular energy as well as protein synthesis. In addition, the Magnesium lost in sweat can increase the requirements for this mineral by up to 20%. It is very likely that, without proper supplementation with a bioavailable form of Magnesium, the performance demands of competition will leave your horse deficient in Magnesium.

Effect of adrenaline on Magnesium stores

  • In response to stress, adrenaline is released.  Magnesium is required to produce adrenaline.  In order to produce adrenaline, the body pulls Magnesium from its bodily stores, temporarily raising serum levels.
  • In response to adrenaline, Calcium moves into the cells preparing them to "fire now".  This pushes Magnesium out, temporarily raising serum levels.  
  • In response to elevated serum levels of Magnesium, the kidneys upregulate the capture and excretion of Magnesium to try to restore normal levels.  This depletes the body of the Magnesium it needs.  
  • Chronic stress depletes the body of Magnesium and causes calcium to accumulate in the tissues. A reduction in the Magnesium/Calcium ratio makes it difficult for the cells to ever relax.

Dietary Antagonists in Feed & Forages

Other compounds in your horse’s feed can negatively impact your horse's ability to absorb the Magnesium naturally contained. For example, Magnesium in most dietary sources as well as most supplements can chemically bond to the fiber in the diet to form insoluble compounds, resulting in the mineral being excreted along with the fiber in the feces.  The form of phosphorus in most plants (phytate phosphorus) can bind with Magnesium making it unavailable for absorption. The diagram at left shows the maze of minerals interferences that can also occur.  High levels of Calcium in the diet can particularly interfere with the ability to absorb and utilize non-chelated sources of Magnesium because the two minerals share a common carrier in the intestine. Phosphorus combines with non-chelated sources of Magnesium to form insoluble phosphates, preventing the absorption of both minerals. 

Disease and Other Factors

While it is obvious that the increased rate of passage that accompanies diarrhea can reduce your horse's opportunity to absorb Magnesium, what is less obvious are the demands placed on your horse's Magnesium reserves by chronic inflammation.  Magnesium has a role in reducing inflammation. Low Magnesium concentrations are associated with increased cytokine production and systemic inflammation.   Supplemental Magnesium has also been shown to benefit horses impacted by endotoxemia, such as after a colic or bout of laminitis.  


Older horses, lactating mares, and growing foals have increased Magnesium demands that often cannot be fulfilled without supplementation.

Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions. Having adequate levels of Magnesium at the site of activity is so important for your horse's well being and maximum performance. Having an understanding of the biological processes that require Magnesium helps us better understand the physiological basis behind the symptoms of a deficiency. 

What are some of the biological processes that require Magnesium?

Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions, including those that control carbohydrate metabolism, protein synthesis, energy production, and protection against inflammation and free radical damage.  Magnesium works in concert with Calcium in muscle contractions and nerve transmissions.  Magnesium's role is to facilitate muscle relaxation and to diminish the excitability of the nervous system.  Magnesium lowers blood sugar by sensitizing the insulin receptors, resulting in a more normal insulin response. Magnesium supplementation replaces the magnesium depleted during stress and has a role in reducing inflammation.

Magnesium works in concert with Calcium in muscle and nerve function
Calcium's role is to facilitate muscle contraction: 
When the muscle cell is triggered, the Calcium channels in the cell membrane open, letting Calcium in. Increases in the Calcium level in the cell triggers the reaction. The Calcium binds to the actin-myosin complex, locking it in a shortened or contracted state.

Magnesium's role is to facilitate muscle relaxation:
Once its task is fulfilled, Calcium is ushered out of the cell by the action of Magnesium, releasing the contraction. Magnesium knocks the Calcium from the binding site on the actin-myosin complex, allowing it to relax to the inactive or non-contracted state. The proper Magnesium:Calcium ratio in the cells maintains the cell in a state of relaxation.  

Magnesium is required for a normal insulin response.

Magnesium lowers blood sugar by sensitizing the insulin receptors, resulting in a more normal insulin response.

Magnesium levels increase in the blood following glucose ingestion as it is involved in the action of insulin to clear glucose from the blood.  Reduced Magnesium concentrations at the insulin receptor level result in defective enzyme activity.  Links between Magnesium deficiency and diabetes have been demonstrated in rats.  Magnesium deficiencies have been implicated in Equine Metabolic Syndrome. 

Magnesium supplementation could support recovery from laminitis

Magnesium has a role in reducing inflammation.  Low Magnesium concentrations are associated with increased cytokine production and systemic inflammation.  Magnesium supports peripheral circulation, preventing arterioles from contracting and thus lowering blood pressure. 

EZium is available in one-month, two-month, and four-month supplies.

Available in both plastic reclosable pails and convenient refill bags.

Purchase Now!
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