You don't always need a calmer (Sam Waddington)

"I think I have had a salutary lesson in not to grab a supplement because you need something now. I've been using Essential Daily Care as my local tack shop had it in, but they changed hands and don't stock it now. So I grabbed another "similar" product (we are not naming it as it could have been one of dozens of vitamin and mineral supplements on the market). 

It appears to have turned Paddy into a loony!. My 21 yo welsh pony has made a career out of being a well behaved child's pony so this was a shock.

I suspect it is the magnesium!? I have taken him off it. Sanity has returned - I will be ordering the EDC soon! 

That'll teach me!"

Samantha Waddington


Follow up message a few days later:

"So...I decided in my lurgy brained state to 'use up' the rest of that supplement on my mares (as I hate waste).... Yeah (I can feel you rolling your eyes from here) not my best idea ever (I blame the Lemsip).... It had the same effect on them. I have binned it!"

So what is going on? 

It's quite simple really. Magnesium is a brain impairing sedative that is often added to feeds and supplements. Most feeds with it added don't even list it on the label so you may not know it is there. In our experience the magnesium in grass and hay isn't a problem and Paddy supports that view. What causes the problem is artificial magnesium sources like Mag Oxide and modern "chelates". The supplement in question had both and Essential Daily Care has neither.

So Samantha recognised immediately that she doesn't need a calmer (shame for us). She simply needed to get the artificial magnesium out of the diet. That's not such a shame for us though because we are pioneers in "no added magnesium diets" and she is reverting to our magnesium FREE balancer Essential Daily Care. Some of you might like a more "feed looking balancer" like our Essential CORE. If you want the many benefits of our patented chelated calcium then try CoolCORE. We have an extensive number of variations on this - feel free to contact us for advice on product selection.

Talk to us before you buy on 01453 836974 or email. We can review your current diet and make recommendations from there.

If you want to know why magnesium does these things please look at our magnesium section.