The American equestrian publication The Chronicle of the Horse has been investigating the practice of injecting magnesium sulfate as a calming aid. This practice is one of the more popular methods for calming horses by employing a commonly used mineral, but it’s safe only in certain applications.
"Just as U.S. Equestrian Federation drugs and medication testing is continually expanding to identify more and more illegal medications used to alter equine performances, some riders and trainers are continually broadening the scope of their medicine trunks," the Chronicle writes.
"Injectable magnesium sulfate is just one of the substances popular for use in horses now—substances that aren’t actually medications but are compounded versions of substances that occur in the horse’s body naturally. Magnesium is a mineral essential for the body’s neuromuscular function, one that acts in concert with calcium to trigger muscular contraction and relaxation. Some other such substances that are showing up in medicine trunks are calcium, thiamine and tryptophan."
Read the complete article at The Chronicle of the Horse