It has been a month since I started feeding a horse  di magnesium malate supplement my horses. What a difference! Remi, my Yang Ming horse temperament gelding, had been on magnesium oxide for over a year so he did not show a big change but both Tess and Cerise are different creatures. When my hoof trimmer was here 6 weeks ago, Tess, my Jue Yin mule, was a maniac. I had to threaten her constantly to stand still and quit looking for her buddies.

Cerise has been so tense I had quit riding her completely. I could not get any relaxation through her topline and I was tired of fighting her on this. I could tell she was trying but she could not relax. The day my trimmer was last here I started Cerise and Tess on the magnesium oxide and they both ate it willingly. I did not see much change after 2 weeks so I changed to the di magnesium malate.

After only 2 weeks I could tell Cerise was more relaxed and Tess was less concerned about staying close to the herd. I rode Cerise a few days ago and for the first time ever she was able to bring her head round each direction without a tight place in the middle as she changed her bend. She was relaxed and able to flex through her ribs as well. To let you know just how relaxed she was I almost sidepassed her right over the top of a rattlesnake and she did not panic. I had asked her to step over, she refused, I heard the snake buzz and I had to ask her to move off. I needed extra magnesium at this point but she was fine.

Today I brought Tess in for her hooves to be trimmed and instead of worrying about her buddies she took a little nap. She yawned several times as a matter of fact. What a change. Now that the grass is dry I will probably cut back a bit on the Mg for Tess and Remi but I think I will keep Cerise on it for a while longer.

Feeding a horse Mg may not solve all training problems but I am so excited that I may finally have the answer for Cerise’s inability to get soft in her poll. I suspect that as a Fire horse temperament, she does not absorb Mg well from her small intestine. If she has had a low level deficiency for years then the low Mg, lush grass this season caused a severe deficiency. A Mg deficiency would explain why her muscles stayed so tense. Will keep you posted. Madalyn

If you liked this post, please leave a comment or get more great holistic horse info at Holistic Horsekeeping, Horse Harmony Test, Horse Harmony, and on Twitter.