Remi, my Yang Ming, horse temperament gelding was a star at the Tom Curtain clinic this last weekend. I had been looking forward to the clinic all year and it did not disappoint. Tom’s wife, Trina, started a colt for a friend of mine so that was especially fun to watch. My great friends, Linda Hoover and Jeannie Choate, came into town to participate in all the action and they stayed with me.

Remi is a horse I bought after he blew up with several previous owners. He has never bucked me off but he has broken in half a few times as I was saddling him. His owners immediately before me gave him very good care but they could not support him as much as he needed mentally. As a Yang Ming horse temperament, Remi has tried hard all of his life to do his job but bad training and chronically sore feet held him back.

Once a Yang Ming horse temperament has a bad experience they are very slow to forget it. I have worked to cover up Remi’s painful memories with lots of good stuff. I made the mistake at first of taking him on the road too much and not just staying at home and working on our relationship. I think Remi has been to every roping arena in Texas and when I would pull into a new place he would think he was going to have to rope again. Roping was not a good experience for him and this is too bad because he likes to be around cows.

Once I figured out to not overwhelm Remi with new places he settled down but never has lost that initial concern at being someplace other than home. Many will remember the challenges I had with Remi’s hooves. They were badly contracted from years of raised heel, egg bar shoes and he had terrible thrush. The combination of barefoot trimming, boots and white lightening healed the thrush and started him down the road to a stronger hoof. I also have fed him Mg Oxide for the past year and that has helped his hooves be tougher. Chia seeds have been great for him as well. As a Yang Ming he needs extra quality fat in his diet.

This summer we had so much rain that I did have to shoe Remi with natural balance shoes and fill in pads. He just could not grow sole fast enough to keep up with the wetting and drying cycles. I can relate because I totally wore out a set of Ariat boots in less than a year. The boots would rub him with all the heat and humidity and he loves the shoes. I will get him barefoot again as soon as possible.

The clinic was everything I could have hoped for. Remi was so focused and this allowed me to learn. We even took off our bridles, rode at the walk and trot, backed up and did turn arounds before putting our bridles back on. All without even dismounting. Not bad for a horse that used to freak out at having the bridle put on from the ground. Nothing like horses, good friends, good weather and good learning to make a perfect weekend. I am so blessed. Madalyn

I am excited to offer the new Five Element Feeding ebook This information helps you individualize a diet for your horse based on his temperament

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