Feel very disappointed

[Highflinger]

Just a moan really. Bought pony 3 years ago as a happy hacker. I have ridden for years but quite nervous and like a calm kick along type. He was 6 and not done much at allHe is a kick along but initially very very spooky. Regularly shot forward and spun at nothing and anytime we saw a dog walker head would be up, eyes out on stalks and often would spin & run albeit short distances. He was always tense hacking alone or in company. Even just out in field if you walked up to him he was suspicious and nervous,. I tried walking out in hand, long reining, general desensitising etc.and he improved a little but always tense . I started him on a magnesium supplement and after just a week saw a huge improvement. Have been regularly hacking & some arena work for the last 18 months and he has been pretty good still 'looky' but rarely really spooky and generally much more relaxed. I hoped that he had matured and improved and all my work with him had paid off so I reduced the magnesium last week and today he was back to tense, spooky and eyes out on stalks. I feel so disappointed as though all the progress I thought we had made was just being hidden by the magnesium . OK I could just up the mag again but feel that is cheating and really we have not progressed at all.

 

[Parrotperson]

Why? if he isn't getting the magnesium from his diet and your providing it and its having an effect. Win win I say!

 

[ester]

or your grazing is magnesium deficient....

 

[rextherobber]

I don't think it's "cheating", you are providing your horse with something he clearly needs - how is that wrong?

 

[ycbm]

It doesn't work that way, HF. Magnesium has no effect on horses that don't need it. The magnesium was making up something he was lacking. It's a deficiency that causes the spooking.

Loads of people, including me, keep their horses permanently on magnesium.

Just put him back on it.

 

[planete]

The magnesium is not hiding anything. The pony is only tense because he is deficient in magnesium. It does make complete sense to supplement it to keep your pony healthy. It is the same as if you were deficient in vitamin B12 yourself for instance and took a supplement.

 

[ester]

and me, even in retirement

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Sounds like you tried several sensible moves including a review of the diet. You sorted the issue and you have now confirmed what you found out. Well done.

 

[Polos Mum]

OP think about it like this - if you had diabetes and took insulin regularly to supplement your bodies deficiency would that be cheating ?

I think it's great you discovered what his body was lacking and fixed it -many people would have written him off as naughty.

It's a natural mineral - not an artificial calmer or sedative.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Nothing wrong with keeping horses on something if it works mine have magnesium all year round.

 

[Goldenstar]

Horses who improve on magnesium need magnesium keep him on it .

 

[Ceriann]

I think you should be pleased you’ve identified the issue (a mineral deficiency) and found a solution. It’s what horse ownership is all about - put him back on it and enjoy him.

 

[SEL]

My grazing is deficient in copper so I need to make sure the horses get supplemented. If it was deficient in magnesium then they'd get that - its not a failure to address an imbalance and get a sane, rideable horse as a result! (plus magnesium is cheap unlike some supplements)

 

[Highflinger]

Thanks everyone for your excellent rational replies!
You are all absolutely right i will continue with magnesium and enjoy him.

 

[J&S]

My companion pony is just like yours by the sound of it. I introduced magnesium and it has made a huge difference. I did try without for a few days when the first lot ran out but ordered more pdq as realised she really needed it.

 

[Gusbear]

My formerly quiet horse was like a bomb ready to explode when I moved him from the UK to Oz. I couldn’t to work out why, I moved him from stabled at night to 24/7 turnout which helped somewhat but he was still nervous when being ridden. I added magnesium supps to his feed and low and behold we had our first solo hack out in 9 years without him having a meltdown nor spooking episode. He was actually keen to leave the yard to explore without a horsey buddy. Do not underestimate the value of feeding supplements. It’s certainly not cheating.

 

[Birker2020]

Just a moan really. Bought pony 3 years ago as a happy hacker. I have ridden for years but quite nervous and like a calm kick along type. He was 6 and not done much at allHe is a kick along but initially very very spooky. Regularly shot forward and spun at nothing and anytime we saw a dog walker head would be up, eyes out on stalks and often would spin & run albeit short distances. He was always tense hacking alone or in company. Even just out in field if you walked up to him he was suspicious and nervous,. I tried walking out in hand, long reining, general desensitising etc.and he improved a little but always tense . I started him on a magnesium supplement and after just a week saw a huge improvement. Have been regularly hacking & some arena work for the last 18 months and he has been pretty good still 'looky' but rarely really spooky and generally much more relaxed. I hoped that he had matured and improved and all my work with him had paid off so I reduced the magnesium last week and today he was back to tense, spooky and eyes out on stalks. I feel so disappointed as though all the progress I thought we had made was just being hidden by the magnesium . OK I could just up the mag again but feel that is cheating and really we have not progressed at all.

had exactly the same with my last horse, she was on NAF Magic. I tried taking her off it twice, within 10 days she was a loony again, spinning, snorting, just stupid. I put her back on it and she was fine again. A few months later, I thought this is daft. A bit of magnesium, how can it make all the difference. So again I took her off it and exactly the same thing happened again. So she remained on it for all of her ridden life, she was off it for the last six months as I didn't ride her.

I asked the vet once "how do you know if these supplements that you pay a small fortune for actually work?". And he said try taking them off and you will see a difference. Never felt confident taking her off the pink powder as I felt that did a very good job of controlling her colic and I never felt I wanted to take her of the joint supplement either. So the magnesium was the one I tried!

 

[Birker2020]

or your grazing is magnesium deficient....

Do you know if cattle grazing on land prior to being turned into horse grazing make it more deficient in magnesium by any chance?
I can't find any link but just wondering if that was the case with mine, as the land was grazed by cattle for 100 years prior?