I seriously considered selling my horse and giving up after a daily battle with a high spirited horse that reduced me to tears. I'd spent the past twelve months bringing on my young warmblood. By a very highly strung stallion, Max had a fantastic temperament on the groud, but his behaviour when ridden was always temperamental. He was capable of producing beautiful work but unfortunately had an awful temper and if agrevated or asked to do anything new, could rear up and bomb off, doing everything he could to unseat me. I've suffered falls that I wouldn't wish on anyone and with responsibilites such as a mortgage, a business and a family, I really didn't want to come off and hurt myself for the sake of one horse. Riding is meant to be fun and as soon as it becomes a chore or is dangerous, then bearing your safety in mind, I think its time that all opptions are considered. I was leaving the yard evey night in tears because Max just wasn't playing the game. I would spend considerable amounts of money on lessons where we spent the whole hour trying to calm him down. This was extremely frustrating for my trainer as she could'nt get her teeth into any real teaching and I felt I was throwing money down the drain as I seemed to be getting nowhere, fast. At the end of my tether I decided that Max should probably be sold as he was obviously far too much for me to handle, which totally destroyed me. I hate loosing and I had acheived a graet deal with his intial schooling but the stronger he got and the fitter he became, the more difficult he was to ride. This option was going to prove difficult as he would have to be shown to prospective buyers and with his eratic behaviour the way it was it would be a waste of time. I really did not know what to do. I was extremly fond of Max and thought I'd give him the befit of the doubt and had him checked over by a physio to make sure he wasn't in any kind of pain or discomfort. Thankfully he was fine but in the back of my mind I was of hoping for there to be something causing this awful behaviour. So it was back to the drawing board. A good friend of mine said she had heard of a Magnesium based calmer, which had good results. She had a horse that was brought back into work after a long period of time off and was advised by her vet to use this calmer for safety and the results were good. Her horse remained calm and allowed her to ride him without getting excited and endangering his recovery. That afternoon I was on the telephone to Sheila Young of Nupafeed UK. She explained all about their product and told me to forget thoughts of giving up and selling my horse as this product would work. Now it's very easy to think of this product as a calming cure for all horses, which unfortunately as my research has shown me, it is not. This product, as with other magnesium based calmers, works by replacing the lost levels of magnesium within your horse's system. It is fair to say that if your horse is not lacking in magnesium, then feeding this suppliment is not beneficial. But, if your horse IS lacking in the correct magnesium balance, by replacing the lost quantitiy and maintaining the correct balance, you WILL see an improved difference in your horse's behaviour. Standing at 17.2hh Max is a fairly large lad so I fed more than the stated loading dose. After 7 days I was bitterly disappointed that there was no change in his behaviour. I called Sheila and she urgged me to continue with it as some horses take longer than others to get it in there system. It eventually took 15 days but on that day, my ride was simply wonderful. All of a sudden those scary leaves that blow across the school and the birds that dare to fly past when you're riding had absolutley no impact on Max whatsoever. He didn't flinch at a thing. I rode him for 40 minutes and in that time he only once raised his head when the tractor passed, which previously he would have wheeled round and bolted from. And the rest of the week continued with this new behaviour. I was so pleased that finally I'd found something that Max needed. He obviously needed the magnesium levels replaced in his system and he suddenly developed a wonderful look about him. I started to realise how dull he looked before. It was as if he needed something as he looked almost dehydrated. Everyday schooling became a pleasure again and I even started to enjoy hacking out as it was no longer dangerous. Six months on and Max is a totally different horse and turning up to a show ground is now enjoyable and relaxed. I have my doubts about the longevity of any product within the horse's system, but for now I shall continue using the product and keep enjoying my horse and his relaxed approach to life.