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Complete changes in attitude |
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Having adopted (and been given) most of my animals we get to see a lot of different attitudes. A lot of these animals do not want human or even other animal contact for the first while. They are very leery and remember more than what we give them credit for.
Take for instance Ileane, the equine rescue in BC. Ileane raced for about 4 years before injuring herself, then it was out to the broodmare field where she remained. She was part of a divorce case and was taken to another home. There she was "taken care of" by his definition. She came to us severely underweight and thoroughly traumatized. Now looking at her you'd never know she was the same horse, not only has gained her weight and muscle tone back but she has got a whole new way of looking at things (so to speak). You can still see the flashbacks happening, but these never last long anymore. Ileane can't be stalled at all. She is too anxious and will literally tear herself up and start to sweat immediately. I'm not sure if this is how she acted at the races or if something horrible happened in a stall, but if you just leave the stall door open for her to go in and out as she pleases she'll stand in her doorway for hours. She has had to learn a lot coming here, cows for instance are new, as are pigs, calves and chickens. She has learned to live with these and is so much calmer than the skittish, very head shy and traumatized horse that she was when she arrived. Mentally she has taken in a lot of new smells, animals, noises and she has learned to trust most people. Not all people though; I'm thinking those she doesn?t trust must have a slight resemblance or smell as somebody she has been afraid of in the past. Sickness has a way of changing an animal's attitude. A good friend of mine just told me her gelding of 13 years has a heavy heart murmur and has to be put down. He is only 18 years old and one of the quietest gentlemen around; he has been used for schooling and jumping. She is no longer able to ride but he is a great pal to her. When he feels faint or has a small seizure he just goes nuts. "This is not my horse" I've been told by her. He's never shown the least bit of a temper. His thinking now seems to be "I'm sick, this doesn't feel right and I'm so frightened." He then proceeds to throw himself against his stall and smash anything around, or go in the complete opposite direction and fall on his knees. She's had a couple of people say that she "should just retire him", that would help a lot. Numerous vet checks show his heart is so bad he's lucky to still be around. She has noticed this change in attitude just after the diagnosis was made and has said these should have been warning signs. She has made the choice to put him down as opposed to having him die while out on a ride. Sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves. Thanks to Tina Connolly for sharing this series of articles with us. |
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Well, I probably should have printed this one before summer got so far underway, but here goes anyway! When bathing your horse, try using one of those mesh body scrubbers. They help the shampoo to lather and also are great at working on hard areas such as hocks and elbows that tend to get manure or grass stains on them. These mesh scrubbers are usually shaped like an oven mitt and you can slip them on over your hand and go right to work! The soap rinses out of the scrubber easily when you are done. Another place I can think of where a mesh scrubber could come in very handy is for cleaning muddy hooves off before applying hoof polish for a show, or even before picking them up to clean out the clefts of the frogs. Anyone who has picked up an extremely muddy foot knows how much nicer clean feet are! Of course you would likely use a different scrubber for bathing than you do for hooves. Mesh scrubbers also work well for cleaning water troughs. This time of year, I find it difficult to keep my troughs clean, and often let them run almost completely dry before scrubbing them out and refilling them with fresh water. Studies have shown that horses will drink more out of a clean trough than one with algae growing in it, or a dirt build up in the bottom, so this is important! If you don't have a scrubber handy when cleaning a water trough, try a handful of hay or grass. This works equally well and is sometimes faster than trying to rummage around and find where you last left your scrubber! |
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If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com
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