We took in another horse for our local SPCA. The
first thing I noticed was his swollen sheath. It was about the size of an
elephant's. The second thing I noticed was that he fell twice. Once when he
pulled back, (not that hard) and fell on his butt, and then when I pulled him in
a tight circle he fell on his hip.
After diagnosing the neurological problem, (EPM) we
had to address the swollen sheath. There was a lot of scar tissue but no open
wounds. He had been cut, (not by a vet we hope) and when they tried to get the
testicles, one (which was still pretty high up ) had probably not dropped
yet and so they let it close. This is one of the reasons I can't own a gun.
Anyway, serious doses of drugs and a complete
gelding hopefully will reduce the swelling. But first, it is 20 minutes of
lunging (is that spelled right?) 2 or 3 times a day followed by hosing. I am
just sharing my experience, not asking to be critiqued.
The problem was, he wouldn't move. He was in pain,
seriously. So I tried the flag, a lunge whip, a rope with a popper and the
carrot stick. All he did was kick, (who could blame him for not wanting anything
near "that area" and stand there. I was not about to beat, whip, or pop this
boy. But I did find a big, damn ball.
I brought the ball in the round pen and he
immediately moved off. Hmmm. If I rolled the ball towards him, he walked faster.
If I played drums on the ball he trotted! If I bounced it like a basketball he
cantered! Yeah!!
So now 6 days later, he knows walk, trot and canter
on voice command, as well as whoa and reverse. I HATE lunging and the round pen
has always worked better for me. He had to move but I was
sweating more than he was in the beginning. Now I just walk in with the "BALL"
and our session begins. He licks his lips and drops his head nicely once he
works out the pain, (which is also causing a limp as he swings a leg out to
avoid touching the area) and he is not kicking at the ball anymore either.
He has learned to move away from the pressure
of the ball just as easily as anything else. If I move to him, he moves away. If
I move back, he slows down or stops depending on what I am looking for. Most
importantly, the swelling is going down and he is on the road to
recovery.
This is also a good thing because I have poked
myself in the eye with that stupid flag only to fall and have it go up my nose.
I had bruises all over my back and head (including but not limited to the
patches of hair that were ripped from my scalp) from trying to swing a rope like
the cowboys do, only to beat my self silly and then hog tie myself.
