Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I have an Arab gelding, now 24, that would play "lame" when he was feeling lazy.

 

I went out to the barn one day to ride ( I think he was 4 or 5 at the time) and after we warmed up in the arena I realized he was slightly off.  After examining him we came to the conclusion he had a stone bruise so I unsaddled and put him back out to pasture.  That one incident was all it took.  I gave him a week off and went back out to ride.  As soon as I pulled him into the barn to saddle up he started limping on one leg.  Nothing major, just off.  I had observed him in the field from the window earlier and he had been moving fine.  I unsaddled him and turned him back out.  He kept limping.  I followed his limping lazy butt (LOL) back out to the pasture, grabbed a different horse to ride,  and guess what....he was miraculously healed.  No more limp!  He pranced around the other horse trying to get my attention without one missed step.  So, I took him into the barn saddled up, and we had a great ride.  He tried it 2 or 3 more times that summer, and everytime I went to ride another horse he would suddenly be "cured" again.  He has never been off a day since that summer.  People just do not give horses enough credit for "brain power".

 

Ellen

indiancp <indiancp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> twenty years ago a good friend was looking for a tb to train as a field and 
> show hunter. she didn't have much money to spend but had several of us 
> (friends) watching out for her. i happened to be at a sale where a bunch of 
> tb's came in. they all had something, bowed tendons, etc. there was one 
> lovely dark bay gelding that really caught my eye. he had an osselet (sp). 
> the guy that brought him
>  in swore to me that he was now sound. we trotted 
> him out and he was and didn't seem to be tranqed. i called my friend and 
> told her about him and told her he APPEARED sound but we'd have no 
> guarantee. she said if i could get him for x dollars do it.
> i did. took him to my barn and the next morning she came to meet her new 
> horse. i had turned him out and he was looking and feeling good. we got 
> him, saddled him and she mounted. that poooor horse was so lame he could 
> hardly go. she got off and we were both sick. turned him back out and 
> again he appeared fine. next day we tried him again and again he was soo 
> lame but as soon as he was released he was all over the place. it hit me 
> and i told her let's try again and this time don't get off, keep riding.
> she did and soon i guess he got tired of limping on one leg so he switched 
> to the other!! she kept riding and finally he decided it was too much to 
> keep limping and VIOLA SOUND!!! she hunted
>  him (kensington) and showed him 
> for many years and he was a good one and never lame again. that sucker 
> never knew he almost limped his way right into a dog food can!! i think 
> that he learned if he was lame he didn't work when he really was lame and 
> kept that in his mind. lol no telling how often it had worked for him. 
> sure not saying work lame horses but in this case he didn't realize that you 
> can't be lame one min. and bouncing off the sky completely sound the next.



Zephyr Creek Kigers

http://www.freewebs.com/zephyrcreek/index.htm
http://community.webshots.com/user/zephyrcreek

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