I'm always saying how smart I believe Cheyenne is, right?? 
She really is. It's not just a Mothers Love. 
One of the earliest way she communicated with me was way back when I first got her. One day I was bringing them back into the corral from grazing out in the pasture. I led her in and guided her into the corral and let her go. She stopped.
I patted her and said, Come on, go on...! Nothing. She stood there. Right next to me. Then she slowly moved a little forward until I was right next to her flank, and stopped. She wouldn't budge. I laughed and talked to her like, What do you want? I finally thought, okay,maybe she wants a bit of scratching? After all, they were all out in the pasture and the bugs were annoying. So I started to rub on her and scratch under her belly.
That's when my hand came back all bloody!
I knelt down and looked under her and there were a million gnats right down the middle of her underbelly and a lot in the rear near her teats and inside thighs!! OMG. My first lesson on horses and bugs! They love that area, but only on certain color horses~Sandy does not get the gnats there as bad as Cheyenne. They must be attratched to the darker color or something. IDK. But, from then on, I always checked and sprayed her underbelly!
Over the years she would often move next to me like that and I would always check, scratch or spray. She just knows how to 'talk' to me!
So the day before yesterday I went out to the barn in the morning to feed and get them out to the corral. I am very aware with my animals in how they look, move or act. I can tell right away when something is 'off', no matter how slight.
When I open Cheyenne's stall to let her out, I noticed right away the slight hesitation. It's just a fleeting thought but I move away slightly so I can watch how she steps out of her stall. Is there a limp?
She steps out.....and stops. Now, she have excellent ground manners and its nothing to have her stop and wait for me. She'll never bolt. But I could just tell that this was different.
With no hand on her to stop her or anything, she just stood there. I knew right away to look underneath.
First, I ran my hand along the underside of her, checking for gnats, which usually are not a problem inside the barn. Then I felt a hard spot, like a scab! When I got my phones flashlight out, I saw a large wound! It was scabbed over and had dirt all over it and some flies! I was horrified! It was quite large and smack dab in the middle of her underbelly, somewhere between her belly button and front legs! I would have NEVER seen it or even thought to check!! If she didn't tell me, I would have never bent down to find that! It just amazes me how she talks to me! SMH
So I got some warm water and antiseptic cleanser and cleaned it up really good. Then I sprayed it with Vetercyn and put a layer of Swat on it to keep the bugs away. Farnam Swat Original Fly Repellent Ointment Horse Supplement, 6-oz tub
Here's what it looked like after I washed it up:
The only thing that seems to make sense is that she kicked up at her belly at the flies or other bugs and hurt herself. You see them do that a lot. And she has shoes on all four hooves.
And I did watch her go down to roll in the corral (before I found the wound) and I watched as she didn't roll, but rather wiggled her body in the sand. And now I know she was actually trying to scratch her belly!! I knew it looked odd! But I didn't think to look!
That's okay, cuz she told me!!!
Smart horse.
She really is. It's not just a Mothers Love. One of the earliest way she communicated with me was way back when I first got her. One day I was bringing them back into the corral from grazing out in the pasture. I led her in and guided her into the corral and let her go. She stopped.
I patted her and said, Come on, go on...! Nothing. She stood there. Right next to me. Then she slowly moved a little forward until I was right next to her flank, and stopped. She wouldn't budge. I laughed and talked to her like, What do you want? I finally thought, okay,maybe she wants a bit of scratching? After all, they were all out in the pasture and the bugs were annoying. So I started to rub on her and scratch under her belly.That's when my hand came back all bloody!
I knelt down and looked under her and there were a million gnats right down the middle of her underbelly and a lot in the rear near her teats and inside thighs!! OMG. My first lesson on horses and bugs! They love that area, but only on certain color horses~Sandy does not get the gnats there as bad as Cheyenne. They must be attratched to the darker color or something. IDK. But, from then on, I always checked and sprayed her underbelly!Over the years she would often move next to me like that and I would always check, scratch or spray. She just knows how to 'talk' to me!
So the day before yesterday I went out to the barn in the morning to feed and get them out to the corral. I am very aware with my animals in how they look, move or act. I can tell right away when something is 'off', no matter how slight.
When I open Cheyenne's stall to let her out, I noticed right away the slight hesitation. It's just a fleeting thought but I move away slightly so I can watch how she steps out of her stall. Is there a limp?
She steps out.....and stops. Now, she have excellent ground manners and its nothing to have her stop and wait for me. She'll never bolt. But I could just tell that this was different.
With no hand on her to stop her or anything, she just stood there. I knew right away to look underneath.
First, I ran my hand along the underside of her, checking for gnats, which usually are not a problem inside the barn. Then I felt a hard spot, like a scab! When I got my phones flashlight out, I saw a large wound! It was scabbed over and had dirt all over it and some flies! I was horrified! It was quite large and smack dab in the middle of her underbelly, somewhere between her belly button and front legs! I would have NEVER seen it or even thought to check!! If she didn't tell me, I would have never bent down to find that! It just amazes me how she talks to me! SMHSo I got some warm water and antiseptic cleanser and cleaned it up really good. Then I sprayed it with Vetercyn and put a layer of Swat on it to keep the bugs away. Farnam Swat Original Fly Repellent Ointment Horse Supplement, 6-oz tub
Here's what it looked like after I washed it up:
The only thing that seems to make sense is that she kicked up at her belly at the flies or other bugs and hurt herself. You see them do that a lot. And she has shoes on all four hooves.
And I did watch her go down to roll in the corral (before I found the wound) and I watched as she didn't roll, but rather wiggled her body in the sand. And now I know she was actually trying to scratch her belly!! I knew it looked odd! But I didn't think to look!
That's okay, cuz she told me!!!
Smart horse.
