A slippery slope

Within weeks after Francesca's unfortunate hoof trim, I moved her to a new barn. I thought it would be a better fit for both of us, but in the end it was quite the opposite. It was a competetive eventing barn and I had visions of one day entering Francesca in a trial. Little did I know that by the time I left for yet another barn three months later, I would not even be able to ride her.

Francesca never quite settled in at the new barn. On the second day there, I decided to ride out to the cross-country field. After seeing the jumps, Francesca decided there was reason to flee and promptly spun around, dumped me off, and ran back to the barn. That would set a pattern of nervous behavior that was either part of her personality which was just being revealed, or that was a result of her ever-changing environment.

As time went on, Francesca became more and more anxious and it seemed that the only place she felt safe was in the pasture. She started to lose weight and muscle. She became resistant to me picking up her feet. She did not enjoy being groomed. Even leading her at a walk became a battle, as she would either drag me around or try to push me over in the process. And her spooky behavior became too acute for me to risk riding her. There was nothing I could do to connect with her, or comfort her. When I eventually had the vet out, he merely offered that her footsoreness was causing her stress and suggested putting shoes on her. Once again, my gut told me to resist this as a solution.

Even though I knew that Francesca's symptoms were not just blatant "naughtiness", I started working with an equine behavioral therapist simply because she had become so difficult, not to mention unsafe, to handle. I even hired an animal communicator in California to find some answers. Although she identified past physical trauma and problems with Francesca's sacral area (which would become recurring themes), it wasn't consclusive information. I had samples of her grain, hair and saliva tested for toxicity levels. The results showed high levels of toxins of a petrochemical nature. As long as I'd had Francesca, she hadn't been exposed to any kind of chemicals beyond fly spray that I was aware of. Anything that happened before she came into my life, though, was an unknown.

For all of my efforts, it seemed like I'd only succeeded in uncovering more problems for which there were no obvious solutions. I dreaded going out to to the barn because it was difficult to be around Francesca, yet I felt compelled to check on her and try to care for her in some way. My so-called dream come true had become a veritable nightmare.

But the practical part of life didn't pause for the emotional part. Francesca would soon be due for another trim her so I again considered the Strasser method. But the day before the appointment with Shelly, a fellow boarder who had been at my previous barn told me stories about horses there being made lame because of this trim. (I would find out much later that this was the work of one unqualified trimmer whose certification was eventually revoked.) So once again, I backed off. I found a Yahoo group for barefoot enthusiasts and through that, located a practitioner who trimmed according to Pete Ramey's and Jaime Jackon's principles. After doing some research, I felt more comfortable with this approach and I chose that path for Francesca. I was relieved at having found an alternative to Strasser, but I was still disheartened by Francesca's declining behavior and body condition.

The picture in this post is of Francesca when her symptoms were at their worst, October 2005. What the picture doesn't show is the emotional issues from which she suffered. So many people suggested that her behavioral issues were just that - behavioral. But in my heart and gut, I knew that Francesca was acting out the only way she knew how to in response to the disruption going on in her entire body. I just didn't know how to fix it.

1 comment:

Numy said...

I can really see the difference between the first picture and this last one. Looking forward to seeing a recovery photo. Thanks for writing!