Bad Horse, Good Horse

Over this past weekend my filly, Jetblue, was a regular bronc.  It's not surprising, given that Jetblue had life-saving surgery to repair a right lateral displacement of her bowel five weeks ago.  Since then, she's been on stall rest with twice daily hand-walking.  For the energetic coming two filly, it's been a very long five weeks.

On balance, Jetblue has been a model patient.  But this weekend through Monday, when Lorenzo had the chance to get away and spend time with his family, when it was my son, Nick, who walked Jetblue, the filly got her naughty on.  She balled up, bucked, kicked, struck out with her front hooves, and tried to bite Nick.  At one point, she even slipped on the pavement, tumbled to the ground, and scraped up two of her legs.

It was a dangerous situation and I urged Nick to use a stud chain or a crop.  He was worried about getting Jetblue even more riled up, so he gutted it out instead.  Nick's safety and that of Jetblue's was enough to make me bring out a big gun.  Yesterday morning, after the horses were fed, I doused a few softened Berry Good horse treats with ACE, a safe and effective sedative.  Jetblue gobbeled them down and we waited about forty-five minutes or so before Nick attempted walking her.  Thankfully, the ACE made Jetblue manageable, although it didn't seem to curb her desire to bite.

So this morning, when Lorenzo returned, I explained the situation.  He felt fairly confident that Jetblue would be fine.  Amazingly, she was.  The difference?  When Lorenzo went to halter the filly, she did what she'd done to Nick all weekend long -- she pinned her ears, snaked her head, and became threatening.

Lorenzo's response to the cranky filly was far different than Nick's.  Hard and fast, he grabbed the crop leaning outside Jetblue's stall and smacked the filly once across her chest.  Jetblue immediately backed down and when Lorenzo once again invited her to be haltered, she did so willingly.

Is Jetblue a bad horse?  No, she's just a young, frustrated horse who is not able to get enough exercise during this critical post-surgery recovery time.  Did Lorenzo do the right thing?  Absolutely.  A horse that is bucking, kicking, biting, and striking is a significant safety issue.  Diffusing her ill intentions early on  helped make the whole experience safer for both handler and horse.  Doing so was the price of admission to see Jetblue's "good horse" side.

Lorenzo Walks Jetblue