I was poo picking today when I heard my livery mate calling urgently from the bottom of the field. I looked down and there was Sid, standing with his front feet completely entwined in a (now defunct) set of plastic shelves which had been standing outside my tack shed.
I hurried down. He watched me. I called, "Good boy, Sid, stand," and he stood. Livery mate waited in the walkway and jittered.
I got to Sid and he gave a big swing of his head as if to say "What now?" No ears back, just an intelligent look.
His front feet were all caught up in the broken shelves and struts. I think he had been trying to scratch his mud fever scabs. I squatted down by him, found the foot with a line of least resistance and asked him to lift it. He did and I put it down outside the wreckage.
Then he needed to take one step forward to get the other front foot out, but only one or his back feet would be in the pickle. I tugged gently at the trapped leg but stayed in front of him so he couldn't come too far. He took the step! I said Whoa! He Whoaed! I extracted the wreckage from around his feet, ta-da!
Livery mate said, "OMG, my horse would have been in such a state."
I checked for injury but it was only the shelves that were injured. Obviously I'm not going to be able to leave anything in the field that he can scratch on. But he was such a Good Boy.
I hurried down. He watched me. I called, "Good boy, Sid, stand," and he stood. Livery mate waited in the walkway and jittered.
I got to Sid and he gave a big swing of his head as if to say "What now?" No ears back, just an intelligent look.
His front feet were all caught up in the broken shelves and struts. I think he had been trying to scratch his mud fever scabs. I squatted down by him, found the foot with a line of least resistance and asked him to lift it. He did and I put it down outside the wreckage.
Then he needed to take one step forward to get the other front foot out, but only one or his back feet would be in the pickle. I tugged gently at the trapped leg but stayed in front of him so he couldn't come too far. He took the step! I said Whoa! He Whoaed! I extracted the wreckage from around his feet, ta-da!
Livery mate said, "OMG, my horse would have been in such a state."
I checked for injury but it was only the shelves that were injured. Obviously I'm not going to be able to leave anything in the field that he can scratch on. But he was such a Good Boy.