Gus Hits The Highway!

After finally getting the amazing Gus home to his new boarding facility, all we could do was stare at him. Omg! We were now proud owners of an 900 lb bouncing 6 year old boy. We giggled at how confused he looked to have so many horses around him, as he was used to living as a bachelor. And, the shavings! He couldn't figure out what they were and why they were there! He looked so perplexed! We gave him some food and left him to settle into his box stall for the night.

Over the next few days, my daughter led him around the new stable and tried to acclimate him to his new home. He seemed ok. A little tense, but nothing that struck us as a problem. Everyone there loved him right away and knew him as the horse who liked to stick out his tongue. After about 3-4 days, my daughter's trainer told her to jump on and get riding. The trainer told her he was fine and she should have ridden him the day after he arrived. I thought that seemed a little rushed, but what do I know? So she plopped his saddle on, climbed up, and started working with him in the arena. He walked, trotted, and loped just as he did when my daughter tried him. And, his personality! Such a super sweet boy. Not a mean bone in his body. Gus's favorite position was with his forehead touching my daughter's forehead. It was adorable. He even stood perfectly stock still to have front shoes put on because he was tender footed.

We were about 2 weeks into sheer happiness when it all started to fall apart. My daughter went to the barn in the morning and found her beloved boy with a swollen hind leg from hock to thigh. She was panicked. Her trainer was out of town until the next day, so she did the only thing she knew how to do. She hosed his leg down with cold water for about a half an hour while other horse owners debated on whether or not we should call out the vet. He didn't seem painful and was just the slightest bit lame. It was decided he had a black widow bite, as we found one in his stall near his water bucket. The next day, her trainer arrived home and we immediately asked her to check his leg as a precaution. It looked a little better, but still worried us. She said he probably cast his leg in his stall. Cast??? Isn't that the thing they plaster onto broken body parts??

The trainer was so kind to us. She said she would apply some special ointment and wrap his leg. Everything would be fine. We were so relieved. She began wrapping his hind legs and it became clear pretty quickly that he had never had leg wraps on. Gus tried his best to hold still, but he was uncomfortable and unsure of what was going on with his leg. The trainer became tired of his moving and tied him in the cross ties, and placed a stud chain over his upper gums to calm him down. It looked horrible and she assured me that people use this method all the time. After another attempt, Gus pulled his leg away and the wrap fell out of the trainer's hand onto the ground. She completely  lost it. She punched him several times and kicked him twice in the stomach. All of this happened within seconds. She was crazed. Gus in return looked panicked and took the opportunity to show us his true height. He reared so high I could see up his nose! During his rearing, he turned to the trainer and went straight for her head. Lucky for her, she flung herself out of the way. I have to admit, I didn't feel sorry for her. You hurt an animal and you get what you get.