Blue is a rather amazing horse, for one thing he is litter-box trained.
Well, manure pile trained. His daytime turnout area also contains our
composting manure pile and when he has access to it, he makes the walk
all the way over to it to do his business. Most of the time at least. As
his stall cleaner, I really appreciate that. Another cleanliness issue
with Blue is that he, in all of his nearly 11 years of life, doesn't
roll in the dirt. He will lay down and sleep in his shavings, he loves
to scratch against a fence or gate but he never wallowed in the mud,
even after a fresh bath. Until now. He has finally discovered that a
good roll in the mud feels great and, even though he now needs real
grooming! I don't mind.

I've worried all along that he was not rolling because he was sore, that
getting up and down hurt. Blue has had his share of odd, fleeting,
difficult to diagnose lameness. It seemed entirely possible to me that
he wasn't doing the normal roll-in-the-mud thing because he was
uncomfortable.

Blue's mom, Bonnie, was an avowed
toss-herself-down-in-the-wet-mud-or-sand fan. If a show was coming up
and I bathed and clipped her, I had to keep her tied up until dry and
then swaddle her with hood and blanket or else she would be an encrusted
dust-bunny by morning. As soon as we got home from such shows, I would
turn her loose in the sandy footing of the round pen and she would
literally throw herself down as soon as she was released and roll so
vigorously that there would be wet sand in her ears, crusted over her
eyelids and ground into the base of her tail. I can still remember, with
horror, the first day that she was turned loose in a small turnout after
her terrible broken withers accident. It had been less than two weeks,
she was still in pain, but the first thing she chose to do when I
released her halter was drop to the ground and roll ... on broken
withers. She repeated that every time I turned her out after that, as if
to prove that she could still do this one thing, that she equated with
being a horse.

But Blue, he never seemed to make that connection. Writhing around in
damp sand or mud didn't occur to him. Well, until about a week ago.

There is a particularly good spot to roll in his turnout - no rocks,
silty mud, the kind of place most horses would head for in a minute. And
finally, he's discovered it. Learned to grind his neck into the good
spots, get great globs on both hips, and come out to be groomed with
dirt and dust thoroughly worked into his long winter hair.

I can't be too upset, even though grooming is not my favorite activity.
I hope it means he is feeling good. Certainly he has been playing in the
paddock more often. And, his mom would be proud.

 

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