County Treasure "CT"
I've been working with a 9 year old 16.2 hand chestnut TB gelding for the last 17 months. His name is County Treasurer, "CT". I believe that this horse has had a very tough life, and I have made a lot of progress with him during the past year, but I've reached a point with him where I'm not sure what else I can do for him. I am a novice rider, so buying this horse was the CLASSIC green rider mistake on my part, but I took one look at him and fell in love with his big soft brown eyes. He is a very kind horse, but very mistrustful of people. I believe that he really trusts me and my trainer now, so thinking about finding a new home/owner for him is keeping me up at night.
He came to MA on a trailer from Texas 2 winters ago with a man who sells hay and makes regular trips between the southern US and New England. CT has a big “M” branded on his left hindquarter and a Jockey Club tattoo. He was owned by a breeder/trainer by the last name of Motley in the Austin area. The minimal records that I have of him show that he was sold from one Motley family to another at the age of 2. No info after that.
He was a train wreck when I first saw him, and very brittle emotionally. We don't believe that he was ever outright abused, but you could tell that he had been neglected and that he'd been handled roughly during his lifetime. He was a skinny 7 year old, totally atrophied, missing part of a hind hoof (untreated abscess, we think), had forefoot lameness, stiff hocks, back problems, TMJ (due to ramps and hooks on his teeth), and a multitude of scrapes and scars. He hadn't been shod in a long while, so his feet were a mess: under-run heels, soft soles, etc. He has an old "bow" in the left front. According to the Jockey Club official records, he never raced.
Within six months, he had recovered from many of his physical issues. I have him in special shoes, and with the exception of his left front, his heels and soles have grown back nicely. Most of his lameness is gone (still very slightly "off" on the left front). I have had him in professional dressage training with Jodi Pearson-Keating 3-4 days per week for the past year. He's a very lovely mover. He was making excellent progress and Jodi was riding him regularly last summer/fall. She felt that he could be quite competitive at the lower levels (limited mostly by his slight "downhill" conformation). He did have issues with "contact" with his mouth, which we had worked through. We have handled him with a great deal of patience and he has responded very well.
Then, in October of 2004, about 10 days after his fall shots, he began to suffer with a rather severe case of idiopathic “headshaking” syndrome (trigeminal neuralgia). We suspect that it was brought on by the rhino shot. During this period, he was completely unrideable. We could barely get a halter on him. We treated him with drugs and I gave him high doses of vitamin B and "APF" to try to help heal the nerve damage. I weaned him off the drugs in November, and he was fine through the winter. Although the headshaking symptoms have all but disappeared, he will still occasionally have a few "ticks". I had him on Quiessence (B vitamins and Magnesium) and APF since November. I have now weaned him off the APF since it is so expensive and he seems to be doing ok as long as he has the Quiessence.
I was riding CT 4 days/week and adding more trot work early this Spring and he seemed to be enjoying it. Then one day about 6 weeks ago, he seemed tense and tried to leave the arena. When I asked him to turn left, he reared. It was the first time he had ever reacted that way under saddle. He's absolutely fine on the longe line, but when I get on now he seems to get worried and tense. A couple of weeks after the rearing incident, he panicked in the arena when he came toward another horse and tried to buck me off (also the first time he ever bucked under saddle). I'm not an experienced enough rider to deal with this. My trainer is busy with the summer show schedule and is losing patience with him. Now that he has reared under saddle, she considers him dangerous and unpredictable and won’t let me get on him. I had him checked for possible back or foot issues. He was a little sore on his right side, but nothing really stood out as a likely cause for his not wanting to be ridden. As a last resort, I had a pet communicator talk to him to see if she could pinpoint a reason for the sudden change in his attitude. Interestingly, she said that what he is going through right now is totally emotional. This time of year brings back a memory of something really “horrible” that happened to him. He wouldn’t let her see what it was that happened, but she did say that I should be patient because he was almost over it.
Aside from the headshaking and the troublesome left front heel, CT is very hearty and incredibly strong. He is more like a quarter horse than a TB. Jodi says that he is the most un-thoroughbred-like TB she has ever seen (and he’s a chestnut!). He is not sensitive or fussy about cuts, bug bites, etc. He has never had any other lameness issues. I believe that CT needs more time and patient handling to continue his recovery from whatever it was that happened to him in Texas. I had two different pet communicators talk to CT over the past year. They both told me essentially the same thing! CT was set up for failure over and over again by previous owners. He was pushed really hard before he understood what was expected of him. He was passed around a lot and never really had a special "person" until me. He has a very hard time trusting people. He has no confidence in his body and fears the physical pain that he was in for so many years (front feet). He feels better now than he ever has before, and he really likes the dressage training. He likes to learn slowly (although he is VERY smart) due to his lack of confidence. He needs a lot of praise and reassurance. One of the communicators also told me that he spent a lot of time moving from place to place on a trailer, and he was left on the trailer for long periods of time. I believe that much of the mental baggage that I have observed supports this information. He has two noticeable psychological issues: claustrophobia and fear of head confinement, which result in the following “behavioral issues”:
He has a real fear of trailers. I hired Cathie Hatrick-Anderson to help me re-train him to trailer. I have to be patient with him, but he will load for me. Also, if he is in his stall and it gets really hot, he will panic in his stall and start spinning around frantically (reminded of being trapped in a hot trailer??). The afternoon sun shines directly into his shed row stall, so I keep a fan on during really hot days.
His other issue is accepting contact with a bit. The communicators sensed that his mouth was abused with a big western bit in the past. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that he has a sensitive mouth and tends to get tiny red ulcers on his gums. Also, I observed that during the period of time when CT was headshaking, his symptoms seemed to be triggered by eating prickly hay. If the hay was soaked, or if we fed him Dengie, his symptoms subsided. I’ve had him in a KK Ultra loose ring snaffle since I’ve owned him. He opens his mouth willingly for the bit. He accepts a crank caveson and flash with no problems.
CT should never be used as a hunter/jumper. Aside from the issues that he has with his front feet, he has a real fear of cavaletti and jumps. It seems that he was overfaced and pushed too soon to jump, and it has only added to his lack of confidence and his fear of people. He seems quite happy to do the dressage work, and he does not seem to get bored with endless repetition of exercises. He needs lots of encouragement and praise.
So why have I continued to work with him for all of this time? CT is handsome, athletic and spirited. He's very intelligent and quite a character. He makes me laugh almost every day. One of the things that I love most about him is that he is NOT a spooky horse (aside from the claustrophobia). Blowing plastic bags, snow falling off the roof, people banging around in the hayloft over his head, leaf blowers, men climbing ladders in the arena, etc..... none of this scares him. He doesn't even blink! He has quite a sense of humor. He makes up little games to entertain himself. He has been known to play “kick the water bucket” with his paddock-mate, Buster. And I've taught him some tricks. In all of the time I've owned him, he has never hurt me.
CT is a very affectionate horse. He loves to have his ears rubbed. He stands on the cross ties, body clips, bathes, and stands quietly for vet and farrier. He loves attention and he REALLY likes dogs. He and our black Lab lick each other on the mouth!
Also, CT is fine in an indoor arena with or without mirrors (he has worked in both).
He goes in a surcingle or saddle, has worked well in side reins, draw reins, and long lines. He longes very well and has no fear of longe whips, dressage whips or crops.
I can provide a video of me working with him on the ground and on the longe if anyone is interested in seeing how he moves and how he behaves.
CT can be pushy on the ground (a self defense mechanism). He requires a confident, quiet, patient, handler. He is not a mean horse. But his next owner should not try to use brute force to make him do things. He will react badly. He has a nasty rear in him and he will strike out. I think he would be an excellent candidate for natural horsemanship training and bitless bridle. He has come so far in the last year and has started to trust people again. It would break my heart to see him suffer at the hands of someone who thinks that all he needs is to be shown "who's boss". He has already been badly broken by this type of thinking. Old fashioned horse training techniques will surely be a quick route to a bad end for him. Or worse, he could kill someone if treated with anything less than patience and kindness. He is a willing horse, but people in his past have made him very wary. He has not had a good life (until recently). He must always be handled with that in mind.
Notes from Bright Futures: CT is available to adopt with no fee. Please don't inquire just because he's "free". This horse has made great strides in the last year, and he comes with many issues (and he will require medication for HSS). If you've got the time and the patience to give him what he needs, in return, he will give you much love and enjoyment during the time you spend together.
Head Shaking Syndrome, is often caused by a reaction to the rhino vaccine. It is rare, but does occur. The adverse reaction to the vaccine triggers the herpes virus which lies dormant in the fifth cranial nerve in the horses' face. When "wakened", the virus causes, what is believed to be, severe itching that causes the horse to toss his head - sometimes violently - rub his nose on his leg or anything he can find to relieve the discomfort/pain (often it is painful), sneezing, snorting, etc. Cyproheptadine is a drug that has had great success in relieving the symptoms. CT's donor has tried all of the drug therapies that are recommended and has found that the inexpensive nutritional supplement, Quiessence, is what helps CT best. This supplement contains high levels of magnesium and is formulated to alleviate stress, which in turn, seems to relieve the HSS symptoms. (Interestingly, it is now being reported that magnesium supplements can help prevent migraines in people, too). CT’s donor also keeps a container of Cyproheptadine on hand in case the symptoms become severe. Therefore, his adopter will be required to provide the supplement and the medication to CT as necessary. It would also be helpful to watch his behavior in the spring and fall. He may show more symptoms during these seasons, and/or he may have bad memories about things that happened during that time of year at some point in his life. I have also worked with an animal communicator, and while I do not understand how they "talk" to our animal friends, I do know that I have gained valuable insight and help with issues from working with one.
You can find out more about Head Shaking Syndrome by clicking the links below.
www.headshaking.com/headlinks.htm