Do What You Need to Do to Get Better



Preacher puts up with his grazing muzzle



The last few months have been pretty challenging for me. The grass was pretty lush this summer at Hold Your Horse's Farm and I guess it was too rich for me. I admit it. I ate a lot of clover and as a result gained quite a bit of weight and ended up with laminitis (a condition that affects the bones in horse's feet) twice.

I ended up having to spend a month in a stall, and I really didn't like it. I wasn't allowed to eat grass, had to wear funny boots on my feet and worst of all, wasn't able to roam around the pasture with my friends. Apparently eating too much grass is now an issue for me, and the humans say I still need to drop some weight.

Fortunately, I've been able to get out of the stall and spend time grazing. There's just one catch. Since I have to slow down on how much grass I eat, I have to wear a grazing muzzle. It is like a basket I wear on my nose. I can still graze, eat and drink; but it keeps me from eating big amounts. The humans are also limiting the amount of time we spend in the lush pasture. Part of the time they are keeping us on top of the hill where the grass has been grazed pretty thoroughly. The grass there is short and there's not a lot left now that the temperatures have gotten cooler.

They take the grazing muzzle off at night and keep me confined where there's not much to graze on. I guess they figure that will keep me from overeating. I stick my head through the fence and get any extra grass I can, but I've definitely slowed down. Every morning we wait at the gate for the humans to open up the pasture.

They put on my halter and put me in the muzzle. I don't really protest or make them chase me to put it on. Even though I don't want to wear it, I know I have to. And wearing it is much better than being confined to a stall.

It is a tough lesson for horses to learn, and I think the same is true for humans. We sometimes have to do things we don't want to do, and it is for our own good. Even though I didn't like being in the stall and even though I don't like having to wear a muzzle to keep me from overeating, I need to do it. Humans have things they need to do as well.

Horses are apparently not the only ones who overeat. I know some humans who could probably use a grazing muzzle as well. Sometimes humans need to rest and recover when they are sick. They need to spend time in their stalls sleeping, even if they don't want to. There are probably lots of things humans don't want to do, but need to, and recognizing when that happens and going along with it is really the best thing. I do it every morning when Linda puts on my grazing muzzle. Humans need to go along with the things they don't really want to do but need to do in order to get better. That's just the way it is.

Humans have an advantage over us horses, though. You can at least understand the reasoning behind having to do something. I have to admit that staying in a stall didn't really make a lot of sense to me.

The point is that when you need to take care of yourself in order to get better, you need to do it, whether it is convenient or something you want to do or not. In the long run you'll be glad you did. I'm really happy that I can run and play with my horse buddies again. I guess it is worth some inconvenience!

Neighs and Whinnies,

Preacher
P.S. If you need help figuring out what you need to do to feel better, maybe my human, Linda Pucci can help. She can help you design a program for better self care, which is the key to staying healthier. She says self care is important for both physical AND mental health. I don't know what that means, but I know people come to visit her and go home smiling. You can call her at 865-983-7544 or email her at Linda@InnerResourceCenter.com. I'll bet she can help you figure out what you need to do.


P.P.S. Note from Linda: Preacher is SO right about doing what you need to do to take care of yourself. In addition to the struggles he had, I struggled with bronchitis and some complications, so "doing what you need to do to get better" was a lesson I needed to pay attention to as well!