(no subject)

I was holding Whisper for the farrier today, and she freaked out and dragged me around several times-- clear out of the barn, once. My shoulders ache, my hands are blistered and there's a dime-sized patch of skin torn off one fingertip. And we still didn't get her finished; I'm going to have to go back out later. I'm not sure I can control her again; I'm tired and discouraged. Farrier and stable manager want to try using a nose chain on her; I'll probably have to give in, though I absolutely hate using chains that way. They're convinced she's being 'bad;' I'm afraid she's still having pain in her hips.

On the good side, she was limping only very slightly when I left, and my ankles are fine.

Whisper’s okay, I’m okay, farrier and other folk are okay.....

We had to put a lip chain on her. I hate doing that-- it’s very painful for her -- but it was the only way to safely finish tending her hooves, and that couldn’t be postponed. (For one thing, we had to make sure she hadn’t hurt her hoof earlier-- one of those bucking episodes happened with a shoe hanging by one nail.)

If she could put up the fight she did earlier, and not hurt herself, it’s NOT the old injury, and almost certainly not a pain issue; she’s just learned she can get away with it. So we really have no choice but to use a chain for a while, though we’ll certainly try it on the nose rather than the lip next time. It’s a safety thing.... it’s pure luck that no one, including her, was hurt any worse than my various aches and pains.

She seems fine, though I gave her a light dose of painkiller just to be sure. I’m stiff and sore all over, but I’ll be okay. Thankfully the damage to the finger is on the side, not the tip, so it shouldn’t affect my playing too much.