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ysabetwordsmithThis poem is from the September 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from bairnsidhe and Anonymous. It also fills the "multiple disabled characters" square in my 9-1-20 card for the I Want Fries With That! Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"The Hoofprint of a Horse Beside It"
[Friday, June 26, 2015]
Six weeks after the first visit,
John-Morgan returned to see
how the centaurs were doing.
More of them were willing
to participate this time,
having seen how it went
last time for the others.
Ariel was skittish, flitting
around the fringes of the herd,
but Lilita and Miriam had actually
started to calm down some.
Ansel had come along
mostly for moral support,
although he wanted to learn
more about interspecies first aid.
Turq wanted to see if he could
get used to John-Morgan in case
the teal deer needed help later.
"Has anyone built on the things we
discussed last time?" John-Morgan said.
"We built a big sandpit for the trail,"
Arun said with a grin. "It's fantastic."
"My grandfather wants to wait until
the ground softens in the fall before
putting in cobblestones," Ansel said.
"However, we did find a stretch with
plenty of nice tree roots, and we
swept some of the dirt out from
between them, so that works."
"Ansel put in a few stone steps
at his place, too, where the yard
slopes up," Turq added. "It's
nice. The teal deer likes going
up and down those now."
"Like I said, it got muddy
there," Ansel replied. "I may
add more along the slope later."
"Sounds good," John-Morgan said.
"We did a first aid class too,"
Michann said. "You should see
the centaur dummy we built!"
"I'd love to, but let's do shoes
first," John-Morgan said.
Michann was happy
to lead, putting a hoof
into the blacksmith's hands.
John-Morgan pried off
the old shoes and trimmed
the hooves. "Looking good,"
he declared. "The rough edge
came right off. Another trim
or two and you'll be down
to clean, healthy hoof."
He put on the new shoes,
and Michann pranced around,
chiming on the gravel driveway.
Hobart was right behind him,
also happy with his metal shoes.
Ariel wanted to try shoes, and
after examining her hooves,
John-Morgan suggested
the glue-on slippers that
some of the other girls had.
"You'd look good in pearl,"
he said, holding up a slipper.
"That's popular on white hooves.
I also have gold or silver if you --"
Her wings boomed, launching
her backwards a few steps.
"Whoops, ducking practice!"
John-Morgan said as he
got out of Ariel's way.
"Sorry," she said, landing.
"They used to ... display me in
gold, sometimes. Bad memories."
"Pearl, then, or would you prefer
something more colorful?" he said.
"There's always pink," Ansel said
with a smile. "Some of the others
like how it looks on their hooves."
Ariel wrinkled her nose. "Too bright,"
she said. "I'd like to try the pearl."
It looked good on her, even if
she did wind up with a few strands
of stray glue on her hooves.
"It's hard to hold still," she said,
looking down at the results.
"Close enough is good enough,"
John-Morgan assured her. "We
got them on and they look fine.
You'll get used to me eventually.
Miriam and Lilita are better already."
"Can I try those gel crescents
this time?" Miriam said. "I think
I can maybe handle that much."
"Sure. Let me guess, you want
the blue?" John-Morgan said.
"Yes, please," said Miriam.
It was touch-and-go for
a few minutes, but they
got the shoes on at last.
"You know, if you're having
issues with touch aversion,
then practice helps with that,"
Ansel said. "Turq and I have
worked through stuff too."
"Pretty heavy stuff, some
of it," Turq admitted.
"That might be wise,"
Miriam said. "I don't
like being so jumpy."
"I'll help," Michann said.
"I've been wanting to learn
more centaur first aid. I
figured maybe it'd be easier
if we could help each other."
"I lean on Arun a lot, and
that helps," Lilita said.
"Well then, let's start with
hooves," John-Morgan said.
"Why hooves?" Miriam said.
"Hooves are history," John-Morgan said.
"Wherever man has left his footprints in
the long ascent from barbarism to civilization,
we find the hoofprint of a horse beside it."
"Also they're important for health,"
Dodge said. "No hoof, no horse."
Shivers danced over Miriam's skin.
"I wish you wouldn't say that."
"Sorry," Dodge said. "Guess
I should've been more careful."
"Okay, if you want to practice
with each other, let me show you
what not to do," John-Morgan said.
"Dodge, give me a hand here, I
know you won't spook easy."
"Sure thing," she said,
moving up beside him.
"First, don't yank," he said,
cupping a hand around
her ankle. "Second, don't
squeeze. Ask for the hoof,
don't demand. It ain't yours."
Dodge laughed, but she
picked up on request.
"If you do any research, you
might see people telling you to do
that stuff," said John-Morgan.
"Ignore them; that's horsecrap.
You want real horsecraft."
"Centaur-craft?" Michann said.
"Or that," John-Morgan said.
"Now, you want to keep
your partner comfortable --"
"That's easy," Dodge said.
"Talk low, talk slow and
don’t say too much."
"Good advice," he said.
"Also, always work in
the same pattern, so
the routine is predictable."
"Yeah, surprises suck,"
Dodge said, grimacing.
"That reminds me, while
ordinary horses do not talk,
centaurs do," said John-Morgan.
"Communicate with your partner."
"Turq only talks in human form,"
Ansel said. "His other forms are
just as smart, but think differently.
We're learning to communicate."
"It's hard to keep in mind what
the human wants when I'm
not him, though," Turq said.
"I wanted you to look at
my darn feet, but the deer
just had different priorities."
"Well, with a horse, you have
to establish trust first, and then
show him that you're helping,"
said John-Morgan. "Once he
knows that he'll feel better after
you finish, he'll pick right up."
"Maybe we can use that
with the deer," Ansel said.
John-Morgan took out
his hoof pick. "Anyhow,
work from the heel to the toe,
and go gently. Some hooves
are more sensitive than others."
He picked out the first hoof,
then moved to the next one.
"Dodge, you've got a rock
here," said John-Morgan.
"Is this hoof bothering you?"
"What rock?" Dodge said.
"I hate you right now,"
Arun muttered.
"Gently, please,"
Ansel reminded.
"Sorry," Arun said.
"Dodge, I envy
you right now."
"When you remove
a rock, pry away from
the foot," John-Morgan said.
Dodge didn't even flinch.
John-Morgan finished
the other two hooves.
"All done," he said.
Dodge stepped away,
tapping her hooves
thoughtfully. "It does
feel better," she said.
"Why? I like the way
the clay feels too."
"Because clean feet
are happy feet," he said.
"There are actually products
you can buy to pack hooves, but
they're meant to be replaced often."
"Nah, I like the clay," Dodge said.
"It feels good on my feet when I walk."
"Then stick with what works for you,"
John-Morgan said. "It's good to know."
"What about first aid?" Michann asked.
"Sure, come on up," said John-Morgan.
"You got solid feet to show off."
Michann came up, and the farrier
lifted his hoof to point out features.
"The most common injury is bruising.
Step on rock or a root, and if you got
tender feet, it'll hurt," he explained.
"This arrowhead shape is your frog,
and that's where rocks usually stick."
"What about chips?" Michann asked.
"We're better now, but Hobart and
I had scary-big chips earlier."
"Chips aren't too bad unless
your whole hoof is unstable,"
John-Morgan said. "You can
buff out small ones with a file."
"Like a chipped fingernail?"
Lilita said. "It's that easy?"
"If it's small, yes -- like if you
hit your hoof on something and
it chips," John-Morgan said.
The girls looked at each other.
"We can do that," Miriam said.
"Now if you get cracks, those
can be more serious. Coming up
from the ground, not so bad, but
going down from the top is worse,"
John-Morgan said. "Call me if
you see anything like that, and
don't put too much weight on it."
"Can you fix it?" Michann asked.
"Usually, yes," said John-Morgan.
"Sometimes it needs a special shoe.
Other times I can fill it with resin.
If the whole hoof is weak, though,
that's an upkeep issue -- bad diet,
bad stable, that sort of thing."
"We're doing fine here,"
Michann said. "We've got
a great place, and we're
working out diet stuff."
"Good," said John-Morgan.
"Another thing to watch for is
cuts or punctures. If you see
blood or the hoof hurts, that's
a bad sign. Clean it or soak it
with antiseptic and wrap it so
it stays clean until it heals."
"If it doesn't heal or it gets
worse, call the farrier or
veterinarian," Ansel said.
"We have a paramedic,"
Dodge pointed out.
"Kedric is pretty good."
"Yeah, but he's not familiar
with centaur hooves yet,"
John-Morgan said. "I've
had more experience, partly
because if a horse is twitchy,
he can nick himself on the knife
while I'm trimming his hooves."
"Yowch," Arun said, wincing.
"It's a reason to make sure
you can stand still while I'm
working," John-Morgan said.
"I've gone over some of this
with Kedric, so that helps too."
"Okay, so ... this sounds a lot
like basic first aid, just different
because of the hoof shape,"
Michann said. "Clean it
and protect it so it heals."
"Pretty much the same,"
John-Morgan said. "You just
need to watch and see if there
are differences between horses
and centaurs we don't know yet."
"Yeah," Arun said glumly. "Alicia
told me that my hooves just aren't
very good. She could thicken the soles
a little, but most of the problem's genetic,
and I might be stuck with that handicap."
Then he brightened. "The hoof boots
are amazing, though. I love those."
"Happy to hear it," John-Morgan said.
"They sure look good on you, too."
"Adaptive equipment matters,"
Ansel said. "Some things can't
be fixed, but can be compensated
enough that they don't bother you.
The restitution money should ensure
that everyone gets what they need."
"Arun, you're steady enough,"
said John-Morgan. "Would you
like to help me demonstrate
some touching practice?"
"Okay," Arun said as he
moved forward. "What is it?"
"On a horse, you would use
a soft cloth or your hands
to go over the whole body,"
John-Morgan said. "With
centaurs, it can be anything
from touching at all if they're
skittish to handling feet so
that gets more familiar."
He suited actions to words,
touching Arun's shoulder and
then sliding down to the hoof.
Arun picked up his foot.
"See, that's what we want,"
John-Morgan said. "There
shouldn't be a tug-of-war. He
knows I want to borrow that foot
so he picks it right up for me."
"You have nice hands,"
Arun said. "It feels good."
"Thank you," said John-Morgan.
"That's important. Your partner
should feel safe in your hands
and should enjoy your touch.
It's all about building trust."
"That's important for us too,"
Turq said. "It's taken some work,
because our first meeting was
so messed up, but we're better
now. When I feel calm, I can
usually use my superpowers
without hurting myself."
"That's good to hear,"
John-Morgan said. "Does
anyone else want a turn?"
Miriam stepped forward. "Yeah.
I don't know if I can, though."
"Don't try to do everything
at once," John-Morgan said.
"Just see you can let me get
close enough to touch, and
if you can, how long."
Her skin shivered and
danced, but she managed
to stay still long enough for
John-Morgan to stroke along
the length of her back.
"Well done," he said. "You
can try for longer next time."
"Can I try?" Turq said shyly.
"The deer is really skittish, but
I want him to know you in case
something goes wrong later."
"Sure," said John-Morgan.
"Why don't you shift and see
how close you can get to me?"
Turq concentrated, then
then the teal deer appeared.
He was wary, snorting and
twitching his huge ears.
"Ready when you are,"
John-Morgan whispered.
The deer circled around him,
drifting slowly closer, but
never quite touched.
"Turq, try the centaurs,"
Ansel suggested then.
The deer took a tentative step
toward Michann, but barely
managed a touch before
springing away again.
"It's okay," Lilita said.
"I'm still jumpy too."
The deer leaned forward
and sniffed along her side,
then pushed his soft nose
against the palm of her hand.
Then he shook himself and
shifted back to human form.
"That felt so weird," Turq said.
"Yeah, but it worked," said Ansel.
"You got a lot closer this time, and
you touched a couple of the centaurs."
"They just didn't bother the deer
as much as John-Morgan did,"
Turq said. "I think I could get
used to him eventually, though."
"Deer are herd animals too,"
John-Morgan said. "If you
think about horses, you can
see how they take care of
each other. They nibble
to scratch itches; they stand
head-to-tail to swat flies.
Deer aren't so different."
"Oh, so that's what I'm
feeling," Michann said.
"It's not just because we're
messed up and don't like
medics. It's herd instinct
telling me to look after them."
"I feel it too," Arun said. "I think
it's a little different for me, but
it comes from the same place."
"Nebuly is like that for us,"
Turq said quietly. "He's
our leader, and we know
he wants to take care of us."
"It's good to have different roles,"
Ansel said. "I've seen Arun and
Pogonip mostly leading. Then Dodge
and Arun do the scouting. If Michann
becomes your medic, then you've
got a lot of the bases covered."
John-Morgan nodded. "That's
a good way to look at it," he said.
"Kedric and I can help with training."
"Speaking of Kedric, let's show you
that centaur dummy," Ansel said.
"He helped us build the thing."
"Yes, please," said John-Morgan.
Ansel led the way into the barn and
showed John-Morgan the dummy.
"We made this from parts of
a CPR dummy and a prop horse
from the local theater," Ansel said.
"The horse half has wagon springs
and bellows inside the chest."
"Wow," said John-Morgan.
"That is surprisingly realistic."
"We're still not sure that we
could treat a heart attack with
any success, but it's not for
lack of trying," Ansel said.
"The shape is just awkward."
"Yeah, you'd need three people,"
said John-Morgan. "One to push
on the horse chest, up and down.
Two to press the human chest
between them, front to back."
"That might work," Michann said.
"We tried it before without much luck."
"Try again," John-Morgan said.
"You're bigger, so take the lower heart.
Ansel, give me a hand up above."
It took some shifting around, but
they managed to get air in and out,
even though they never got much rhythm.
"This could really work," Michann said.
"Yep." John-Morgan patted his shoulder.
"Let's hope that we never need it."
Ansel did hope that, but he was
glad for the practice anyway.
If nothing else, they were making
hoofprints on the way to civilization.
* * *
Notes:
"Wherever man has left his footprints in the long ascent from barbarism to civilization, we find the hoofprint of a horse beside it."
-- John Trotwood Moore
"Talk low, talk slow and don’t say too much."
– John Wayne
Most horses need hoof care about once every 6 weeks, although it can range from 4 to 8 weeks.
A horse that won't stand for the farrier puts both at risk, and needs training to pick up the feet. Don't do that the wrong way by yanking or squeezing to annoy the horse into picking up. Trust is absolutely essential, because the horse is stronger.
Cleaning hooves is an important part of horse care. Pay attention to normal vs. abnormal signs.
Hoof packing provides various benefits.
“In my part of the country, every hoof is packed with Alabama clay, and that’s a good thing,” says Miller. “Without that packing, the hoof wall is holding the majority of the horse’s weight, which is stressful. Ideally, the foot forms a composite weight-bearing structure with the soil to share the load. If you’re stabling on mats, put in a layer of gravel or a lot of bedding to give the horse something resilient to stand on and pack in the foot. A great combination for stable flooring would be gravel, dirt and shavings to keep it all dry.”
-- Managing Horses for Stronger Hooves
Missouri has many types of clay, especially along watercourses. Heavily used in cosmetics and topical treatments, clay has many benefits. Horses turned out where they can walk in clay will pack their hooves with it, providing support. While standing in soggy ground can soften hooves too much, very dry ground can make them brittle. Having a patch of wet clay to walk into and out of helps develop resilient hooves.
First aid for horses involves a lot of hoof care. Pay attention to things like hoof cracks and quicked feet.
See the stone steps that Ansel added to his yard. Rough stone offers a natural way to wear down hooves.
bairnsidhe and Anonymous. It also fills the "multiple disabled characters" square in my 9-1-20 card for the I Want Fries With That! Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series."The Hoofprint of a Horse Beside It"
[Friday, June 26, 2015]
Six weeks after the first visit,
John-Morgan returned to see
how the centaurs were doing.
More of them were willing
to participate this time,
having seen how it went
last time for the others.
Ariel was skittish, flitting
around the fringes of the herd,
but Lilita and Miriam had actually
started to calm down some.
Ansel had come along
mostly for moral support,
although he wanted to learn
more about interspecies first aid.
Turq wanted to see if he could
get used to John-Morgan in case
the teal deer needed help later.
"Has anyone built on the things we
discussed last time?" John-Morgan said.
"We built a big sandpit for the trail,"
Arun said with a grin. "It's fantastic."
"My grandfather wants to wait until
the ground softens in the fall before
putting in cobblestones," Ansel said.
"However, we did find a stretch with
plenty of nice tree roots, and we
swept some of the dirt out from
between them, so that works."
"Ansel put in a few stone steps
at his place, too, where the yard
slopes up," Turq added. "It's
nice. The teal deer likes going
up and down those now."
"Like I said, it got muddy
there," Ansel replied. "I may
add more along the slope later."
"Sounds good," John-Morgan said.
"We did a first aid class too,"
Michann said. "You should see
the centaur dummy we built!"
"I'd love to, but let's do shoes
first," John-Morgan said.
Michann was happy
to lead, putting a hoof
into the blacksmith's hands.
John-Morgan pried off
the old shoes and trimmed
the hooves. "Looking good,"
he declared. "The rough edge
came right off. Another trim
or two and you'll be down
to clean, healthy hoof."
He put on the new shoes,
and Michann pranced around,
chiming on the gravel driveway.
Hobart was right behind him,
also happy with his metal shoes.
Ariel wanted to try shoes, and
after examining her hooves,
John-Morgan suggested
the glue-on slippers that
some of the other girls had.
"You'd look good in pearl,"
he said, holding up a slipper.
"That's popular on white hooves.
I also have gold or silver if you --"
Her wings boomed, launching
her backwards a few steps.
"Whoops, ducking practice!"
John-Morgan said as he
got out of Ariel's way.
"Sorry," she said, landing.
"They used to ... display me in
gold, sometimes. Bad memories."
"Pearl, then, or would you prefer
something more colorful?" he said.
"There's always pink," Ansel said
with a smile. "Some of the others
like how it looks on their hooves."
Ariel wrinkled her nose. "Too bright,"
she said. "I'd like to try the pearl."
It looked good on her, even if
she did wind up with a few strands
of stray glue on her hooves.
"It's hard to hold still," she said,
looking down at the results.
"Close enough is good enough,"
John-Morgan assured her. "We
got them on and they look fine.
You'll get used to me eventually.
Miriam and Lilita are better already."
"Can I try those gel crescents
this time?" Miriam said. "I think
I can maybe handle that much."
"Sure. Let me guess, you want
the blue?" John-Morgan said.
"Yes, please," said Miriam.
It was touch-and-go for
a few minutes, but they
got the shoes on at last.
"You know, if you're having
issues with touch aversion,
then practice helps with that,"
Ansel said. "Turq and I have
worked through stuff too."
"Pretty heavy stuff, some
of it," Turq admitted.
"That might be wise,"
Miriam said. "I don't
like being so jumpy."
"I'll help," Michann said.
"I've been wanting to learn
more centaur first aid. I
figured maybe it'd be easier
if we could help each other."
"I lean on Arun a lot, and
that helps," Lilita said.
"Well then, let's start with
hooves," John-Morgan said.
"Why hooves?" Miriam said.
"Hooves are history," John-Morgan said.
"Wherever man has left his footprints in
the long ascent from barbarism to civilization,
we find the hoofprint of a horse beside it."
"Also they're important for health,"
Dodge said. "No hoof, no horse."
Shivers danced over Miriam's skin.
"I wish you wouldn't say that."
"Sorry," Dodge said. "Guess
I should've been more careful."
"Okay, if you want to practice
with each other, let me show you
what not to do," John-Morgan said.
"Dodge, give me a hand here, I
know you won't spook easy."
"Sure thing," she said,
moving up beside him.
"First, don't yank," he said,
cupping a hand around
her ankle. "Second, don't
squeeze. Ask for the hoof,
don't demand. It ain't yours."
Dodge laughed, but she
picked up on request.
"If you do any research, you
might see people telling you to do
that stuff," said John-Morgan.
"Ignore them; that's horsecrap.
You want real horsecraft."
"Centaur-craft?" Michann said.
"Or that," John-Morgan said.
"Now, you want to keep
your partner comfortable --"
"That's easy," Dodge said.
"Talk low, talk slow and
don’t say too much."
"Good advice," he said.
"Also, always work in
the same pattern, so
the routine is predictable."
"Yeah, surprises suck,"
Dodge said, grimacing.
"That reminds me, while
ordinary horses do not talk,
centaurs do," said John-Morgan.
"Communicate with your partner."
"Turq only talks in human form,"
Ansel said. "His other forms are
just as smart, but think differently.
We're learning to communicate."
"It's hard to keep in mind what
the human wants when I'm
not him, though," Turq said.
"I wanted you to look at
my darn feet, but the deer
just had different priorities."
"Well, with a horse, you have
to establish trust first, and then
show him that you're helping,"
said John-Morgan. "Once he
knows that he'll feel better after
you finish, he'll pick right up."
"Maybe we can use that
with the deer," Ansel said.
John-Morgan took out
his hoof pick. "Anyhow,
work from the heel to the toe,
and go gently. Some hooves
are more sensitive than others."
He picked out the first hoof,
then moved to the next one.
"Dodge, you've got a rock
here," said John-Morgan.
"Is this hoof bothering you?"
"What rock?" Dodge said.
"I hate you right now,"
Arun muttered.
"Gently, please,"
Ansel reminded.
"Sorry," Arun said.
"Dodge, I envy
you right now."
"When you remove
a rock, pry away from
the foot," John-Morgan said.
Dodge didn't even flinch.
John-Morgan finished
the other two hooves.
"All done," he said.
Dodge stepped away,
tapping her hooves
thoughtfully. "It does
feel better," she said.
"Why? I like the way
the clay feels too."
"Because clean feet
are happy feet," he said.
"There are actually products
you can buy to pack hooves, but
they're meant to be replaced often."
"Nah, I like the clay," Dodge said.
"It feels good on my feet when I walk."
"Then stick with what works for you,"
John-Morgan said. "It's good to know."
"What about first aid?" Michann asked.
"Sure, come on up," said John-Morgan.
"You got solid feet to show off."
Michann came up, and the farrier
lifted his hoof to point out features.
"The most common injury is bruising.
Step on rock or a root, and if you got
tender feet, it'll hurt," he explained.
"This arrowhead shape is your frog,
and that's where rocks usually stick."
"What about chips?" Michann asked.
"We're better now, but Hobart and
I had scary-big chips earlier."
"Chips aren't too bad unless
your whole hoof is unstable,"
John-Morgan said. "You can
buff out small ones with a file."
"Like a chipped fingernail?"
Lilita said. "It's that easy?"
"If it's small, yes -- like if you
hit your hoof on something and
it chips," John-Morgan said.
The girls looked at each other.
"We can do that," Miriam said.
"Now if you get cracks, those
can be more serious. Coming up
from the ground, not so bad, but
going down from the top is worse,"
John-Morgan said. "Call me if
you see anything like that, and
don't put too much weight on it."
"Can you fix it?" Michann asked.
"Usually, yes," said John-Morgan.
"Sometimes it needs a special shoe.
Other times I can fill it with resin.
If the whole hoof is weak, though,
that's an upkeep issue -- bad diet,
bad stable, that sort of thing."
"We're doing fine here,"
Michann said. "We've got
a great place, and we're
working out diet stuff."
"Good," said John-Morgan.
"Another thing to watch for is
cuts or punctures. If you see
blood or the hoof hurts, that's
a bad sign. Clean it or soak it
with antiseptic and wrap it so
it stays clean until it heals."
"If it doesn't heal or it gets
worse, call the farrier or
veterinarian," Ansel said.
"We have a paramedic,"
Dodge pointed out.
"Kedric is pretty good."
"Yeah, but he's not familiar
with centaur hooves yet,"
John-Morgan said. "I've
had more experience, partly
because if a horse is twitchy,
he can nick himself on the knife
while I'm trimming his hooves."
"Yowch," Arun said, wincing.
"It's a reason to make sure
you can stand still while I'm
working," John-Morgan said.
"I've gone over some of this
with Kedric, so that helps too."
"Okay, so ... this sounds a lot
like basic first aid, just different
because of the hoof shape,"
Michann said. "Clean it
and protect it so it heals."
"Pretty much the same,"
John-Morgan said. "You just
need to watch and see if there
are differences between horses
and centaurs we don't know yet."
"Yeah," Arun said glumly. "Alicia
told me that my hooves just aren't
very good. She could thicken the soles
a little, but most of the problem's genetic,
and I might be stuck with that handicap."
Then he brightened. "The hoof boots
are amazing, though. I love those."
"Happy to hear it," John-Morgan said.
"They sure look good on you, too."
"Adaptive equipment matters,"
Ansel said. "Some things can't
be fixed, but can be compensated
enough that they don't bother you.
The restitution money should ensure
that everyone gets what they need."
"Arun, you're steady enough,"
said John-Morgan. "Would you
like to help me demonstrate
some touching practice?"
"Okay," Arun said as he
moved forward. "What is it?"
"On a horse, you would use
a soft cloth or your hands
to go over the whole body,"
John-Morgan said. "With
centaurs, it can be anything
from touching at all if they're
skittish to handling feet so
that gets more familiar."
He suited actions to words,
touching Arun's shoulder and
then sliding down to the hoof.
Arun picked up his foot.
"See, that's what we want,"
John-Morgan said. "There
shouldn't be a tug-of-war. He
knows I want to borrow that foot
so he picks it right up for me."
"You have nice hands,"
Arun said. "It feels good."
"Thank you," said John-Morgan.
"That's important. Your partner
should feel safe in your hands
and should enjoy your touch.
It's all about building trust."
"That's important for us too,"
Turq said. "It's taken some work,
because our first meeting was
so messed up, but we're better
now. When I feel calm, I can
usually use my superpowers
without hurting myself."
"That's good to hear,"
John-Morgan said. "Does
anyone else want a turn?"
Miriam stepped forward. "Yeah.
I don't know if I can, though."
"Don't try to do everything
at once," John-Morgan said.
"Just see you can let me get
close enough to touch, and
if you can, how long."
Her skin shivered and
danced, but she managed
to stay still long enough for
John-Morgan to stroke along
the length of her back.
"Well done," he said. "You
can try for longer next time."
"Can I try?" Turq said shyly.
"The deer is really skittish, but
I want him to know you in case
something goes wrong later."
"Sure," said John-Morgan.
"Why don't you shift and see
how close you can get to me?"
Turq concentrated, then
then the teal deer appeared.
He was wary, snorting and
twitching his huge ears.
"Ready when you are,"
John-Morgan whispered.
The deer circled around him,
drifting slowly closer, but
never quite touched.
"Turq, try the centaurs,"
Ansel suggested then.
The deer took a tentative step
toward Michann, but barely
managed a touch before
springing away again.
"It's okay," Lilita said.
"I'm still jumpy too."
The deer leaned forward
and sniffed along her side,
then pushed his soft nose
against the palm of her hand.
Then he shook himself and
shifted back to human form.
"That felt so weird," Turq said.
"Yeah, but it worked," said Ansel.
"You got a lot closer this time, and
you touched a couple of the centaurs."
"They just didn't bother the deer
as much as John-Morgan did,"
Turq said. "I think I could get
used to him eventually, though."
"Deer are herd animals too,"
John-Morgan said. "If you
think about horses, you can
see how they take care of
each other. They nibble
to scratch itches; they stand
head-to-tail to swat flies.
Deer aren't so different."
"Oh, so that's what I'm
feeling," Michann said.
"It's not just because we're
messed up and don't like
medics. It's herd instinct
telling me to look after them."
"I feel it too," Arun said. "I think
it's a little different for me, but
it comes from the same place."
"Nebuly is like that for us,"
Turq said quietly. "He's
our leader, and we know
he wants to take care of us."
"It's good to have different roles,"
Ansel said. "I've seen Arun and
Pogonip mostly leading. Then Dodge
and Arun do the scouting. If Michann
becomes your medic, then you've
got a lot of the bases covered."
John-Morgan nodded. "That's
a good way to look at it," he said.
"Kedric and I can help with training."
"Speaking of Kedric, let's show you
that centaur dummy," Ansel said.
"He helped us build the thing."
"Yes, please," said John-Morgan.
Ansel led the way into the barn and
showed John-Morgan the dummy.
"We made this from parts of
a CPR dummy and a prop horse
from the local theater," Ansel said.
"The horse half has wagon springs
and bellows inside the chest."
"Wow," said John-Morgan.
"That is surprisingly realistic."
"We're still not sure that we
could treat a heart attack with
any success, but it's not for
lack of trying," Ansel said.
"The shape is just awkward."
"Yeah, you'd need three people,"
said John-Morgan. "One to push
on the horse chest, up and down.
Two to press the human chest
between them, front to back."
"That might work," Michann said.
"We tried it before without much luck."
"Try again," John-Morgan said.
"You're bigger, so take the lower heart.
Ansel, give me a hand up above."
It took some shifting around, but
they managed to get air in and out,
even though they never got much rhythm.
"This could really work," Michann said.
"Yep." John-Morgan patted his shoulder.
"Let's hope that we never need it."
Ansel did hope that, but he was
glad for the practice anyway.
If nothing else, they were making
hoofprints on the way to civilization.
* * *
Notes:
"Wherever man has left his footprints in the long ascent from barbarism to civilization, we find the hoofprint of a horse beside it."
-- John Trotwood Moore
"Talk low, talk slow and don’t say too much."
– John Wayne
Most horses need hoof care about once every 6 weeks, although it can range from 4 to 8 weeks.
A horse that won't stand for the farrier puts both at risk, and needs training to pick up the feet. Don't do that the wrong way by yanking or squeezing to annoy the horse into picking up. Trust is absolutely essential, because the horse is stronger.
Cleaning hooves is an important part of horse care. Pay attention to normal vs. abnormal signs.
Hoof packing provides various benefits.
“In my part of the country, every hoof is packed with Alabama clay, and that’s a good thing,” says Miller. “Without that packing, the hoof wall is holding the majority of the horse’s weight, which is stressful. Ideally, the foot forms a composite weight-bearing structure with the soil to share the load. If you’re stabling on mats, put in a layer of gravel or a lot of bedding to give the horse something resilient to stand on and pack in the foot. A great combination for stable flooring would be gravel, dirt and shavings to keep it all dry.”
-- Managing Horses for Stronger Hooves
Missouri has many types of clay, especially along watercourses. Heavily used in cosmetics and topical treatments, clay has many benefits. Horses turned out where they can walk in clay will pack their hooves with it, providing support. While standing in soggy ground can soften hooves too much, very dry ground can make them brittle. Having a patch of wet clay to walk into and out of helps develop resilient hooves.
First aid for horses involves a lot of hoof care. Pay attention to things like hoof cracks and quicked feet.
See the stone steps that Ansel added to his yard. Rough stone offers a natural way to wear down hooves.
