Loshenka Makeover Phase 2

We had been working with the new Loshenka, who we deemed Shanks, for a few weeks now. At first, we let him settle in and had a vet called. Due to Shanks’ aggression with previous owners, we wanted to make sure we did a thorough check on his body. 

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so the vet wrapped up his visit. It only helped ease the question of if something was physically wrong with Shanks, but left so many more questions. 

“So if there isn’t anything physically wrong with him, where do we look to for answers now?” I had the lead rope in my hand, carefully rubbing Shanks’ muzzle. 

“I could give a reference for some massage therapists or electrotherapy, but you may wanna look into what he had been through as a foal. There are more ways to cause harm than just physical ones.” 

I nodded, “Thanks Cameron. I feel like we have hit a wall with Shanks. He is not a bad horse, but it is so blatantly clear that something is bothering him.” Letting out a sigh, I took a look at Shanks. He was such a handsome horse; so tall and powerful. 

I wish I understood where his anger stemmed from. If it wasn’t a physical injury, Cameron was right. It could be trauma unsolved from his past. “I think I am going to try and find out where he came from.”

“Good luck with that Anita! Let me know what you figure out. In the meantime, here are some references you can try. Have a good day!” Cameron grabbed his belongings and headed out. 

I led Shanks to his stable, away from the other horses for now. He didn’t really get along with them yet. Shanks seemed restless, it hurt watching him that way. I just wanted him to be comfortable with me. 

I got a hold of the rescue agency and asked them a few questions about Shanks. From what they were told, Shanks was passed between multiple owners. He was originally purchased for a little boy to ride as a young horse. He hadn’t been the right match, as the boy should have never been riding a horse that green to begin with. 

So Shanks was sold to an overly eager man, and it was not in his best interest. This man had decided Shanks could be “polished” up and sold as a “family-friendly” horse. Soon after buying Shanks, he would display his ways of training. After a year of this training, Shanks was sold to a family under the guise of a “Bomb-proof” horse.

Shanks was not a bad horse, but he did not have the proper training, once again, to be sold to a family with kids. So an overly-excitable Shanks wound up hurting a child during a competition. Shanks was then left in the stable, unridden, until they could find him a new owner. 

When Shanks finally ended up with the older gentleman, he had picked up a nasty habit of biting and nipping at humans and horses alike. The older man was aware of this, taking Shanks in regardless. He had other horses, and figured he could help Shanks. 

Shanks was left alone in a pasture, the older man said that this would allow him to get out his aggression. But being alone did not help him, instead it made things worse. One day when taking Shanks out to the pasture, one of the stable hands had another horse in hand passing by. Shanks bit the other horse, and then the older man got hurt as well. Shanks was left alone in the pasture until the rescue could get there. 

By the time Shanks had made it to my care, he had been let down so many times. My heart was going to break if he was let down by me too. 

No. 

He wouldn’t be.

I couldn’t let him down too. 

Then I started to reach out to different people in hopes that I may find an answer. We tried electrotherapy. After a few sessions we noticed that although he seemed a bit calmer, he still acted out. 

Next we tried massage sessions. Once again, although he seemed a bit more relaxed, Shanks was still acting out. It was by this point I picked up on a pattern. When we were actively working with Shanks, he would calm down. But during the time it took to get him ready, and the time it took cooling him down, Shanks was upset again. Shanks became increasingly irritated when he was left alone in his stall or in the pasture. 

So it was in the downtime that he was most irritated and in the most agitated state of mind. Now Shanks seemed to be fine with the stable dog, but the other horses he still wasn’t a fan of. I had a few ideas left. 

When Shanks was left in his stall, I wanted a treat ball left with him. I was hoping that by working on getting the treats out, especially the carrots, he would calm down. Then I had planned on getting a cat for the stable. I was wondering if he would get along with the cat as much as he did the dog. 

We introduced Shanks to Luffy, a young tomcat, and they both got along very well. Shanks actually seemed protective of the cat, who seemed to enjoy the one on one attention given to him. 

So there it was; a piece of the puzzle that seemed to finally reveal itself. After all the months here, after all these years being misunderstood, I had figured him out. Maybe he had just been bored all along. He had been so misunderstood, even by me.