[Phase 2] Cold-water baths

Each day has been a learning experience. Every day bringing a new challenge, which usually followed some new wisdom.

It has not been more than a week since the experienced veterinarian was here, checking the poor soul, my lover had adopted as a hobby for me. With the poor soul, I am of course referring to the soft sand-coloured stallion, with the softest pink eyes to pair with. However, I don’t know if anyone else noticed the softness to him, as we received him in the most horrible condition. He was filled with hives, dull fur and a tail missing half of its hair. This is still the case; however, his attitude seems to have lifted. He doesn’t seem agitated in the same way, calmer, almost as if he knows we are dulling the itchiness as much as we can. Furthermore, we have finally decided upon a name for him: Season. A symbol of change for us around here, both for good and bad. We are still unsure what to register him as, but for now Season is enough for us.

Season is one of my first situations being around larger creatures, at least creatures where I am responsible for their wellbeing. I have not been much around large creatures during my childhood; I mainly hanged around with smaller creatures like cats, dogs or bunnies. The were always somewhat easier to comprehend and understand, and probably also felt safer to be around. They were not as unpredictable as I have heard horses are, especially stallions, like Season is. The thought of starting an intensive care plan for this creature was overwhelming in the beginning to say the least, but my lover was correct, I needed something to put my focus in, instead of growing restless inside our lovely home, waiting for things to happen around me. However, some part of me still wished I was sitting inside waiting for something else to happen. I was nowhere ready to take care of a mystical being like this, especially after hearing how others could not solve his issues, and now I, a mere beginner, have been given the task? I just hope that it’ll grow into something good, hence the choice of name, as seasons usually can bring both good and bad. So, this journey could end anywhere, I did not want to put too big of an anticipation on my shoulders. Allowing myself to not succeed, as this was basically an impossible task placed in my hands. But it did give me something to focus on and a position to develop new skills.

For any session together with Season I dressed in my regular outdoor clothes, mainly black and greys, to hide the dirt that usually followed with outdoors activities. It consists of a nice undershirt, with a lovely black stripe textured jacket with gorgeous puff sleaves and a belt that adorned my waist, to show my feminine curves, also giving the jacket’s bottom a lovely ruffle. Under this I wore one of my favourite skirts, a simple long black skirt, it just works well with almost everything. Maybe not the best decision to use it together with Season, but I didn’t exactly have time to order or craft new outfits, as I knew I needed to help Season with his pain as fast as possible. I also started learning ways to make sure my blondish hair would stay up more neatly. I had observed that Season seemed to react to hairs flowing around, maybe they worsened his itch when they would fly over his coat? I would usually also wear gloves, to cover my hands and make sure they stayed clean, however I had decided not to wear gloves today, as I would be giving Season a cold-water bath, on the advice of the veterinarian.

We have for the week been following the veterinarian’s advice as much as possible, or more like I have been following the advice. The veterinarian’s consultation had not resulted in any definitive conclusions on Season’s situation; however, the veterinarian suggested a few treatment methods, focusing on taking care of the symptoms at hand. Firstly, cold-water baths, starting off slow and seeing if they have any visual effect, as they should calm the itchiness. Secondly some cream for the several cuts and rashes, which should haste the healing process. Thirdly the veterinarian also mentions lots of time to adjust and relax around the orchard, as they did suspect that the allergies could have a relation to moving to a new place. Apparently, Season had just had a new home before us, where the hives had appeared shortly after the move, which had resulted in them looking for a new home for him.

Out of the treatments I have started to prioritise the cold-water baths as I think the baths have become Season’s favourite… I lately have started to notice how much he is relaxing during the cold-water baths, often drifting away to sleep, slowly closing his eyes and spreading out his legs to keep balance. I usually sweet talk to him during the cold-water baths too, in hopes he understands, however I don’t think it has any effects, but I would like to believe it does anyways. However, it is as if the cold water takes away the itchiness and lets him think of other things, or maybe it shuts off the constant noise that the itchiness must be causing in his head.

Before I grab Season from the pasture, I always prepare the bucket with cold water, placing it nearby, as to Season having to stand still without the water for the shortest amount of time. As I tie Season by the little wooden pole, he seems to be longing for the bucket. The minute the sponge strokes over his quite large body, he seems to stretch out, letting his muscles relax, his underlip often becoming soft. Things I never noticed about horses before but is my favourite part of taking care of Season. Those small changes in his body, makes the whole thing worth it.

However, I still have lots to learn about the basic care for Season. I truly didn’t know much about horses. I’d only ever really ridden in carriages, but never really given the horses a thought. I had mainly sought companionship in bunnies, cats and dogs. They were smaller, easier to control, I guess. With Season I must read his body, listen to the small changes and accept that he is large and that he is technically in charge, or could be. I can only give him my best and hope that Season allows me to keep offering the care I am trying to offer. I am writing letters with a few of my friends, that I know grew up closer to horses, to figure out if they have any tips on how to win over Season, but I don’t know if I’ll hear back from any of them. I don’t even know if they would believe the message. Me married and suddenly already having a horse, I guess I didn’t turn out at all like they would have expected me to.

But I am determined to grow, especially now together with Season at my side. I need to be there for him, and show that it can be quite wonderful to live.