Archives MAIN PAGE

Franklin Levinson's

Horse Help Center

Professional support for you and your horse!


Body Painting & More


I know there was there was a previous question about this, but my horse is chestnut colored and I wanted to know if watercolors would still show up on him? And another question I have is that my gelding in 13 yrs old and is limping on his left front leg he does this only a little bit until I drag out the saddle then he really starts limping. I've already made an appointment for the vet to come a look at him, but he won't be coming to look at him for a couple of days, can you tell me any information on what this might be?
Thank you,
Rachel

RESPONSE

Hi Rachel,

Well, you could run a test of the color. As water colors will rinse off easily, try a few and see how they look. As far as the horse limping more when he sees the saddle, let me ask you what type of riding you do? Are you always schooling the horse, going out on trails or what? Is the horse really having fun when you ride him or is it ‘work’? Do you have the attitude that you are going to 'work' your horse or have fun with him? All these things are factors in your horse's response to you wanting to ride. Do you do much ground play? This is most important. A horse that is not having any fun or a good time with a human will be like a child that does not enjoy school and has 'illnesses' that magically appear when it is time to go to school. The illnesses are real for the child but induced by frustration and fear that are not addressed by the parent. Does this apply to you and your horse? Please consider the possibilities. Definitely have the vet check the horse for anything organic. But if nothing shows up, please consider the horse is not enjoying what his life is and looking for ways to avoid doing things you think are normal and he should be doing. If you weren't having much fun in life, you might not be too enthusiastic about doing different things, unless there was some real enjoyment involved.

Thanks a lot for your question. I hope I have offered a different view of the situation and some useful suggestions.

Sincerely, Franklin

Look for: