Max continues to do well, he was very “tucked up” when he returned from the vet school but now looks like his round self again. He still drips a little urine when he exerts himself (like today when he decided he was tired of standing on three legs while Chad worked on the other one) but the amount is minimal and I did not need to wash his legs down this morning which is the first time since I bought him home.
So I had thought until now that Max had a low pain tolerance and was basically a wimp. This was based on his strong reactions to needles in any form for shots or to stitch up injuries. He has been known to strike with his front legs at the thought of a needle and has in the past tried to squish people against walls if they were trying to do anything that was the least bit uncomfortable. After the way he put up with the pain of a bladder stone and how he was so patient with the vets in Raleigh I have to change my opinion! I think that perhaps he has a high pain tolerance (no pain symptoms at all when he was passing the stone!) and that his behavior was learnt at some point in his life due to the way he was treated. He has a disfigured nostril which must have been quite dramatic when it occurred and would have required some kind of medical attention. So this incident has been enlightening and once again affirms the need to educate people how to handle horses so that a horse like Max, who only wants to please, does not develop dangerous behaviors because he was misunderstood and most likely mistreated at some point in his life.
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