In Our Hearts

Leroy

Leroy was rescued from a barn of trained Western ranch horses that worked cows and performed in barrel racing. When he first came to his present people, he was very, very tense and stiff in his neck and hindquarters, making flexing, turning and bending almost impossible. In spite of this Leroy knew only one speed – very fast. He was athletic and strong, though tight. He did not like being bridled or saddled and to touch his forehead or ears created an amazing stir and biting frenzy.

When he had the bit in his mouth, he was always chomping at it or sucking air, especially when he was nervous. The other odd thing about Leroy was that he is not a “morning” horse. He doesn’t seem to awaken until noon, appearing groggy before that. This is interesting, because in Chinese Medicine, each organ system is highlighted during the day, making a circadian rhythm every two hours. The morning hours belong to the Stomach and Spleen/Pancreas. When they are out of balance, they create a problem with the Liver and Gall Bladder. The Liver is associated with irritability or anger, and definitely this was the attitude Leroy was showing, in spite of the kind and patient training his new person was doing.

The Gall Bladder energy pathway encircled the poll and the hip and regulates the tension in the tendons. When the wind blew, Leroy developed an eye discharge, became ultra sensitive to touch and extremely irritable. His person could barely approach him, and this is when I first saw him.

Leroy was very tight and uncomfortable during palpation of the right side of the neck, back and foreleg. Following the meridian (energy pathway) lines, I found the most notable disturbance along the Large Intestine line going from the nostril, down the neck through the shoulder, elbow, and fetlock to the hoof. In further assessment, the Gall Bladder meridian was also sensitive – this one running from the eye, around the poll, along the side of the body, and around the hips.

From these sensitivities, I surmised that Leroy had a whopping headache going on, probably involving his sinuses and that was why the windy weather bothered him so much. With the person’s kind assistance and Leroy’s patience and willingness to get rid of his headache, we worked with acupuncture and acupressure. After this I prescribed an herbal combination to relieve sinus headache. Shortly after the treatment, Leroy became more relaxed and his nose began to drain copious amounts of mucus. The herbs kept Leroy a happy guy, and as his person worked with him diligently and patiently, so that his true colors showed. He became a fabulous, limber trail horse.