Miss Mocha has always possessed a certain, well, proprietary attitude about her tail; more so than many other horses I’ve known. Her dam was notorious for being able to aim a lash of her tail into the eyes of a stall mucker that annoyed her; Mocha’s tail doesn’t get braided due to the request of the current stall cleaner. The Girl learned the skill from her mama, and she’s a expert with the sharp tail (perhaps a reason why she likes to soak her tail in the water bucket? Now I’ve yet to figure that one out).
Today was hock injection day. Her usual vet for this procedure manages to tie up Mocha’s tail in a nice knot that Mocha can’t swish out. I had some extra time before the vet came so I decided to practice my nonexistent braiding skills and create a rough mud tail using braid bands to secure it.
Oh my. Once I flipped the partially braided tail up (okay, it was a bastard mud tail braid and very loose) and started twining it around her dock, boy, did her head suddenly come up in the cross ties. She turned her head as far as the ties would allow in one direction, then the other, trying to see what I was doing to Her Tail. She cooperated, but I’m certain she didn’t necessarily approve.
OTOH, it stayed braided until hocks were injected and I took the braid out in her stall. She was very calm throughout the whole procedure and allowed me to move her around for the vet’s best access.
It wasn’t her usual vet but the original vet of this hospital. I’d not had him out before, but he was on rotation this week. I told him Mocha was Annie’s last foal and he squinted at Mocha, then a picture of Annie, and then said, “Thought so. I was here when she was foaled.” I didn’t ask if he’d joined in the imprint training that G’s wife did but I had to wonder, as she was more relaxed with him than I’ve seen her with any of the other vets in the practice.
Interesting. This horse always keeps me guessing.
