One of my pet peeves...(maybe one of many)

If I'm being honest here, I really have quite a few pet peeves, but this one in particular is at the forefront of my mind this morning.

Last evening was our appointment with the farrier to have the horse's shoes pulled for the winter. So, everybody got their scheduled pedicures...simple, right?

Well, so it should seem. I brought Ladde in first because farrier "T" seemed a bit sullen-faced and cranky, and I thought - okay, get the big guy over with first before "T" gets any more tired. And...Ladde can occasionally be a little argumentative, and the way he plays this out is to minutely, but repeatedly, baby-tug his hind feet. After a while this becomes annoying and he needs a "slight attitude adjustment"...which I do, but I also have no problem with someone else (the farrier) giving him a good old-fashioned wollup. Then Ladde is a good boy and stands very quietly for his pedi. However...my farrier seems to think himself a chiro guy as well as hoof care expert; and believes that this is more of a pain issue rather than a behavioral one. And, maybe this is true in part, but if there's a physical cause I will hire a professional of my choosing to do the appropriate treatment. My horse - my decision - my money. That's how I see it. Now, I have asked "T" repeatedly (3 times to be exact) not to do any manipulation/chiropractic work on my horse. And, repeatedly (3 times to be exact) "T" has done what he chooses to do anyway - regardless of my wishes. This in my opinion is not respecting my wishes and therefore, pisses me off. A lot. So...last night I very vocally made my displeasure known.

So, now I have my farrier upset with me (last week it was my sister, who still isn't speaking to me) and who knows if he'll want to continue providing our horses with hoofcare. Of course, this incident happened at the beginning of the appointment and "T" did finish up with everybody after Ladde; and of course, I managed to smooth things over somewhat without budging on my principles. I also apologized for my rather direct comments, and mentioned that I could have used a little more tact and still made my point known...but at least now we have an understanding. Mutual respect is a very important matter and apparently can be a little bit of a delicate situation if not handled with kid gloves. Dually noted.

This morning I discussed the entire situation with my boss (the lameness expert vet), and with a few quick lessons on the equine anatomy, we've come to the conclusion that I've apparently overreacted a little. :) (insert big, sheepish grin here). My boss concluded that "T" was probably doing no actual harm on Ladde (which of course was my biggest fear), was possibly helping to stretch and relax his lumbar and leg muscles thereby making it a little bit easier to hold his leg up; but...was also not respectful of my wishes as the horse's owner. And that, was my main point of contention with the dadgummed horseshoer. So, with my anatomy lessons intact, I will probably in future take the time to warm Ladde up before his trims or shoeings, do a little stretch work and if deemed necessary, give the big brute a gram of bute to ensure both his comfort and the comfort of my farrier. *sigh*

Isn't life ever easy?

We humans are a delicate lot.

I'm just sayin'...

I know - I know - I promised that my next post would be all about the pictures and here I am running off at the mouth AGAIN! Well, hell - apparently I'm a liar as well as a mouthy old broad.

*sigh*