Things that make you go Hmmmmmmm

For some time now, our older gelding, Bill, has had a patch on his right hip. It's kind of a strange kind of patch......it looks a bit like a wart, yet not. And at times it seems to heal over, only to show up again. The Vet has looked at it, and none of the several vets can figure out what it is. The best guess was some kind of mite. However, none of the other horses ever got it, even though Bill has gone out with them. Also, it never seemed to get any bigger. Bill has been in the same stall for the last 10 years.

Since we have been fixing stalls, there have been several moves. Bill has been on the other side of the barn, keeping Jill (who hates everybody else) company......which also keeps the barn quieter and in one piece from her kicks. I had noticed that his patch was healing over; this time staying healed.

Well, Sheena is now in his old stall.......and it has not been re-floored. It should have been, since it is the most torn up.....there is a huge depression in the middle of it and the original flooring has heaved in spots. It was not done because there were other stalls that were taking on water, and that stall somehow stayed dry (which is good, since it would have been a mud wallow oherwise). It's next on the list, as soon as we get more gravel.

Well, you probably guessed it, Sheena now has a patch, in exactly the same spot as it was on Bill. Now if it were mites or bugs of any kind, it is highly unlikely that they would choose to reside in exactly the same place on two different horses (never mind the fact that no other horse in the barn has it).

My guess is, that when they lay down, they end up in exactly the same spot, as the "vallow" would allow thier bodies to slide into a particular position, kinda like a bean-bag chair. Although the shoarpese point is on the other side, there is obviously a point that I haven't really seen on the ground that must press on tat same spot on both horses, causing a rub, causing a callus, causing the wierd looking patch no one can figure out.

Who'd a thunk?

We'll see if it's true, once the floor is in.