When they told us we could “have” their horse… we had no idea what to expect. My husband and I are novice farmers, I can confidently say that owning a farm is a whole new ballgame. When it comes to the farm animals, my Father In Law is the authority, and I’m the second in charge. I may be new to all of this, but I’m definitely a dirt-under-my-nails type (look at me, Mom!)
The first time we visited the farm was shortly after the Ice Storms in March. We had to walk past a dozen cows, acres of ticks, and a very antisocial horse… a horse that I nicknamed “Cranky.” The week we moved to the farm, my in-laws had to make a trip to the west coast… so second-in-command-Tab was cow-sitting. I was outside one day, about to take the girls for a walk, when the horse entered the small yard in front of our barn, and began bucking and neighing loudly! It was just so dang random that it had to be intentional. At this point we hadn’t even tried to approach the horse yet… it was just letting us know how it felt about all of this change. I totally understood how it must have been feeling. Animals may be messy, but they can be quite perceptive at times. We were new. So we gave her space.
After a few incidents where my kids’ screaming startled the horse, I began wondering if maybe it was dealing with pain or anxiety. If it were up to me, ’Cranky’ would have a home here regardless of her behavior, but as a mom, I know it just wouldn’t work out if she couldn’t calm down. In all of my cannabis training, I heard positive things about using CBD with horses. With talk of rehoming her, I really wanted to give her a chance to show me something different… but at that moment, she wouldn’t even share a pasture with us.
After 10 days of going for walks and casually standing closer and closer… On my birthday I was able to approach her and pet her for the first time. It was brief, she flinched constantly when I touched her. Was she in pain? Was she nervous? I don’t know… but I knew CBD could help either way. So the next day I brought out oats and full spectrum hemp CBD oil. After a little trial and error— she took a lot of convincing and a lot of oats… I was able to get a dropper of oil into her. I have repeated this daily, and we have already seen some major changes!
First, I noticed that she couldn’t hide her enthusiasm about the oats. I scored points.
Secondly, she didn’t mind the taste of the oil. She licked the bowl.
Third, now that she has a consistent amount of oil in her system, she seems to actually look at me, expects my touches, has hugged me and is otherwise pleasant.
With so much progress, we’re about to begin introducing a lead rope and halter and if she’s going to come around more, she needs a better name than “Cranky.” I’ve decided to call her Amelia, after Amelia Earhart.
I’m excited to share more stories about our newest patient as I continue to watch Amelia’s progress. Do you have questions about cannabis and animals? Feel free to reach out! And if you want to hear regular updates about how she’s doing, you can follow me @tabmoura on Instagram.
