Can a horse’s body remember trauma from a decade ago?
On the upside, Rodney and Milton continue to play [Downs & Ups, Outtakes] On the downside, they now come in with with bumps and bangs.
Milton peeled a thin, 2-inch-long layer of skin from the center of Rodney’s back. (In an extremely inconvenient place for riding sitting upon.) No blood. Barely a scrape. Just hair, skin, and maybe the teeniest, tiniest bit of red skin under the scab.
However, Rodney reacted out of proportion to the (lack of) severity of the injury. When I checked on it, he would fling his head, flinch, and sink his back. Yes, he is a drama llama, but this was extreme even for him. You would expect this level of response after surgery.
It is in the same/close to the same area where he had a near-fatal injury as a colt [Daddy Dearest, scroll down]. Does the discomfort cause him to have flashbacks? Can horses have flashbacks?
Bodies are weird.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
Being attacked by one’s father can cause lasting trauma in, i firmly believe, any species.
Tru dat.