Best Class Ever

Today we actually did stuff in our animal handling class. We got to actually take the horses temperature and pick its feet!

This is a picture of us practicing using our three points of contact as we exam the head. We are split into groups of 4-5 people to practice our animal handling skills, we get to walk down the aisle and pick which ever horse we want to work with and then go to it.

 

 

Another group practicing down the aisle from us.

 

Our horse for the day, Salty. Practicing picking up the feet, correctly holding the hoof and picking the dirt out of the hoof.

Now for the fun stuff!! We got to take the horse's temperature. I was the first one to go and Salty refused to lift her tail up so I was standing there massaging her butt for quite a few minutes, but for everyone else she just raised her tail up and no massaging necessary.

 

I was having the time of my life and my group turns to me and says "You are really enjoying this aren't you?" I said "You bet, this is the best thing ever!"

We were told real veterinarians spit on the thermometer so we were going to learn the true way. Although none of us could spit, at least I couldn't. So when we were about to move down to the rear of the horse we would turn to each other and ask "Whose donating the spit this time?" We gave each other a heads up so that we had time to collect some saliva and spit in our hand which the thermometer was then lathered in. When I went, because I was the first one, I was so tempted and kept having to catch myself not to lick the end of the thermometer. Why I would lick the thermometer, I don't know, it seemed easier and more efficient at getting it covered in spit. But you DO NOT want to put the thermometer in your mouth! It had been up a horses butt however many times, not only that but tons of other students' spit and saliva!

Our horse seemed to have some gas going, at least wanted to let some loose but didn't, so I asked "if a horse farts does that make the temperature go up?" Everyone in my group looked at each other with a puzzled face and said "I don't know but sure does make sense."

Then came the quizzing. Michael, a teacher's assistant, came and would point to a bone or body part and all of us would have to say what it was. We did the whole horse. It was kind of hard but not too bad. Once we had finished doing the horse once Michael looks at us and says "Okay were going to do it again, but this time you are not going to talk," as he looked to me. Whoops! I was the only one who knew all the parts and said them out loud confidently so I was booted out for this round. I was their call a friend person when he said "can you help them out?"

 

Then when Doctor Kerns came over and quizzed us, I did the same thing. Except this time I was getting ahead of him. I would ask, so is our thumb the chestnut and he be like "wait just a minute, you're getting too far ahead." But Doctor Kerns did more specific and challenging bones, which was cool. I learn what the pedal (p/dale) is; it's just behind the coffin bone. There are a total of 12 pastern bones in a horse, the long pastern, short pastern, and the coffin bone or you can call them P1, P2, P3. When Doctor Kerns asked us about the three pastern bones I listed them off as P1, P2 and the coffin bone. He asks "why change at the coffin bone?" I said "well that's what Michael just said to call them." I wanted to get a picture, but I didn't, but when Doctor Kerns is there we all have our hands up and are examining them very closely; it looks kind of funny. You wouldn't think your hand would be that interesting, but the horse's legs are structured just like our hands. Doctor Kerns tells us that we should be able to label every part of the horse on ourselves too and point to them on us.

Headed off to Chemistry Lab!