Is it possible for a horse to have brain damage?

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shane said:
,when i got him, he was in a very dark stable on his own for 16 months no company
he was very aggressive bit and kicked anything passing, absolutley HATES kids,

he was previuos owned by two teenagers

i feel so very sorry for him, i was going through some health issues myself last month and contimplated rehoming him,

but i know for a fact he would be put down, ......

he trusts me .....no one else..... id love to get inside his brain and ....help him,

he was a stallion until three years ago , and was gelded

bonnie kindly did do a reading on him, and said he had sore hip , i got two vets to check him, and they found nothing.
Sometimes there are issues that a surface level reading just can't get at. We don't always know why we react to something the way we do! I use a lady named Vita Lobelle, who is very good at getting to deep emotional traumas and helping horses and people to recover from them and find peace. She does this in one session, can be over the phone or in person, and she's really amazing. My Arab, Spyderman, had "chased his tail" for years and years and we'd always wondered why he did that. He'd go out in his paddock about the same time every day and spin in circles reaching for his own flank, then stop and stand licking and chewing for a minute and start over the other direction. He never hurt himself or squealed or anything, though occasionally he'd finish with a brief buck in place and then run off a bit before settling. It seemed fairly harmless. We found an old owner of his who said as a stallion he'd self-mutilated, biting at his flanks until they bled during a very unhappy period in his life and that she'd spent months rehabbing him until the behavior was reduced to what we were seeing. At this point I think it was a learned behavior that released endorphins and he simply kept doing it out of habit.

Then he started having full PTSD-style panic attacks and got very dangerous, to the point that he broke my mother's hip and I could no longer go near him. We heard about Vita just as we were facing the decision to put him down as you could no longer even handle him in the paddock, nevermind take him out. (We have NEVER put an animal down for behavior problems but he was simply that bad. He'd go into a full-body panic reaction and completely check out mentally.) We figured we had nothing to lose and called Vita, who released the deep seated trauma that he was flashing back to and completely ended the cycle. He's been a totally different horse since then, deeply relaxed and peaceful and full of joy. I had her do me a year later, and then Kody in '06 and it made a real difference for all of us.

I asked her about the tail-chasing when I realized a year later I hadn't seen him do it since she'd come out and she said that self-mutilation is completely foreign to a horse's natural state of being. They have to be in an incredible amount of emotional and spiritual pain to turn it inward and start physically hurting themselves, and it's one of the saddest things she's ever seen. I do think some horses simply "throw tantrums" and buck and kick in place out of frustration, but truly hurting themselves is an act of desperation. If Twinkle is not happy, have Vita talk to him. It's expensive, but it's a one-time thing and it really sounds like he's one who could benefit tremendously from talking to her. Bonnie did read Kody correctly, but was unable to find out why storms bothered him so much because he wasn't sure himself. Vita knew exactly why, released the trauma, and now he loves storms and loud noises. No more fear.
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Leia
 
This is an article on thehorse.com with a video of a horse self mutilating. The vet seems to think its more related to ulcers and feeding. Interesting article

self mutilation
 
rabbitsfizz said:
That sounds brilliant could you post a link??
Last I'd talked to her about it, she didn't have a website but googling her these days brought up more than I expected.
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Quotes about Vita from "Tao of Equus"

The Language that Heals

There also appears to be a series of YouTube video testimonials about her but I can't view them here at work.

Her contact info is "vitalobelle @ comcast . net" (without spaces) or by phone at 425-771-5053. She's a truly gifted, wonderful lady and it's always a pleasure to visit with her and her partner, Gian Pietro. I'm so lucky to live near her!

Leia
 
If he's off his hay and picking at things that badly, I'd say ulcers are a real possibility from the emotional stress he's been under all this time. Get him on Ulcergard at the full treatment dose for at least 30 days and give him hay pellets if you can get them (we don't have haylage here, only the pellets or a cube form) to keep weight on him. I understand you don't want him out unsupervised on grass but grazing is about the only way I got food into my horses when they've had ulcers.

Send Vita an email, will you? I'm sure she could do it without being on the phone the whole time. Maybe she could have a tape recorder running and send you the transcript or something. Anyway, ask her! If it's meant to be, you'll both find a way. Technology is wonderful.
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Tell her I sent you and explain his history and what's going on and ask her if she thinks his particular problem is related to his past or something current and physical. She's of the opinion most beings (two- and four-legged) have issues that could stand being resolved, but she'd never push you to do a Complete Journey if she felt his problem was mostly physical. It's always worth the inquiry, and email is free.
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I know how much you care about Twinkle and I'm sure he's aware of it as well. It's just hard for them when they've had such a tough time. Lots of baggage, you know?
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Leia
 

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