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One day we got a call about a pony that needed our help. It was explained to us that he may have EPM and his owner
could not afford his care. EPM is a disease that effects the nervous system and is pretty much hopeless if a horse contracts
it. Something in my gut told me he would be ok and that it was something other then EPM. We brought him to the
barn...the kids groomed him and hugged him and practically swung from his tail and I started working on what the heck was
wrong with this little horse. When he would walk he would touch his nose to the ground as if he were smelling it.
Then as he would trot on and his back end would fall under him... at a canter he would fall down. It was heartbreaking
to see. But his wonderful temperment was to die for. I fell in love with him. So... along comes the
vet and he says he thinks %80 for sure, it's EPM. My heart just sinks. Towards the end of the exam, the vet
looks in his eyes and notices Biscotti has some eye damage. He thinks maybe he has had a head injury and that some
of his gate problems could be related to that instead of it being EPM. So, Paul (our vet) gives him a vitamin E shot
and suggests to wait and see or call a chiropractor. So, I call the Chiropractor....Three wacks and cracks later, Biscotti was
galloping through the pastures with the other horses. He took some time to re-train his body to his new adjustments.
I gave him almost 6 months in the pasture before I tried a rider on him. I chose Skinny Sophi to try him out first.
He was a little uneven in his gates as far as tempo but at least he was carrying a rider! So, then came the guessing
game of what his training was. Wow, saddle seat. Biscotti turned out to be a gaited horse that could "rack" and
do all the wierd things those saddle seat horses can do. Who would of thought? I was so jealous of Sophi riding
Biscotti. He was just 14hh and a tad too small for me. Dammit! Biscotti was my love. I loved him so
much I couldn't stop hugging him. He was so friendly too. He was everybody's buddy. My husband called him
"Froggy" because Biscotti reminded him of the character off of Little Rascals. Anyway... long story short, it was time
to find Biscotti his forever home. As much as it pained me to let my love go, he needed to find his way in the world.
So...along comes Crystal, a NH trainer who understood Biscotti's weird gates and hyper active rides. Biscotti is now
on a trial lease to Crystal and I hope things go well. If not, Biscotti always has a home with us. I will
miss him!
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