Like a Taco

I know that some humans are able to fold their tongue up like a taco (I can) but I didn't realize that horses can do it, too. 

A long-time (and dear!) reader sent me the photo above, plus he had this story to tell:

"I saw the horse photo and remembered that Pumas can do that too!

I have a cougar story of my own - in 1980 I had a job at the CSU veterinary dept's bull farm.  My job title was "public services career trainee", but that translated into ranch hand & roustabout.  I found out they had more than cows there when I was sent out to repair a board fence.  I was hammering nails into planks out in a remote corner of the place when I heard a noise.

The noise was coming from two cougars who were watching me hammer.

My mind went blank, and my hand let go of the hammer. 

The cats didn't move.  They just gravely looked me over.  I didn't move either.

Their eyes were the size of saucers... After a hundred years or so my eyes began to focus better and I could see that the cats were inside a large chickenwire pen.  I hadn't noticed that to begin with but I was relieved to see that.  They even had a little hut to hole up in and a bowling ball to play with.

Later, when I asked around, I was told that they were littermates who'd been abandoned, and since no one had any data on how cougars age, the school took them in for study and began taking bone-density, tooth growth and physical measurements on them.

Most likely, those 2 cats were looking at me so intently because they expected to be fed, but I really misinterpreted the whole situation."

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If anyone can find another tongue photo to add to my collection, please send it.

Leave it to Randy_B to come through with more examples!

Horse needs help...

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Horse hoof restoration

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Old Friends Equine

Old Friends is a nonprofit equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). The organization started with one leased paddock and two horses, but now owns 136 acres, Dreamchase Farm, with additional leased pasturage. It is the only Thoroughbred retirement facility in the United States that accepts stallions on a regular basis. Old Friends is currently home to over 150 retired Thoroughbred athletes.

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Frederik the Great

Frederik the Great is a Friesian stallion that lives in Arkansas's Ozark Mountains. He was imported to this farm from the Netherlands when he was six years old. In May 2016, he became known for unofficially being the "world's most handsome horse."

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Feaguing or Gingering

In medieval times, cunning horse dealers would do anything to sell older horses. One of their tricks is called feaguing, where a live eel was placed in the horse’s rectum. This would make the horse look livelier, carrying its tail well.

Read more here.

Gingering, or gingering the tail is the practice of making a horse carry its tail high, and to a lesser extent to encourage it to move in a lively fashion, by applying an irritant, such as raw ginger, to its anus or vulva. Historically the process, the purpose of which was often to make an older horse behave like one that was younger, or to temporarily liven up a sick or weakened animal, was known as feaguing (from which the modern term figging derives), and involved a piece of ginger, onion, pepper or tobacco. Francis Grose added in his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1796) "and formerly, as it is said, a live eel", but that is very unlikely. The modern practice commonly involves a paste product with concentrated gingerol.

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Racehorse injuries

Racehorse injuries and fatalities are a side effect of training and competition. The problem with equine injuries is that they so often result in death. A 2005 study by the United States Department of Agriculture found that injuries are the second leading cause of death in horses, second only to old age.

Anthony Van Dyck (19 May 2016 – 3 November 2020) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He was euthanized after breaking down on 3 November 2020.  

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