When, two years ago, he lived in a large barn with many other horses, Marinello started to cough. ‘Even I coughed in that place’ said the owner, ‘although none of the other horses there coughed’. (This is an indication of the closeness between this 11 year old castrated pony and his owner.)
Marinello received several treatments to cure this cough but it never really went away.
‘Every time I intend to sell him he starts to cough, I cannot sell him when he coughs. We like him but my daughter has outgrown him and he needs to find somebody who can work him regularly.’
‘He coughs when he is in his stable and when he starts to trot. He doesn’t cough at other times. Sometimes we find some clear mucus in front of his stable door. He even coughs if I work him in a covered riding school.’
At the age of five, Marinello was nearly put down for aggressive behaviour. One test-icle was not descended when they castrated him as a 2 year old foal. For some unknown reason, he was only partially castrated, the inguinal test-icle being left behind. Luckily, two years later somebody had the sensible idea of removing the other test-icle and since then he has become ‘the softest lump one can imagine.’
‘He is anxious, very anxious: he keeps his eye on everything and will disappear as soon as possible if something happens.
He cuddles you constantly, he will rest his head on you. When you ride him you have to sit quiet on him. When you kick him whilst riding he is off in a blind panic. He loves being ridden and jumping’.
‘He likes to be the boss in the field: he would fight until he is on the floor. He doesn’t give up. He thinks he can win against the other gelding (castrated horse) that is bigger than him. (This, I consider to be a left over from his years as a semi stallion, although the behaviour is still very pronounced.)’
‘He will mate the mares when they are in season, but only when they rub their bum under his nose. Otherwise he doesn’t bother them although he likes to groom with them .’
‘When we go out riding, he would prefer to be in the front but would not fight for it. In the field he would immediately put all the other horses in place.
He always keeps an eye on everything.
In the field he gallops around like Bambi in the Walt Disney movie; he enjoys himself.’
‘He gives you 200% during work as long as you don’t kick him. If he is kicked he panics and runs off.
Every time when the cough stops and I decide I will sell him, he starts to cough again.’
When I ask what one word would really explain his state of mind the owner told me: insecurity.
On this I make a repertorisation:
The modalities of the cough were very clear: it is rare that they are so explicitly expressed by owners: cough only on trot and when inside. (He was the only horse coughing in the large barn.)
I considered rubric 3 and 4 as one rubric to indicate his sensitivity to the least intervention from the rider. Although we could argue whether admonition or reprimand are the right terms to use, they indicate very well the over-sensitivity of Marinello.
|
1 |
1 |
COUGH – EXERTION – agg. |
41 |
|
2 |
1 |
COUGH – ROOM agg. |
18 |
|
3 |
1a |
MIND – ADMONITION – agg. |
18 |
|
4 |
1a |
MIND – SENSITIVE – reprimands, to |
15 |
|
kali-c. |
nat-m. |
puls. |
spong. |
bell. |
brom. |
bry. |
chin. |
coc-c. |
dulc. |
|
|
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
– |
1 |
– |
|
3 |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
2 |
– |
– |
1 |
– |
1 |
|
4 |
– |
1 |
1 |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
2 |
Out of the four remedies that cover the three (4) symptoms, Pulsatilla is the one that seems most suited. The observation that he started to cough every time the owner intended selling him suggests that there is an important attachment from Marinello. Out of the four remedies Pulsatilla is the most attached one, looking for protection. Kali-c would fight the attachment because he would like not to need anybody but realises that he can’t do without his family, Natrum-mur will have ’emotional’ difficulties with the attachment and Spongia does whatever it can to find its freedom/being detached.
I gave Pulsatilla 30c twice per day for 3 days.
The cough disappeared within a week and one month later I found out that he had become much more secure. This was the first time the cough had disappeared altogether. There was no relapse of the cough in the next three months.
Central to the remedy pulsatilla there is protection/need for protection. Pulsatilla will use the protection without allowing the other to exist really. There is always a selfish streak to pulsatilla. The others will be won over through submission and kindness. A child will walk up to the doctor and sit timidly on his knees to make sure the doctor is not going to harm him/her. The submission and kindness of Pulsatilla is there to win the protection of others.
