Page 34 of Back in the Saddle

“It depends on what you’re going to do.”

“In layman’s terms, I’m going to sew up her vulva.”

I swallowed. “Yeah, a local sounds like a good idea.”

Vet Dan stuck the needle in and injected her in different spots on both sides. My legs tensed. But it seemed she’d barely felt a thing. She only shifted her feet a couple of times. He pinched her vulva and there was no reaction. “We’re ready to go.”

He grabbed a scalpel. Sunlight reflected off it as he moved it towards the horse. I thought he said he was sewing her up. What did he need a scalpel for? He raised the scalpel and sliced down both sides of the vulva. What the fuck? I clenched my teeth and took a step back. The horse stood perfectly still.

“We cut through the edges of the vulva so we can create fresh skin. This will help when we sew it back together.”

I was glad she had sedation. If I was a horse, I’d want all the sedation.

My teeth remained clenched as he got a needle and thread and slowly sewed the edges back together.

Dan glanced at me and chuckled. “Good to see you’re still with us.”

“This is worse than seeing someone glassed in a bar fight.”

There were so many intricacies to this horse breeding business I wondered if I’d ever be able to know them all. I’d need to learn them, even if they creeped me out. This farm was Taylor’s life and, by extension, it was now a part of mine. I would never have thought our meeting a few months ago would lead me to being so intimate with a horse’s reproductive system.

Dan turned back to his sewing task. “This horse has poor anatomy. The vulva doesn’t seal properly, which means the uterus is not protected. Sewing the vulva like this will prevent endometritis and placentitis.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a bacterial or fungus infection that affects the placenta. Not good. It causes premature delivery and pregnancy loss.”

“This simple procedure can be lifesaving for mare and foal,” Taylor said.

When Dan finished sewing, I let out a long breath. Taylor opened the front gate, and the mare walked away with her foal following like nothing had happened.

Taylor smiled at me. “You did good, Irish Boy.”

I wanted to thrust my chest out and beat on it with my fists.

“One caslick down, a million more in your lifetime to go,” Dan said.

A million more. I was ready for them all.

Dan put the needle and thread down, and the vet nurse cleaned the table ready for the next horse. “In a few months’ time, when she is close to birthing, we will remove the caslick.”

Even though Mumthought I was a pro, I’d still cringe from time to time. There was so much to horse breeding the public didn’t know. I’d learnt every last thing that I could about this farm and horse breeding. It was a part of me now.

Rachel gave the mare an injection of local into her vulva and then tested the site to see if it was numb enough. She slid two fingers up behind the stitched skin and spread them into a V to stretch out the skin of the vulva. Then she cut along the whole length of the stitched skin. The removal of the caslick would mean an easier birth for the mare and foal. The danger period for infection was over.

Lorraine and Rachel chatted as they swapped one horse for another and removed their caslicks. I was on autopilot as I handed equipment to Rachel.

I tensed as I thought back to earlier and how Taylor once again tried to enforce her dominance and put me down in front of others. Her apology last night was just that, an apology. She wasn’t trying to set a beginning for our future. I should never have let myself fall into that daydream.

“Ciaron,” Lorraine said.

I glanced at her. Rachel had moved away.

“We’re done.”

“OK.”

She studied me. “What’s going on? You’ve hardly said a word all morning.”

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