Science, Myth and Mayhem

I am a woman of a certain age. I'm not gonna say how old I am, because a Lady never tells. Let's just say I remember watching the moon landing on a black and white TV as it was happening. I'm so old that I know what the Dewey Decimal System is and how to use it.
So I may not be quite as tech-savvy as some of you younger women or men out there, but I am flabbergasted by the lack of knowledge and the inability to look things up for yourselves! I'm speaking specifically about horse knowledge.

Oh, calm down- I know not everyone has the depth of knowledge that I have, I was born to the horse and have forgotten more than most of you remember-but with all of the world at your fingertips I am still seeing posts that ask," How do I keep my horse from biting?" and the answers coming back are,  " Bite him back."
Really!!? Hhmph!
If he kicks you are you going to kick him back?
If he bucks you off, are you going to lift him up and throw him down?
Get real!

I have been taught some old 'folk remedies' from a lot of old cowboys now riding greener pastures. Some of that advice was, and is, weird.  Creosote for topical injury. Mercury for internal ailments.
Tar and Tobacco for worms. Sulfur as a laxative.
YIKES!

Those ancient remedies were the best they could do at the time. There were no sulfur drugs, no worming drugs. There wasn't much to use for man or beast. Sometimes those things worked, sometimes they didn't. Such as Orange peels rubbed on tendons for splints.( The actual rubbing was the cure). 

We have all those things now, and so much more; X-Rays, miracle drugs, micro surgeries!
Now, all you have to do is BING it. Or Googer (sic) it! The world is at your fingertips! Press the mic icon and say something like, " Does my horse have thumps?" Go on. Do it. I'll wait.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Actually a lot of the time all anyone need do is think. Yep. With your own little gray matter. Common Horse sense.
Ask yourself; " Self, if I had open oozing sores on my legs and arms, to clean and soothe it,would I pour on-
A. Listerine    B.  Vinegar     C. Saline

(If you wouldn't do it to yourself, why would you do it to them?)

"Self, If  I had shin splints how would I want to treat them?"

" Self, If I can carry a load 300 pounds more than my actual weight, how many people and saddles would that equal out to?"

"Self, if my horse bites me, would it do any good, or make any impression in his walnut sized brain for me to actually take his soft nose and bite him back? Especially knowing that these 900 pound animals bite each other regularly as social behavior?  Could I take the resulting bite,kick or strike?

See- simple!!

If you can't fathom those kinds of answers, may I suggest an actual book. Yes.A Library book. They are free to borrow, ya don't even have to pay for them! This is where the Dewey Decimal System comes in handy ( for those of you who were born after 2001. For the rest of you I'll have another example in a moment)
There are many books on animal behavior and medicine. Read one or two. Takes notes. Subscribe to an Equine magazine.

Third example- wait for it..... A PHONE book! Look up local veterinarians! Look up Horse Trainers! Trickle down theory and all that. What? You don't remember Trickle down?

Maybe it's just a tactic of the social media generation- something along the lines of " I need attention and I'm not getting it, so I am going to ask a question about my nag, that I already know the answer to, and then everyone will know how cool I am because I have a horse."

If that is the case~ I got nuthin!