Peggy and I had this discussion about how to explain colic to non horse people. I think when they hear colic, they think about cranky infants.
They really cannot wrap their heads around the depth of fear that comes with saying colic. I told Peggy that for horse people colic is equivalent to hearing "cancer" in the people world.
Just like cancer, colic can vary in severity, require surgery, be easily fixed or result in death. And no matter the type, just saying the word in conjunction with you or yours brings fear. It elicits a feeling of helplessness, but also a deeper hope that this to shall pass. It is not choosy in its victims. There is no rhyme or reason.
Am I blowing this out of proportion because I have lost 4 horses to colic? I had the same feelings when we lost my grandfather to cancer and a close friend too.
Anyone else have to explain horse problems to non horse people?
There is so much to try to explain to non-horsey people that half the time I don't even try. I agree with you on colic- it's so frightening, just like cancer.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience ppl always seem to have a hard time understanding how fragile horses can be. Like ppl sometimes equate horses to cows, which ... Just isn't the case.
ReplyDeleteOr dogs which is not even close. My Mom used to say they were more like rabbits.
DeleteI think cancer is a good comparison!
ReplyDeleteI think cancer is a difficult comparison because cancer normally doesn't spike life threatening suddenly, imo. Its extremely hard to explain to people. Maybe similar to like a heart attack? I really don't know
ReplyDeleteTrue in some cases, but my Grandfather's did since it was caught too late. A heart attack does compare too since they can vary is severity and recovery.
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