The sweet smell of summer was in the air as I headed for my stallion corrals. Rounding the barn the sweet smell was wickedly intercepted by the smell of horse! Now to a horse lover that smell of horse is just plain perfume to the senses. Must be an acquired taste as some of my non-horsey friends find horse aroma just offensive!

As I was soaking in the warm earthy smell of horses, I watched my perlino quarter horse stallion, Commander, head for his manure pile and let loose with a large deposit. With a satisfied grunt he carefully turned around, lowered his head and whiffed in a big dose of poop smell. Then turning first one blue eye and then the other, he carefully inspected the newly deposited mass.

As he trotted up to me, I just had to ask. “Commander, why is it that you stallions just have to first smell and then carefully examine your....well....your poop?

I could tell that the wheels were a turning in his head as he considered an answer. “Well you know, cowgirl, we stallions aren’t the only ones with this trait. Why, I was looking through the barn bathroom window the other day and the cowboys were turning around to examine their own....”

“Commander!!! Just stop right there!” Not only had he carefully sidestepped the question but I realized I had a peeping tom stud besides a poop-sniffer! I decided changing the subject was a darned good idea right now and I’m sure that’s just what he intended. “I have something far more important to tell you about.”

“OK, go on,” Commander said with a very self satisfied look in his blue eyes. He just loved to baffle, fluster and embarrass me at any opportunity. Ahhhh, the drawbacks of life with a talking horse!

“Commander, you need to tell the mares not to eat any mustard in the field! This is extremely important. I’ve been reading about mustard foals and how sad it is when one is born.” I had tears in my own blue eyes now.

When pregnant mares eat mustard, especially in the last 3 months of their pregnancy, they can end up with a mustard foal. These foals often don’t live as they can be born with extreme deformities. Consumption of mustard plants by mares can cause a condition called Congenital Hypothyroid Dysmaturity Syndrome in their foals. This condition occurs predominantly in the prairie provinces of Canada and the Pacific Northwest where mustard grows wild and is often very prevalent in hay fields.

The first sign that a mare is carrying a mustard foal is a prolonged and abnormally long pregnancy. Sometimes this can result in the death of both the mare and foal. If the foal is finely born it commonly has both facial and lower jaw deformities. The limbs, especially the front legs are often very deformed and not correctable. It is possible if the mare didn’t ingest too much mustard either from the field or in her hay, that the deformities are minor and will correct themselves with a little human help.

“How awful!” Commander’s blue eyes were very serious now. “Now I know why you were so concerned about our hay quality. I thought it was just good hay for me that you were worried about!”

“Commander, since you’re a boy, mustard won’t hurt you and with your picky taste buds you probably wouldn’t eat it anyway!” I said. “So, about my poop eyeing question....”

A glimmer of horse humor came back in his blue eyes. “Dung it! I thought you forgot. But I really think you should be more concerned about MUS-TURDS than just plain old horse manure!” And with that parting statement he trotted off to talk with the mares.

Yes, life with the talking blue eyed wonder is always entertaining!