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this morning he asked if the skin on his thumb was dead yet?
it was 5.30 am and he’d been cradling his thumb since yesterday afternoon I tried to respond without using the word dead
about a cm of skin was hanging off of his left hand
he asked if I could cut the skin off using his crocodile scissors I said I didn’t think that was a very good idea
he tugged and tore the flap off screaming and threw it on my bed
I’ve been collecting horsehair for about a year now it feels synthetic and sometimes smells like piss
I can always tell if the hair has come from a gelding or a mare by its smell
the gelding’s hair doesn’t smell like urine. this is because their urethra is located under the stomachs
To get the hair i introduce myself by lowering my head and walk slowly towards the horse
I breath into their nostrils offering my hand at the same time
I then run my hand down their neck, along their back and slowly down their quarters. if they’ve not moved by this point there is a mutual trust
I use scissors to cut approximately a foot off of their tail. its like nylon, if the scissors arnt sharp enough it can take a couple of attempts
this clumsy cut it feels how the cutting of an umbilical cord looked
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