Mousey's ear tag

As you might already know, Mousey has a plastic tag in her left ear. (Her right ear has had the top cut off it). It has been an ambition to get the tag out, if possible. It's so ugly and is a horrible reminder of her previous abuse.

Paul can now headcollar Mousey 'out in the open', and has spent many hours helping her become used to hands touching her head; so much so that he said he was going to try to remove the ear tag.

She was very good about him fiddling with her ear. We have found that the site of pain is not necessarily the same site as a 'trauma trigger' associated with it. For instance Mousey is less frightened of her cut ear being touched than of her muzzle being touched. Her muzzle may well have been held whilst her ear was cut, and it is fear of a touch on the muzzle that makes her panic.

Anyway, Paul was able to cut through the plastic tag at the top thinking it might then come out, because he could see that the button fastening was all on one side of her ear. He then managed to cut the piece off, with the button. Still it wouldn't come, and he realised that the button stalk at the bottom of the other piece of plastic has become embedded in her ear. So she now has half an ear tag, and it looks like it will have to stay like that.

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