Title: Zingiber officinale at the office
Prompt: ginger (ci_fans_unite drabble challenge)
Disclaimer: The characters and universe of Law & Order: Criminal Intent belong to Dick Wolf, NBC, USA, etc. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Another crime scene at a stable. Bobby shares a few choice tidbits from his vast, encyclopedic store of knowledge.
Author's Note: I was utterly enthralled with horses when I was growing up and devoted a good deal of time to learning all I could about them. This is one of those pieces of trivia that I picked up somewhere along the way. There might be a sequel/second chapter to follow.
"What was he doing to the horse?"
"See what he's clutching? It's a peeled hand of ginger. Probably to insert into the-the anus. It's called figging. Often used to perk up an older horse, make it more . . . spirited."
Alex grimaced. "I'll stick with coffee, thanks."
"And it's used on Arabians and Saddlebreds, like Flying Duchess, to make them arch their tails higher. It's been banned by the breed associations as abuse."
"You don't say."
Bobby pushed himself up from the stall floor and stripped off his gloves. "Y'know, some people do this, um, recreationally. They-they say it intensifies sexual pleasure."