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Post by aoconnor on Oct 23, 2017 12:59:05 GMT
So yikes! We had a nasty little thunderstorm on Saturday night, noisy and with a lot of lightening. Yesterday morning my husband comes into the kitchen to tell me we had a horse out on the road in front of our home. I took off at a run to see who and what...it was our little 20year old, partially blind cutting horse mare that was a sheriffs department rescue last spring. She had apparently spooked during the storm d to jump a fence, but wtih an arthritic knee she could t clear it. The top wire was high tensile barbed wire, the lower part of fence was no climb steel. She got tangled in the top line, fell over a t-post, took out her front right knee, tore her belly open in a 14 inch long rut, and mangled her right hind pastern.
I only saw the front knee knee at first, but that was enough to make an emergency vet run. At the clinic when I opened the trailer, i saw the blood from her stomach and hind leg wounds and knew she was really messed up. Thankfully my vet was already at the clinic with another emergency. I didn’t feel too bad bringing in a horse on a Sunday morning:-). My little Lady us went into surgery at about 1, came out at about 2:30. Thankfully no major tendons or joints were hit, but Lady has a 3 week vet clinic recovery ahead of her.
I can’t wait for my new barn to be finished, then I at least won’t have to worry as much about partially blind little old lady mares being out in a storm again.
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Post by here to stay on Oct 23, 2017 13:09:41 GMT
But I wonder if she actually spooked herself or if the rest of the horses got excited and ran her. Is she on the bottom of pecking order?
Anyway it is great she did no other damage. Barbed wire can tear a horse up in an ugly fashion. And good your vet did not have cause to grump at you on a Sunday morning. At least too much.
One of the most powerful memories I have is one that happened while I was a passenger age 5 in a car. Looking out, I saw running horses heading fast towards a hip roofed barn. There was a big dark storm coming and a man was standing in front of the barn about a 100 acres away, calling in his horses. The bright red barn, the roiling storm thunderheads, the small man off in the distance and the lead horse was white. What an exciting picture.
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Post by Woodpecker on Oct 23, 2017 14:30:38 GMT
I remember when riding when younger, that the horses would get spooked at even the smallest thing...a piece of paper that blew towards us etc. Poor girl, she had to be terrified to be able to jump over the fence with an arthritic knee. It could have been a lot worse. Although what she went through sounds very bad in itself. I hope she heals quickly.
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Post by dustawaits on Oct 23, 2017 15:40:20 GMT
Shall we say exciting? To be riding a mare that would spook at anything and nothing!!
Really paid to be able to sit the saddle as if glued.
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 23, 2017 15:42:55 GMT
I should say that this mare is not bottom but not top in the herd. She is out nightly with all. I am fairly sure she, being blind on one side, was spooked by the storm rather than the horses.
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Post by dustawaits on Oct 23, 2017 19:40:21 GMT
Something may have blown past her blind side or lightening struck close and she felt a tremor .
Glad you found her quickly.
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 23, 2017 20:24:20 GMT
Yes, we are grateful she didn’t go over the fence onto the highway.
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Post by mzgarden on Oct 24, 2017 1:02:57 GMT
Poor girl. Glad you found her quickly and could get her taken care of - hugs to your vet as well.
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 26, 2017 2:09:41 GMT
Poor girl. Glad you found her quickly and could get her taken care of - hugs to your vet as well. My vet is so awesome! There are 4 vets at the equine clinic we go to, and all are fantastic. My normal vet is just the best there is though, in my opinion. That woman knows so much it just amazes me. She has a true heart toward all horses, even the ones that are not so fabulous about being at the vet clinic sometimes:-) |
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Post by here to stay on Oct 26, 2017 2:49:02 GMT
How's she doing?
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 26, 2017 3:22:11 GMT
She is doing quite well. I visit her daily at the vet, she will be there for a few weeks. I have to travel next week for several days, I won’t bring her home until after my trip so I know she is properly cared for. I do have barn help but they aren’t prepared for these type of injuries and can’t care for her while I’m away. Thank you for asking!! |
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Post by here to stay on Oct 26, 2017 12:40:16 GMT
Good for her. It's nice to have a vet like yours.
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Post by comfortablynumb on Oct 26, 2017 14:07:26 GMT
My horse was odd, it could be storming buckets of fire and he'd stand out in it, sound asleep. Tree branches drop on him, rain beating on him.... he was unfazed.
Yet he was terrified of black and white cows. Not brown black or grey ones. Just the black n white ones.
Traffic didn't bother him either. You could ride him own the side of a freeway an he'd be happily looking around walking peacefully.
Sometimes strange things freak horses out and super scary things they ignore.
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 27, 2017 12:56:37 GMT
Numb, that’s so funny!
So I have a white gelding that’s been here 3 years, that when he first arrived, most of my herd was scared to death of. White horses creep the other horses out sometimes. Back in July I bought a big white mare...my white gelding is scared spitless of her!!!!! He apparently hasn’t looked in a mirror lately:-)
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Post by here to stay on Oct 27, 2017 13:06:43 GMT
Horses can have some peculiar fears. Tessie was always a remarkable steady girl except for two things. Noises above her head- considering mountain lions very understandable- and sheep.
Her worst nightmare was when a neighbor's ram broke into her night paddock and was making ridiculous ram overtures to her. It was the only time I ever saw her actually kick and connect in the twenty two years I've had her. Luckily he was very wooly and padded.
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