ArkRescue
Adopt me please !
So I look into the field yesterday and I see the 2nd horse standing on the other side of the chicken pen, away from the 1st horse (hmm that's odd). Upon investigation I find the right half of her chest is torn wide open (OMG!). So I don't handle emergencies well OK? I get all upset feeling inside and call the vet and toward the end of message I leave, I am in tears.
What seemed like an hour later (it wasn't, only maybe 20 minutes) the ER vet on call returns my call and says she is stitching up a patient in Mechanicsville and she will get to me in about an hour. So I get both horses into the barn to stall them to wait. Getting the injured one into the barn was a tad difficult as she was dragging her front right leg and I'm thinking OMG I'm going to have to put her down possibly? Or she may need to go to ER facility in PA?
Horses in barn now, I commence to looking for blood in the field. Thank goodness they didn't have access to the big grass field I was thinking. So eventually I find a small bit of dark hair on the corner of a ladder rack that is holding some lumber on the side of the barn. I check the ground and find hoof marks that indicate a sliding hoof and I am pretty sure I know what happened.
Horse #1 moseys over to check out the traps I have set to catch the cats I saw. While there in that 10' narrowing on the side of the barn (between fence and barn), horse #2 moves toward horse #1, and fearing being trapped, horse #1 runs out of the narrowing and jumps up to the right into the corner sticking up of the ladder rack (top of rack was at 40" high and injury was at about about 35") then she pulls left to get away from the pressure she felt in her chest - Wound is an inverted "L" shape. Thank goodness that corner of the rack still had most of the black paint intact, although the rack has a good bit of rust on it elsewhere.
Diagnoses is: Laceration to skin, pectoral muscle and axilla on RF today.
I have heard about people finding all kinds of hazards in their horse areas, so this is just a reminder to everyone that you need to look over your facilities well. I KNEW BETTER than to have something like a stack of lumber on a ladder rack accessible to horses. I had it on my list to move the lumber and the ladder rack, but had not had time to get it done. The ladder rack is free to anyone who wants it. If we don't find a home for it this week, we will take it to the recycler.
Both horses are stalled for 2 weeks now (one can't go out w/o the other screaming, [sigh]). Sedatives are needed for the injured one as she doesn't like being stalled for more than a day. I may end up needing sedatives for horse #2 by day 3 of being stalled? All I can do is hope that the stitches do not tear when she gets up and down. She is eating the meds in her feed well (thank goodness). The longer a horse is stalled, the more antsy they get to go outside (at least my 2). It's as if the energy inside them gets all pent up and they act kooky when let out after just 1 or 2 days stalled (bucking and carrying on). I won't even say what the vet bill so far is. I again remind myself, it's MY fault.
What seemed like an hour later (it wasn't, only maybe 20 minutes) the ER vet on call returns my call and says she is stitching up a patient in Mechanicsville and she will get to me in about an hour. So I get both horses into the barn to stall them to wait. Getting the injured one into the barn was a tad difficult as she was dragging her front right leg and I'm thinking OMG I'm going to have to put her down possibly? Or she may need to go to ER facility in PA?
Horses in barn now, I commence to looking for blood in the field. Thank goodness they didn't have access to the big grass field I was thinking. So eventually I find a small bit of dark hair on the corner of a ladder rack that is holding some lumber on the side of the barn. I check the ground and find hoof marks that indicate a sliding hoof and I am pretty sure I know what happened.
Horse #1 moseys over to check out the traps I have set to catch the cats I saw. While there in that 10' narrowing on the side of the barn (between fence and barn), horse #2 moves toward horse #1, and fearing being trapped, horse #1 runs out of the narrowing and jumps up to the right into the corner sticking up of the ladder rack (top of rack was at 40" high and injury was at about about 35") then she pulls left to get away from the pressure she felt in her chest - Wound is an inverted "L" shape. Thank goodness that corner of the rack still had most of the black paint intact, although the rack has a good bit of rust on it elsewhere.
Diagnoses is: Laceration to skin, pectoral muscle and axilla on RF today.
I have heard about people finding all kinds of hazards in their horse areas, so this is just a reminder to everyone that you need to look over your facilities well. I KNEW BETTER than to have something like a stack of lumber on a ladder rack accessible to horses. I had it on my list to move the lumber and the ladder rack, but had not had time to get it done. The ladder rack is free to anyone who wants it. If we don't find a home for it this week, we will take it to the recycler.
Both horses are stalled for 2 weeks now (one can't go out w/o the other screaming, [sigh]). Sedatives are needed for the injured one as she doesn't like being stalled for more than a day. I may end up needing sedatives for horse #2 by day 3 of being stalled? All I can do is hope that the stitches do not tear when she gets up and down. She is eating the meds in her feed well (thank goodness). The longer a horse is stalled, the more antsy they get to go outside (at least my 2). It's as if the energy inside them gets all pent up and they act kooky when let out after just 1 or 2 days stalled (bucking and carrying on). I won't even say what the vet bill so far is. I again remind myself, it's MY fault.
now i forgot...
.