Trailering Nightmare
Please Note: I am not referring to this poster as an asshat, nor is she in the category. This was posted here, as a terrible trailering experience, not to call the poster out.
ThorArb Posted......
"Today was not a good day at all. Today Foxy came home. We made it in the end but both of us got hurt in the process. I dont know what became of Foxy, she has never ever acted this way before. She utterly went psycho on me. She was very very hard to load into the trailer. She reared, screamed, bucked and tried to drag me all over the farm, anywhere but towards the trailer. Finally, I managed to coax to to get in with the help of her pasture mate- KS. We unloaded KS and Foxy FREAKED! She was bucking, attempting to rear and managed to get her front legs stuck in the front of the trailer (2H straight load yuck!). She got herself free and I tried my best to keep her calm. She was better when we got moving.
We had to stop at the gas station and she freaked even worse this time. She got really stuck. One leg was caught up in the front of the trailer. She eventually just sat down on her butt and managed to free herself that way. She was so exhausted she just plopped down in the trailer, still sitting on her bum. She was literally suffocating herself on the front of the trailer. I went in, with little regards for my own safety and lifted her head so she could at least breathe. Finally with the last bit of strength she managed to right herself, crushing me between her and the middle partition. Oh well, small price to pay as long as my horse is ok. Knocked the wind out of me for a second but that was about it.
Then she freaks again. She struck me. I was dazed for a second but again when it came to my horse I didnt stay that way for long. She repeated the previous episode again. Now she is bloodied up, her face is split, blood is splattered in every direction on every surface. She righted herself again and all seemed quiet. We hauled butt home.
At home she was eerily quiet. However she did NOT want to back out of the trailer. It took 3 of us to shove her out. Once out I began to really assess the damage in the pouring down rain. We are both soaked, bloodied up and tired. She is sore, very sore and was walking funny. Her head is split open on top, on her forehead, by both eyes and she has some minor scrapes on her nose and some on her body. Both legs appear to be ok.
The head wounds were bad. Deep. Right down to where I could see her skull. It was awful. I called my vet, she came immediately thank God. So there we were, the three of us patching my old broodmare up. She is now without a forelock, has a damaged pride and plenty of sewn up parts to brag about not to mention her pulled shoulder. So she's on rest time and pain killers.
I am fine, more than a bit sore and plain exhausted. More than once I just wanted to go into a fit and break down. But you know, for the sake of your horse you've got to be at least some what calm dont you.
I have never, ever been through something like that. It was God awful and I never ever want to go through it again. Im afraid to even give her away at this point for fear she'd freak on the way to her new home. I was so scared she'd break her leg or something. I'm still all jittery. "
You can find the original thread HERE
posted by Outting The Asshats of Horsetopia @ 3:06 PM
8 Comments:
Did I miss why they were taking this mare anywhere to begin with?
Somedays you just have to call it off and go another day.
She might want to consider trading off that straight 2-horse and get a slant. Sounds like that alone would have eliminated the majority of the problems that happened. Did she check for wasps, yellowjackets, or hornets in the trailer? Horses won't want to load if they are in there.
I think that asshat portion would be that she chose to move an obviously upset horse. If the horse had never had an issue before then there was obviously something bothering her. Why not pull her out and investigate?
What was so urgent that the obviously frantic mare needed to be moved in this state? She obviously wasn't going to the vet...
I don't know why it was imperative to move the horse that day either, but it could be for a variety of reasons.
Maybe the horse was being boarded and this was the last day she was paid up. Maybe she has a full-time job during the week and could only move her on one day. Maybe she was going to be charged an exorbitant amount of money if she didn't move the horse then.
I seriously doubt she just wanted to see what would happen if her horse would freak out.
Again, I don't see how this arises to asshat status.
Maybe our definitions differ.
The horse loaded fine only because there was a "buddy" in there. They then took the buddy out and that is when the horse flipped out. He/she was just being herd/buddy sour. They should have left the buddy in and taken the buddy back later.
The reason for moving was to bring him/her home from a boarding situation.
At least that is what I got from the post and replies on HT.
I think it is just sad that it came to that. And I agree that she will be even more hesitant to get on a trailer in the futre.
I have a horse whom had a similar accident. He had been trailered extensively by previous owners, but always in an enclosed slant load. I had a straight two horse. He loaded fine and still does, but on our way to his first endurance ride, on the interstate, he started dancing a bit every time a semi truck got behind the trailer. Each time he got worse until the whole towing vehicle lurched forward. I looked in the rear view mirror at the window in the front of the trailer, and all I saw was horse, when usually I only saw his head. Then a couple of seconds later, an even bigger lurch, and all I saw was his head. We were about three miles from our destination, and cautiously drove the rest of the way. The view inside my trailer was from a horror movie. The inside of the trailer was painted white to help keep it cooler in summer, but now was splattered with blood in every direction. My predominantly white Paint Horse was covered in so much blood, you couldn’t discern him from a sorrel. While shaking from the fear of the injuries I would find, I cautiously unloaded him to asses the damage. His quilted leg wraps that extend from coronary band to above knees and hocks looked like someone had taken a weed-whacker to them. I unwrapped them and found surprisingly little serious damage underneath. His head was scraped up, and he was bruised as well, but nothing life threatening. Also being at an endurance ride, there were vets everywhere. Upon investigating the trailer, he had jumped into the feed manger trying to escape the "big scary trucks" and had busted through with both front legs into the tack compartment underneath. The relatively thin metal had shredded under the impact, and as he had thrashed to free himself, the damage was done to his head and front legs. THANK GOD for high quality leg wraps. Without them, he would not have survived. I had a welder friend cut out the entire front end of the trailer to an open box style, and purchased all new padding for the sides. We have trailered many times since, and he does well. I just worry about the big trucks and try to avoid the interstate when possible. I also dream of the day I can buy a slant load. I wish no one had to use the old style two horses anymore, but until that fictitious time, we should ALL pad them for the ride just like we take the precaution for our own safety with air bags and seat belts. I’m glad the horse survived and has a caring owner.
Check out my blog www.trialsofahorsegirl.blogspot.com
hey just thought I'd let you know that I was reading your blog and check it every once in a while to see if you've updated.
also, I started a blog. check it out!
dogsdeservefreedom.blogspot.com
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home