A horse that casts in the stall...

[roxy's_mom]

Hello! I have a 25 year old Appaloosa riding mare that has cast at least twice in the last year. We've had her 6 years and she never did it before until the first incident last year. She came up lame yesterday afternoon and I have no idea why. She's never been lame before at least as long as we've had her. My mom made the comment this morning that she thought that she had heard one of the horses kicking the wall sometime the night before and it's making me wonder if she didn't get cast then and was able to get up on her own this time. The past two times we've had to pull or flip her over to get her away from the wall. My mare is blind in her left eye and she does sleep on that side of her body and I'm not wondering if maybe because of being blind in that eye that she can't tell how close she is to the barn wall and gets stuck when she rolls.

Has anyone ever had this happen and what do you do to prevent it from happening? Any thoughts would be appreciated!!

Thanks for any help!!

Becky M.

 

[Jesi]

We have a mare who was born with joint ill and has always had some problems since. She just randomly starts limping and could never go on long trail rides.

Well recently, we (I had no descision or it wouldn't have happened) had some guys come to drill a gas well in the field. They made a big muddy mess and didn't clean up properly, and Treasure sunk up past her belly. It took a tractor to get her out, but even after that it took hours to get her up. She hasn't been quite right since, and there had been a few incedents where she couldn't get herself up in the field and we had to help her. But the other day she got down in her stall, and then somehow crawled to the corner and got stuck. We tried everything to get her up, but she eventually gave up trying. She did get up eventually, but she is not allowed in the stall anymore. :[ She has to stay in the shed outside of the barn so if she gets down again we can get to her more easily.

Sorry for rambling LOL

Anyways, I found this:

Most stabled horses live out their lives without ever getting cast in their stalls, but every now and again, a chronic case comes along who can't seem to cope with enclosing walls. One cure is to never stable him; another is to keep him in a stall small enough to discourage rolling and to "bank" the walls with a generous wedge of bedding, but the banks have to be quite large and well maintained to keep him away from the walls. For an inveterate horse, you could even construct a stall with easily removed partitions and install an intercom system to keep an ear out for the sounds of his frequent struggles.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Give your horse the largest stall you have and bank huge amounts of shavings up against the walls. Just pour them alongside the walls and pack them down so that the bottom of the stall curves up a couple feet kind of like a skateboard ramp. The good thing is that you can just leave the majority of it there all the time as it won't really get dirty. It always seems that once a horse gets cast once they get cast continually and I think they often get cast and get themselves out of it without us being aware. There is a good chance this is what your horse did.

If she does get stuck again grab either her halter or her tail and pull her away from the wall so that she can get her front feet out in front of herself and rise. Minis are so much easier!

 

[~Lisa~]

I have a mare who is blind she has moon blindness and goes thru episodes of being bad but this is the worst she has been she is totally blind now in one eye and limited vision in the other . She is a aged mini appy. I just do not stall her I find that easier she either gets cast or circles to the point of making herself lame behind if she is in a stall- she is in a pen around the barn and can get into the barn aisle. She does ok out there she knows the pen and where things are but even then she still runs into a trash can or a person every now and then. If I leave a panel or gate closed that is usually open she will crash into that as well.

I didnt realize how bad she was circling until I had her on camera and realized that was more then likely why she was stiff and lame not from her getting cast.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

When bedding her stall, bed down heavily in the middle, and don't bed the sides. They tend to want to lay in the heaviest areas that are bedded. Hopefully this will keep her in the middle most of the time when she lays down, and if she rolls over, she should have enough room to still get up.

 

[copperwood farm]

We had a large horse that used to get cast alot and finally bought an anti-cast roller for him. If you arn't familliar with them...its like a surcingle with a large handle on the top. They can lay down, but prevents them from rolling onto their back. They are safe and might be worth looking at.

 

[roxy's_mom]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think what might have happened was she rolled and got stuck and manage to get herself away from the wall. She may have kicked the wall to try and push herself away and in the process slightly bruised the bottom of her hoof. She's walking much better tonight. I wrapped both hind legs to give the non-sore one a little more support and it seems to be helping.

Thanks again for the help. This is always the best place to come because someone always has good advice or has been there and done that!!

Becky M.

 

[Dent Kickapoo Kitty]

My jumper got cast last night when I was doing barn check.

Here are some things we did.

You can instal rubber or wood strips along the walls a couple feet off the ground that just stick out a bit, that'll give the horse something to push off against if they get cast. Otherwise there are those things that look kind of like a sircingle that prevent them from getting cast. We also wrap him at night starting tonight all around. Another things is put padding around the walls.

 

[RebelsHope]

Give your horse the largest stall you have and bank huge amounts of shavings up against the walls. Just pour them alongside the walls and pack them down so that the bottom of the stall curves up a couple feet kind of like a skateboard ramp. The good thing is that you can just leave the majority of it there all the time as it won't really get dirty.

I agree with this method.

I have had a cast horse maybe twice in all my years. Knock on wood. One horse and she did it only twice.