Danger, danger, everywhere!

[SandyWI]

Maybe a thread about dangerous things we'd never thing of unless it actually happened might help all of us avoid future accidents! Here's two things which happened here very recently:

The first thing was my smallest stallion, 28.5", ran up to the gate. My two big geldings, 15.2 hands and 17.2 hands, were on the other side and my little mini decided he was going to chase them off, so he reared up, but when he came down his foot got caught betwee the post and the gate and came to rest on the big bolt screwed into the wooden post that secures the gate hinge. If I hadn't been there and seen it happen, I don't know what the outcome would have been. We since added blocks of wood to all the gates so feet can't slide down the crack and get caught.

Several years ago we had an arab gelding who did the same thing. Reared up at a horse on the other side of the gate, came down and got a foot wedged really tight!. Again, my husband and I were there when it happened, but this horse was a lot heavier than my mini! Plus, he was flailling his other leg like crazy. My husband got in front of him and tried to push up his chest so I could lift the foot out, but suddenly the arab began to sag, making him all the more heavier, and us all the more frantic! Finally, I grabbed a piece of baler twine and stood on one of the rungs of the gate, tied it around his foot, and on the count of three my husband used his back to push the arab up and I pulled the leg up and out. Needless to say, all gates got blocks of wood put in those areas.

Then, just last week, I went into the barn after being gone maybe 90 minutes. The horses had been tucked in their stalls before I'd left the barn. When I returned to give them their hay for the night, one of my poor geldings was walking around the stall with the little metal box, which holds their small, mini-sized salt/mineral blocks, stuck on his rear foot! He somehow knocked it and the salt block off the wall. I think he was probably rubbing his butt on it and that's how it got knocked down.

There was no harm done, and I pulled it off fairly easily, but this could have ended up a big mess had I not found it so quickly. So... I immediately got the electric drill and removed ALL those salt block holders from ALL the stalls, and now the salt blocks go on the floor until their grain is eaten, and are then picked up and put in the grain feeders.

Where has danger lurked on your farm?

 

[mmmorgans]

We had a 9 month old Morgan filly that jumped into a round bale feeder (we were boarding our horses at a farm at the time). When she tried to jump out, she got one of her back legs caught (intertwined) in the rungs of the feeder. She was seriously hurt and it took months to get her to the point that I could see that she was going to heal. She has a really ugly scar on that leg now (she is 7 years old).

A month or so ago we had a mini gelding push his head through a gap between a gate and the post. Once he got his head through - there was no way that he could get it back out - he was caught. I found him with his tongue hanging out and his lips just hanging down. I got the gate open and he was just staggering - I thought he was going to fall down and not get up. The vet came out and he had major soft tissue damage. We treated him with anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers. However, he couldn't eat properly and dropped at least 50 pounds. The soft tissue damage eventually abscessed - but that wasn't the worst of it. Re-exam by the vet and xrays found osteomyelitis (bone infection) which we are currently treating. His prognosis is guarded (at best) but I am trying everything I can to beat this infection.

So even when you think everything is safe - the unexpected happens!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lauralee]

ROUND BALES are very dangerous for small livestock such as miniature horses.

The horses tend to eat the inner portion of the bale first and then the bale shifts, often crushing a foal that happens to be lying beside the huge bale.

Always tip round bales onto the flat side for miniature horses.

FROZEN PONDS are also a danger....for obvious reasons.

And of course, my number one pet peeve.....LOOSE OR FERAL DOGS.

 

[Bluerocket]

Ok - have a few for you.

Snaps (any kind -- double ended or regular) and the open curve bucket hooks - beware - I saw a full size horse pierce his nostril with one of those (actually double ended snap) - It was holding up a water bucket - he was lipping at it with his nose -- it was facing "opening portion side up" - so I always make sure the openings of any hooks or snaps face downward.

Another really strange one - round bales have those loooonnnng strings on them - at a farm where I was in NY state, a gelding got caught in the string - he was snoozing on the old round bale pile and then rolling on it and caught his "male appendage" and one foot - almost lost both of them. Fortunately help with a pocket knife was nearby.

Do you hang halters on your gates when you turn a horse out? I had a horse rear - and put his foot through the gate and halter then struggle to get back out again. I was there and was able to extract the foot - but could have been a close thing.

I am currently dry lotting our boys in a round pen - They quickly ate all the grass - then decided to try to reach the grass outside of the pen through the bars of the round pen (full horse size pen) - of course they could get their heads out the hole - but in one or more cases - could not figure out how to get them back in again. We had some left over fence wire - and I had my husband run it around the outside of the pen (no climb horse fence not page wire) - we did it on the outside so the horses would not encounter the edges where we hooked pieces together.

How is your round pen (or corral panels) hooked together? If you have the full horse size with the loose hook shaped pins -- or the mini size panels that have welded hooks on them - beware - horses can catch their halters on them and choke themselves to death on them. I happened to save the life of a friend's mini - I stopped by their farm to visit and the mini was in the round pen and about out of air -- it was a small mini and I was able to get it unhooked - the people were inside the house and had no idea the colt was trapped. They had been gone for only a few minutes - but that is all it takes.

Hog wire (aka page wire) minis can get trapped in that very easily - hooves and heads - especially in stretched or broken sections.

Walk your pastures, paddocks and fields looking for holes in the ground -- fill them with manure, bedding and rocks -- horses playing and running could break a leg or strain them --.

enough for now.

Looking forward to the posting of other people

JJay

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

[SIZE=14pt] Yes, they can and do get hurt by just about anything.[/SIZE]

Our ongoing problem is bee stings. For two straight years our stallions was stung in the face and swelled up terribly so you couldn't even see his eyes. What we figured out was the bees would come and sit in his food dish waiting to carry off an unsuspecting fly. AND of course he would check his dish to see if grain magically appeared and there you go.... baby benadryl was a wonder thing in those times. And Ice packs.

About two weeks ago we had his daughter out in the 4 acre field. When I happen to look up I saw her lip was in the air like she smelled something stinky. Like always!!! But she kept doing it and doing it. Then she dropped to to the ground and laid there. So I ran, and HER eye was swollen shut, and her face was very puffy. BUT she was having a serious reactiong. It had stung her multiple times on the face. We think she found a ground nest. Her gums were pale, she had watery diarrhea, she was sweaty. Took her in the stall by then she was cold. Lord, she scared me. VEry shocky.After the benadryl and a blanket on, she came out of it fine. EVIL bees!!! Still scared to let her out...

 

[YHFF Miniature Horses]

I've had minis get hooves stuck between gates and the gate posts too--we changed all the gates the next day and/or filled in the gaps. If there's a way for a mini to get into trouble they'll find it!

 

[Miniequine]

sOME VERY GOOD ADVICE.. THANKS!

Frozen ponds... nightmare in the waiting.

Never let horses near a frozen anything..

If feed smells funny, it IS, throw it out!!!

Persimmon trees produce Big Vet BILLS!!!

Horses can and do untie themselves, especially

in horse trailers.

Always double check that the gate is latched!

That's all I can think of at the moment

Sandy

 

[Samm S]

a really deep pond that has mushy stuff on the out side.. very difficult for a mini or a big horse to get out (me too as i figured out ahah :lol: ) it was not fun...

wired fences holes that are either way too big to get a leg caught in and scratched up or just small enough for a hoof to get caught in... but even perfect sized holes can be bad for a foal or really small mini the might think its big enough for him head to go through but cant get back out!!

nice thread!!!!!

 

[love_casper]

funny how you can watch a horse all day and it won't do a thing, then you are gone for 30 seconds, and it gets itself in trouble!!!! it never fails!! okay here's my stories of smart horses doing stupid things:

1. (not my horse but i witnessed it) a 2 year old racing mare was staying at her owners farm on a two week vacation after winning a big race. the handler was riding one horse and ponying her. a camera flash spooks her so she rears, causing the rope to slip from the rider's hands. so the horse runs with a halter and lead rope flying, full speed gallop down a very busy street. a car came around the corner and slammed on the brakes as soon as they saw her. the driver started honking so she would go around her. but being a racer, she only knew to run, how did she know to go AROUND scary objects? so she jumps. straight up in the air. her legs go thru the roof, the driver goes into shock. then the mare gets really scared and gets out of the car, and keeps on running. they eventually caught her. by the time the vet arrived, she couldn't walk. her legs were ripped up and (look away now squeemish ones)...her knees had...uh...come...off. when she pulled her legs out of the roof it sliced um right off. the bone was still there, but i was a good ten feet away and could see right to the bone. they sewed them on best they could (they had still been hanging by a chunk of flesh), and they had to have 10 men lift her in a trailer to take her two blocks home. they tried to save her, as she was a great little horse for them. she was working great with thereapy, responding perfectly, it was a miracle. everybody thought she wouldn't live to see another day. but she was fabulous. then she foundered. :no: they had to put her down. oh and the driver is fine. a little scared to come around that corner, but she's okay physically. hang on to those horses! and remember cameras are scary

2. and one not as disgusting, with a much better outcome: i was taking care of a 6 year old off-the track gelding (what is it with these racers????!) because his owner was out of town. and of course, bad things only happen to pets when their owners leave.

: well, i put him in a pen, watched him for about 10 minutes. he just stood there, looking bored. so i leave for less than 45 seconds to throw his hay in to his stall!!!! when i get back, i see a mark on his neck as a gash in his face. a worker who saw it told us what happened. the chain was not on really tight to close the fence, which left a gap between the poles. he stuck his head between the poles, and played with the chain. this caused the two poles to colide, thus smashing his face in the fence.

: it took fourteen stitches and about a month heeling time, but he's fine now.

: he went on to be a show horse in dressage and jumping.

: so always close your gates tightly.

3. about a month ago, Ghost had to switch stables for a while when her barn was being remodled. the first night there, she discovers that she can fit under the big horse feeder. she foubnd just the right rubbing spot, got under that feeder, and went to town on that itchy spot! by the time we saw her next, she had a chunk of fur left and rubbed out her mane in that area. no harm done, but so much for that show coming up

: remember horses are itchy and curious! make sure that there is no small place your mini could get cought or stuck on that would be overlooked for a big horse.

4. okay. last one. A 3 year old Belgian was bored one night and could not sleep, so he decided to take off. someone forgot to put that extra clip on his gate. so he romed the barn and ate everyones food. he was not harmed, just one very happy pony! "YAY extra treats, i love a midnight snack..." if the horse can reach the latch, it will escape!

alright that's all for now. hope i didn't gross you all out too much with the car story. it was really horrible to watch. baby-proof those stalls!!!!!

 

[Whitewave]

Traffic Cones !!!! My stallion loves to play with the cones on my obstacle course and i really never thought they could be a hazard til I found him with his hind leg stuck inside one of the big ones, I eneded up having to cut it to get if off his leg , he is fine but did limp on his hind foot for a couple days and his pastern/ankle were swollen.... So watch those cones and put them up when not in use...

 

[sedeh]

Great thread! It is amazing what horses will get theirselves into!!

One thing I'm careful about is when I'm switching halters/clipping etc and want to put the halter around the neck of the horse, I always make sure the rope is not tied. I was at a horse show once and a girl was putting her bridle on the horse, had the halter around his neck and the rope still tied to the trailer(slip knot like most of us use). The horse freaked out at something and pulled back hard......broke his neck and had to be put down. Was not a pretty site. I've seen others pull back as well but without the dire consequences.

I've also seen horses get caught in those reins that are made of nylon and are a continuous loop. They don't break! It's a good idea to keep a knife on you!