I got a horse, now what? update 1-22-11

[babymakes6]

Quote:

You HAVE to explain that picture to us!!!!!

 

[AmCanyonStables]

Well, the short version is that the trail in Los Padres National Forrest near Santa Barbara was marked multi-use, and I have to strongly dispute that!
Brief version: We came around a corner, and the trail rapidly got very narrow, maybe 2 feet across, with an almost vertical wall to one side and a 150 steep drop on the other. We were going slow, hoping for a place to turn around, when I saw that it got even worse ahead. Stopped my horse Storm,(it is husbands horse Chloe that was rescued) - he must have felt my tension and did a perfect roll back, so now I was turned around, but face to face with Chloe. Chloe just stepped back, and she started to slide. Steve tried to stop her, but it was steep and soft, so she just kept going.
He rolled off when he realized he could not stop her. Sounded like a boulder rolling down hill, terrible. He climbed down to her, she was OK, standing up, just scrached. I went for help, and over 2 days and two nights several agencies tried to get her out, but there was no way. Finally, the humane society brought the Anderson sling, and she was airlifted out. Steve slept in the ravine with her both nights, we carried water in four miles, etc. Here are a couple more photos.
In the ravine

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Landing

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Some of the people it takes to get a horse out of a ravine

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[Skyesrocket]

Holy Smokes! That is an amazing story! I have always wondered in a rescue case like that, do you get billed for the helicopter?
I'm glad everyone is ok. Quite an ordeal!

 

[geebs]

what did they charge you for the helicopter:??? That was AMAZING... I don't know what I would do f my horse was stuck... that is a real pickle.

 

[babymakes6]

Wow! Thanks for sharing with us! How was she after her ordeal? Did her temperament change at all?

 

[AmCanyonStables]

It's funny, that is the first thing everyone asks (including me when it was happening), what did/will it cost? We do not have unlimited funds, so we were debating with each other how much was too much, when they were still not committing to bringing the helecopter. It turns out, that it is basically free! There were two vets, one at pick up and one at drop off - they asked us who they should bill, so we said us. We paid them, but that was it. About $800 for the vets.
I have since read that in California, there is a law that they do not bill for search and rescue activities unless there is gross neglegence on the part of the victim. I found out later that they had done several rescues of mountain bikers in the same area, and had never remarked or redesignated the trail from "moderate, multi-use". So, not our fault.
Her temperment did not change - we gave her about 3 months off, as she was a little sore and we wanted any pulled muscles to heal.
The ironic thing is that she survived that, and about 2 years later Steve was riding her locally on a trail, she turned and slipped on a patch of grass and broke her leg, which could not be fixed so we put her down.

 

[babymakes6]

Quote:
Awww......

That's so sad!

 

[ducks4you]

~*Sweet Cheeks*~ :

Great article on worming: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=2460

Latest newsletter: http://www.thehorse.com/enews/01222010.html

Thanks for posting the link--great article. I, for one however will continue to rotate my wormers. Everbody thought Round-Up was always gonna kill weeds, but now it's encountered resistance. My horses only travel about 6 times/year. I don't want to risk parasite overload even if the chance is very small.

When I first got horses, in the mid-80's we didn 't worm for tapeworms, but now we have to. Then again, when I was a kid, we didn't have to innoculate our dogs for Parvo, either. Rather be safe, than sorry.
Now, I know why Ivermectrin wormers have gotten so cheap!!​

 

[katrinag]

As far as bits go, I would have the vet come out and look at the teeth make sure everyting is ok in the mouth before you even think about a bit. There are so many bits out there each claiming to do this or that and help with this.
I would when the time comes just go with a plain 'o snaffle and go from there.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
I have to agree to disagree with you on the thrush issue, Kelly G...wet ground does not cause thrush, thrush causes thrush. Wet ground can feed into thrush only if it is already present. I wouldn't advise anyone to go getting excited over thrush and running out and buying gunk for it unless you see evidence that it is happening. I see far more damage and difficulty done by people having their horses' feet too dry than thrush...and the horses that get thrush tend to be "usual suspects" who are prone to it no matter how clean a place you keep.

A good rule of thumb is to flood your trough daily or several times a week depending on how dry your area is so your horse has some mud to add moisture to his feet and keep the rest of his area as natural or as manure-free as possible. Not all of us can have wonderful grass all the time but less manure means less bugs and worms. The natural state of a horse's hoof is to have natural packing in it of soil or other hubris to help cushion and keep steady moisture in the hoof. A dried out, rock-hard hoof/hoof packing is not nearly as effective for this. Neither is daily hoof-picking. Many of us have too dry a facility in a lot of the year so flooding the trough helps with this.

If you find you have a die-hard thrushy horse, I have found that hydrogen peroxide works best for cleaning it out. Thrush Buster is also good but the purple stain is a pain. Custom mixed formaldehyde solution from a vet seems to lose efficiency over time though it is not bad to start out with; bleach I personally have not seen results from, nor Coppertox. Have seen some results from iodine. You have to be sure though that the diseased tissue is debrided thoroughly and any crevices exposed to air with a hoof knife because thrush lives in an anaerobic environment. Pouring the junk in or flushing it in with a syringe won't last long if not exposed to air. At one time I had one such horse and nothing anyone could do could get the thrush entirely gone, but it was managed reasonably well with the above techniques and the horse kept pain free. Shape of foot in his case was a big factor too. The other horses kept pastured with him almost never showed anything but a very mild case of thrush, which was easily trimmed out and done away with in one dose of solution.