Tragedy For The Tki Ranch

[TKIFARMGIRL]

I am new to the forum, and don't often post much, but I feel the need to share this story to avoid another tragedy. I was raised on a large horse farm, breeding, training, racing, showing, roping, the farm has multiple turn out pens along with 2 20 acre pastures. On Wed. afternoon, I received a frantic call from my mother that my nieces horse was dead. I went to the farm and what I saw astounded me. The 4 year old paint gelding named Lonesome had torn his jugular vein out and bled to death right next to his hay feeder! We have raised horses our whole lives, and live by the mantra "If you can think it, it can happen" when it comes to pen and stall safety. No horse is ever turned out in a halter, and all areas are as safe as we can make them (or so we thought). It appears that he rubbed his head on a cedar post where the gate to the turn out is located, apparently he somehow caught the bolt (standard gate hardware) on his throat just behind his cheek and punctured his neck, he obviously then sat back and tore his jugular. Every gate that is hung with a bolt that goes all the way through the cedar post and is then bolted on can be dangerous. I am distraught about this terrible accident, and ask that everyone check their gates. Please pray for my neice Savannah, she trained this horse and used him in 4H, equestrian team, as well as trail riding. She is devestated.

 

[patandchickens]

So sorry for your loss. It is always tough when unexpected things like this happen.

That said, for others reading this thread, this is the reason why you should recess (countersink) bolt ends whenever possible, and ALWAYS hacksaw them off flush with the tightened nut and file them smooth. Usually it's just very expensive vet bills and/or depreciation from a valuable show horse to a pasture pet, rather than a fatality, but protruding bolts *are* dangerous.

All the best,

Pat

 

[Akane]

You can't horse proof a pasture. They'd require padded stalls with electronic prison locks to keep them all safe all the time. My mare tore a flexor tendon doing the usual run about with the others that resulted in a collision on a muddy very slight slope. Was never rideable again. My aunt had a $50,000 filly run in to a vinyl/pvc type fence and break her neck. We had a gelding that learned how to grab the handles of electrified tape fencing and just pull back and up so the hardware bent and the gate opened. Then the whole herd would get loose. He also opened a few "horse proof" latches. One of those incidents caused the death of a mare who ran across the highway to see the neighbors horses and the other caused his own death when he opened his stall (I have to use 2 hands to open the stall doors), opened the feed room, moved a gate, and took the lid off a 55gallon drum of oats which he ate several feet down in to. I know someone with brand new high tensile fencing (I'll never use anything wire ever again) who had a horse on a hot walker that managed to swing and kick out dropping it's leg through the fence. The walker kept going and the horse kept struggling until it skinned it's leg from just above the hock to the hoof on all sides. After weeks of trying to save the leg they put him down.

No matter what you do you and how often you inspect for everything you will have injuries. There are no completely horse proof gates, fences, or stalls. We have cut our injuries down a whole heck of a lot by not having a single strand of any type of wire on the place and minimal wood and metal. Everything is pvc board or electric tape with plastic gate handles and plastic ties holding the plastic fasteners to the plastic coated wood posts. The only metal is one perimeter fence gate and the little harmless metal strands woven in to the electric tape. Since they don't get near the electric fences it helps cut things down more. Also we don't use any metal hay mangers or feeders. All hay and feed goes on the ground contained in rubber tubs if necessary. We've still had freak accidents in the pasture like the torn flexor tendon but haven't had a fence, gate, or stall injury in years when it used to be a twice yearly event.

 

[michickenwrangler]

How awful!

DH lost his horse (who was blind) when he got stung by bees, bolted and ran into a pole barn. He was lacerated so bad he had to be shot, he would have bled to death by the time the vet would have come out.

It just sounds like a horrible accident and I hope it never happens again ... to ANY horse!