Thanks for sharing this. It could happen to
any of us. When someone asks if a horse kicks: yup, he has four hooves
don't he?????? I have been hit with the horse trailer divider when
the horse kicked it. And THAT was a tame horse!! I only got two
black eyes and had to go to work with the 'raccoon' look. mas
Today I went to visit my mule at the trainer's. Just to
make this endurance related, she is my next endurance hope, and she's just
finishing her first 30 days under saddle. My trainer is a natural
horsemanship type gal, and she sponsored a Steve Rother clinic at her
ranch last weekend. Steve is a talented young guy who works a lot
with BLM mustangs. This weekend, there was a family who had gotten
three totally right off the range mustangs at the last auction a few weeks
ago for their KIDS. Another guy, Eric, was at the clinic, and he has
apparently worked with BLM mustangs a lot also. He was going to take
these three home with him to work with, to Carnation, WA.
He
was trying to load the first mustang in the trailer, had the trailer
backed up into the round pen, and it kicked him square in the left
nipple. He took about four steps, according to my trainer's husband
who was there, then went straight down on his back and never moved again,
except his chest was quivering. Basically, he was kicked hard enough
to send his heart into fibrillation. They apparently worked on him a
while at the ranch, then took him in to the hospital, but he was declared
dead shortly after they got there.
No, he wasn't an endurance guy, I
didn't even know him. But how many times have you done something
around a horse without thinking that it could hurt you? This guy was
experienced with wild mustangs, but for some reason, lost his
concentration for that split second to allow himself to be
vulnerable.
PLEASE be careful. And when you hear someone
talking about wanting to get a horse for their kids, who don't know
anything about horses, tell them that they need to look for a BROKE
horse. What if one of the kids had been in the pen? I just
want to cry thinking of the man's wife and family, thinking of the family
who owned the horse, and how they'll feel. Please be careful, and tell
your loved ones how much you care about them before it's too
late.
jeri
