Re: RC: Accident

[BMcCrary27@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/05/1999 4:41:38 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
Zaronica@aol.com writes:

<< I had a horse that was continually sticking his head through the top two 
 rails on a gate, I figured he would quit when he got full grown, he didn't 
so 
 I put chicken wire over the space attaching it on top and bottom.  Now I see 
 that may have prevented a serious accident.  I always thought he might get 
 caught if he got in a hurry to get out. >>

We once had a horse that had the habit of sticking his head through what is 
euphemistically called a "Lifetime gate" (lifetime of what, I'd like to 
know), a lightweight galvanized steel gate, to reach grass. Once, while he 
was in this act, he became startled by something and raised his head suddenly 
and violently, taking the gate off its lag bolt hangers. So here was a horse 
with an 8-foot gate hanging on his neck and he ran to the far end of his 
(mercifully) small paddock and cringed in the corner. I heard the ruckus, 
went out to help, assisted by a small scrappy Queensland Heeler and an 
obsessed Border Collie.  While threatening the Heeler with certain death in a 
firm but hushed voice, I persuaded the horse to stay quiet. He must have 
realized that I was the only one who could get him out of this predicament. I 
walked quietly up to him, took gate in one hand and his head in the other and 
asked him to turn his head sideways so it would slip out through the slats of 
the gate. This worked successfully, whereupon he ran as far away from the 
gate as he could get in that paddock.  I promptly installed some mesh wire on 
the gate where it has been ever since. Moral to the story: either install 
mesh to prevent this, or hang the gate with lag bolts (shaped like an L when 
installed on the gate post) in opposing directions, the lower one facing up, 
the upper one facing down.  This episode, along with several others we've 
experienced, has proved to me that most of our Arabs are more sensible about 
trouble than some of the other breeds or grades that we have had in the past. 
We've had Arabs stand stock still and refuse to move if they inadvertently 
walked into hidden barbed wire. They waited patiently for us to rescue them. 
However, we also had a QH/TB gelding who was equally sensible about such 
matters. He once followed me through an escape door in a 2-horse trailer and 
was hung up by his ribs. His front feet were on the ground, his hind still in 
the trailer, and he was bound by his ribs in the frame of the escape door.  
My husband eased him past the ribs so he could breathe better, but then he 
was trapped by his hip bones.  There he stood, patiently, while we sent over 
to our business shop, 5 miles away, for an acetylene torch. We blindfolded 
him, shielded his side with a 1/4" sheet of plywood, and ran water from a 
garden hose on him, while my husband cut the metal frame of the doorway 
apart. When the horse realized he was free, he stepped quietly to the ground 
and stood there, trembling but not panicking. He was the most amazing horse 
I've ever seen.  What a mind!!

Barbara


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