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| Discussion on Encounter with barbed wire on trail; boots saved her life | |
| Author | Message |
| Member: rorien |
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008 - 10:15 am: So, on Wednesday, despite all signs pointing against riding, I took my mare out for a short (about an hour) trail ride. She was acting like a pill the whole time, wouldn't stand for me to mount, didn't want to leave the property, was looking around the whole time just for something to spook at. I of course, was in a bad mood to begin with, because I had taken my Mini to the vet earlier in the day because he had been coughing, only to find out he has Rhino. *sigh* But that's a topic for another thread, back to my mare.Once we got off the property, she did do pretty well, and to end the ride, I was coming down a two track, to get back into the sandwash, that would take us home (we could see home, and the other horses were calling out to her). My dogs, whom I take with me when I ride, took off after another dog, so I was looking towards them. I happened to look down just in time to see Amari take her first step into three strands of barbed wire that was laying across the two track. She got her front feet over the wire with just a little stumble, but then the wire got caught on the protective boots that she wears on her back feet. She started struggling and going down, so I bailed off of her. She got up once, and kicked out trying to get herself free, but couldn't and fell back down. The second time, she kicked out incredibly fast and high, and got her legs free. This all happened in like 6 seconds, so I didn't get to her in time to grab the reins, and she bolted for the house. She was waiting for me at the tack shed, alternating picking up each hind leg. I was cringing the whole time as I was taking to boots off, afraid of what I was going to find. But! Those boots kept the wire from digging into her skin. She does have a couple of punctures where the actual barbs went through the boot, and a couple punctures up higher on her legs where there was no protection, but the majority of the wounds didn't go deeper than the first layer of skin. Here's some pictures taken last night, about 24 hours after the accident. I've kept the really skinned up places wrapped, but not sure if I need to, and have put Corona ointment on all the wounds. The punctures up high, on her thigh are the only ones that she flinches at, and it's warm to the touch.  Left hind - front side of leg  Left hind - outside part of leg  Right hind - front side of leg  Right hind - inside thigh, this is where there's a couple of punctures I feel very very fortunate that I had those boots on her. Otherwise, I'm not sure that I'd be writing about wound care, but instead writing about the loss of a horse. Nicole |
| Member: maggienm |
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| Member: corinne |
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| Member: dres |
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| Member: ajudson1 |
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| Member: rorien |
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008 - 5:41 pm: She was wearing the sports boots made by Equine Pro. They're a soft neoprene boot that wraps around the cannon and fetlock. I'll take a picture of them tonight when I get home and post it. I put them on her every time I work with her, she seems to do better having the support they provide, until she gets a little more muscle built up through her hind-end. That, and until I bought her, she only did flat work, moving cows around in a feedlot, so she's not used to the different terrains I see on a typical trail ride.I do carry a cell phone on me at all times, as well as a leatherman, a small first aid kit, and a gun (unloaded), with a few bullets. On the saddle, I also carry a more extensive survival kit. In the 10 years that I've been trail riding, this is the first true horse wreck I've had, knock on wood. Sure, I've had horses spook with me, and have come off of a couple of them, but no one got hurt. And, I just can't understand why that wire was laying across the road like that .. the wire only extends like 20ft on either side of the road then stops. It's very strange. And, it's new wire too, not rusted. So, needless to say, I'll be avoiding that area! Yeah, I do understand that having boots on could potentially have a harmful effect, rather than a helpful one, depending on the situation. And, thanks for sharing your close call, I'll be remembering that.  Nicole |
| Moderator: DrO |
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