A very lucky scape & a warning *pic*

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MissMincePie&Brandy

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This is what happened to the gate when my precious thoroughbred took off and...well I don't know what happened after that, but the gate got destroyed, and he's going to be fine.

claudesgate.jpg


I was leading him out yesterday morning. He had his fly mask on for the first time this year, and the headcollar over the top. Stupidly I did not have the throat lash section of the heacollar done up, as his fly mask was making it all a bit bulky. He went to scratch his face with his foot, (which I should not have allowed) and somehow caught his headcollar and pulled it off.

OK no panic. We were just on the enclosed track, walking up to his field, and we are fully fenced in. I went to catch him, and he stepped away and realised he was free. He started cantering up to the first gateway. He then picked up speed and all of a sudden he just went into and over the gate. He scrambled around for a while, with his legs caught up, and then managed to free himself. The vet was being called as an emergency as I feared the worse, but he then managed to free himself, and with all 4 legs working. He was wearing 4 brushing boots, and I think they saved his legs to a degree.

The vet put 4 stitches in a cut near his wither, and he has a multitude of minor scrapes, but amazingly nothing more. He trotted up for the vet sound, but he is stiffer today. He is bruised of course but thankfully he is in one piece. I'm giving him a couple of weeks off with 24/7 turnout so he doesn't stiffen up overnight in his stable, and I'll get him some physiotherapy before I start any work with him again to make sure he's really OK. Luckily I'd recently bought him a new fly rug which I hadn't yet used, which he's using now to keep the flies off his sore patches.

I am wondering why he made such a mess of the gate and am wondering if the fly mask distorted his vision or perception?

A lucky escape, and the moral of the story is to always ensure headcollars are fully fastened up!

This happened exactly 1 week after me and my horse were nearly run over by a deranged moron who drove at us, at high speed with his horn on. I am wondering how many 'lives' my boy has left?
 
Lucky escape.
A 17.2 at our yard went through a gate when he bolted in hand (it was wooden so split into two) a very scary experience for the owner and I can only imagine how scary it was for you.
 
Yikes! That sounds terrible. Glad he's going to be ok.
I must admit I very very rarely do my headcollars up properly when leading in from the field:o and I have to cross a road:eek:, well a single track dead-end lane, but cars do use it. I am a numpty. Will definately be more careful in future.
 
Ouch! Silly pony! Glad he is ok!

Thats not the first time Ive seen a gate looking a bit like that unfortunately - I came round the corner on the yard to see that, a 16.2 warmblood standing on the concrete, and a very pleased 13.2 pony in the field where warmblood had been with him! I think in an effort to escape the terror of a pony someone tried to scramble over the gate and mangled it! No harm done there though thank goodness. :)
 
Ah... Update with the moron and the horn. I have identified several vehicles which are the same type and colour. All the vans I found were parked up at the time, but I need to see the driver to be able to make a positive identification. A lady at our yard saw a van with a man who matched my description exactly, so I am pretty sure he is local.

I think it's just a matter of time now before I'll be able to identify him!
 
Ouchies. Glad he got away with only minor injuries. I also admit its rare I take mine in or out with a headcollar on at all! He follows me around like a puppy mostly. Or I chuck a lead rope around his neck. Eeep.

Years ago I turned up for work at my local riding school to find the yard owner completley hysterial. She had been bringing in a pony (incidentally my childhood favourite!) & the gate had swung closed a little so the gap had been too narrow. Pony had rushed through & caught himself on the latch. His injury was horrific. It had caught him on his flank but obviously on a major blood supply. It was a very deep injury & pumping blood everywhere. The vet took an age to arrive & we must have been through 20 towels trying to stem the bleeding.:o We really thought he had lost too much blood to survive, but he made a remarkable recovery. Always made me very careful turning out that gates dont swing & that I am in control of the gate as well as the horse!!
 
Goodness - what a lucky escape, that could have been so much worse! Also with the driver - why do people think that is acceptable??

On a 'moronic drivers' note, I also have one living round me. I was out riding the 'baby' (just turned 4, one of her first times out on the road) and this guy in a FIAT PANDA (of all cars!) came right up behind me, slammed on his breaks and sat behind me revving his engine and beeping his horn. When baby horse (very casually, SO pleased with how chilled she is, but that's a different story!) moved onto the verge he came parallel with me, still with the horn going and engine revving, a small child in the back seat squirted a water pistol at me, and he shouted 'Get of the f***ing road, I hate f***ing horses', then sped off.

I was incredibly lucky the youngster was so very relaxed, all we had was a move to the side and stop and stare at the car! It could have been so much worse!
 
Glad you have something positive with sightings of the driver.

One of mine did that to a gate once, whilst I was riding her. Terrifying for everyone. Fingers crossed for speedy recovery for your boy.
 
Glad to hear you and horse are fine. Metal gates are horrid, I've had a horse kick out at one and get his leg stuck, he flipped out and ended up bending the gate right off its hinges. Amazingly, his leg swelled up that night but otherwise he was fine. Could have broken a leg though!
 
studentvet said:
On a 'moronic drivers' note, I also have one living round me. I was out riding the 'baby' (just turned 4, one of her first times out on the road) and this guy in a FIAT PANDA (of all cars!) came right up behind me, slammed on his breaks and sat behind me revving his engine and beeping his horn. When baby horse (very casually, SO pleased with how chilled she is, but that's a different story!) moved onto the verge he came parallel with me, still with the horn going and engine revving, a small child in the back seat squirted a water pistol at me, and he shouted 'Get of the f***ing road, I hate f***ing horses', then sped off.
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OMG that is horrendous! To think that mad person has a child he's bringing up in that way too. It beggers belief. Lucky you had a nice calm horse!
 
Glad horsey is going to be okay.

You've really got me thinking now, because I admit that I'm very, very guilty of not even using headcollars all the time to lead to and from the field (even though it's a secure environment). With the two old girls I just chuck a leadrope round their necks and that's it. After what you've been through, however, I think I ought to buck-up my ideas a bit (a lot!).
 
I had a friend that tied her horse (18hh chunky Irish) to a metal gate, something spooked him and he reared up pulling the gate off it's hindges!!! He then galopped off across the yard and down their field with said gate sill on his head!! Rope didn't snap untill it got stuck in the gate way to their second field!!!!!!

So glad your horse is ok!!
 
hope he recovers soon! i had a similar gate experience many years ago! i had all the gates taken out the next day (about 10 of them) and replaced with electric tape and handles or road closed type wooden shutters! Boundary gates are now fully boarded so they either have to clear them or stop! i hate seeing horses with gates that are not fully boarded ... an accident waiting to happen in my opinion!
 
Oh golly, you have been having more than your share of 'near misses' recently!! Interestingly my boy got spooked when turned out with a mask on the other day and went straight through an electric fence :eek: :o He would NEVER normally do that so I am certain it was because the mask had impeded his vision! He was fine though, fortunately!!

I'm glad everything is okay :D
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
hope he recovers soon! i had a similar gate experience many years ago! i had all the gates taken out the next day (about 10 of them) and replaced with electric tape and handles or road closed type wooden shutters! Boundary gates are now fully boarded so they either have to clear them or stop! i hate seeing horses with gates that are not fully boarded ... an accident waiting to happen in my opinion!
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Some-one I know was leading 2 horses through a gate together. 1 of the horses got his leg through the metal gate and injured it on the 'v'-shaped cross piece. Sadly he damaged tendons beyond repair and had to be pts. He was only 4.:(
We, too, make sure that the horses cannot get through the gates, without opening them.

OP, really glad to hear your horse isn't too badly injured.
 
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