SBJT
Well-Known Member
Okay H&H peeps. I don’t often post for help but this is one of those situations where it may not be bad for help. I also apologize in advance for the novel….
Background situation
2.5 years ago I moved to a new barn. At first things were great, but over the past year they have been gradually going downhill. The barn owner is desperately trying to keep the place on track, but the place is going downhill maintenance wise, she is rarely there because she is trying to make money in her other job as her husband is an alcoholic who is no longer working, so he is working around the barn (so they don’t have to pay the barn staff as much). The roof is leaking so bad some of the stalls get flooded, the insulation in the roof of the indoor arena looks like it’s about to fall down in places. Doors don’t shut properly so depends if you went in or out, you may get locked into the back half of the barn and have to walk all the way around. Electric fencing isn’t typically working now and the horses are within 20 ft of a secondary highway, which is quite busy (And we do sometimes get grizzlies or moose coming along and scaring the horses). Fields sometimes get flooded too. Also the toilets and wash Bay Area doesn’t always work, especially in the winter. Sometimes the drunk husband forgets to feed horses, and the water troughs are not routinely cleaned, and the paddocks are not always cleaned routinely.
Anyway she is rarely around and the barn staff are fed up, the barn manager has no say. I’m also paying over $900 in board per month, which is about equivalent to about 550 to 600 GBP. Also on Sunday we found two horses who has broke out of the fencing and were in the field with a whole section of fencing down… right by the highway…..
This is just the background to last week’s incident….
Last week
On Thursday - One of the horses came in from my paddock with a HUGE laceration right in front of the right eye. The wound was gaping and had gone down to the skull, and had even included a 2mm hole in the skull. It was horrific. I wasn’t there but got sent the pictures. My boy was also on stall rest due to having just had some vet treatment. Anyway a different vet came out who the barn owner doesn’t like (but I use them and like them). They treated and left. There was a question as to how it happened and I’ll get to that in a second.
On Friday - the horse was on banamine for the pain but started displaying colic symptoms. Again I wasn’t there, but there was a kerfuffle with vets and the same vet got called out. The owner didnt want to ship off to the clinic straight away, which was a bad idea, but novice owner and idiot decision etc. 3-4 hours later they finally shipped the horse off to the vet and within an hour it was dead.
So.… here are the two competing theories and I’m essentially getting dragged into what may end up being a lawsuit.
Theory 1 - The horse got kicked by another horse with back shoes. The owner thinks this happened and there are two horses in the field of five who wear back shoes (incidentally my guy does in the summer trail riding season, but not typically - he’s never kicked in 18 years though and generally considered the sanest one in the entire barn).
Theory 2 - The barn owner is going around saying that the horse colicked on Thursday and hit its head on the shelter. Then the banamine means that no one knew he was suffering for 24 hours, and the vet didnt do their due diligence.
As a secondary note, I’m getting dragged in as I’m being asked to give my opinion, take pictures of horses back feet, etc.
I’m also in the process of trying to find a better place and thankfully I know a lot of other barns and people there so I will probably be leaving very soon.
Thoughts? Opinions? General WTF statements??
Background situation
2.5 years ago I moved to a new barn. At first things were great, but over the past year they have been gradually going downhill. The barn owner is desperately trying to keep the place on track, but the place is going downhill maintenance wise, she is rarely there because she is trying to make money in her other job as her husband is an alcoholic who is no longer working, so he is working around the barn (so they don’t have to pay the barn staff as much). The roof is leaking so bad some of the stalls get flooded, the insulation in the roof of the indoor arena looks like it’s about to fall down in places. Doors don’t shut properly so depends if you went in or out, you may get locked into the back half of the barn and have to walk all the way around. Electric fencing isn’t typically working now and the horses are within 20 ft of a secondary highway, which is quite busy (And we do sometimes get grizzlies or moose coming along and scaring the horses). Fields sometimes get flooded too. Also the toilets and wash Bay Area doesn’t always work, especially in the winter. Sometimes the drunk husband forgets to feed horses, and the water troughs are not routinely cleaned, and the paddocks are not always cleaned routinely.
Anyway she is rarely around and the barn staff are fed up, the barn manager has no say. I’m also paying over $900 in board per month, which is about equivalent to about 550 to 600 GBP. Also on Sunday we found two horses who has broke out of the fencing and were in the field with a whole section of fencing down… right by the highway…..
This is just the background to last week’s incident….
Last week
On Thursday - One of the horses came in from my paddock with a HUGE laceration right in front of the right eye. The wound was gaping and had gone down to the skull, and had even included a 2mm hole in the skull. It was horrific. I wasn’t there but got sent the pictures. My boy was also on stall rest due to having just had some vet treatment. Anyway a different vet came out who the barn owner doesn’t like (but I use them and like them). They treated and left. There was a question as to how it happened and I’ll get to that in a second.
On Friday - the horse was on banamine for the pain but started displaying colic symptoms. Again I wasn’t there, but there was a kerfuffle with vets and the same vet got called out. The owner didnt want to ship off to the clinic straight away, which was a bad idea, but novice owner and idiot decision etc. 3-4 hours later they finally shipped the horse off to the vet and within an hour it was dead.
So.… here are the two competing theories and I’m essentially getting dragged into what may end up being a lawsuit.
Theory 1 - The horse got kicked by another horse with back shoes. The owner thinks this happened and there are two horses in the field of five who wear back shoes (incidentally my guy does in the summer trail riding season, but not typically - he’s never kicked in 18 years though and generally considered the sanest one in the entire barn).
Theory 2 - The barn owner is going around saying that the horse colicked on Thursday and hit its head on the shelter. Then the banamine means that no one knew he was suffering for 24 hours, and the vet didnt do their due diligence.
As a secondary note, I’m getting dragged in as I’m being asked to give my opinion, take pictures of horses back feet, etc.
I’m also in the process of trying to find a better place and thankfully I know a lot of other barns and people there so I will probably be leaving very soon.
Thoughts? Opinions? General WTF statements??
