Did my horse just pass out??

[MDB]

So today I took my little andalusian mare out for our first short, solo hack. I have had both my rescue mares about four months and they haven't been ridden much by us so far over the winter. My husband left to work abroad a couple of weeks ago so today I decided it was time to start getting out. I tied the Lusitano up and tacked up the Andalusian.

I walked the Andalusian down the drive with the view to mounting her when we were out if sight of the other horse. They were both neighing to each other and the tied up Lusitano was pawing.

Got to the end of the driveway about 500m from the house and turned around to check on the tied up horse and i just saw this lump on the ground. She was lying flat out, head and all, totally still and silent.

I thought she had had a heart attack. I started shouting her name and tried to leg it back up the hill with my Andalusian in hand who was refusing to trot.

Got to a gap in the hedge that I could see through, about 20m awayfrom her, and she was still flat out on the ground. Not moving. No noise. I kept going, yelling her name and when I reached the next gap in the hedge 5metres from her she i saw that she was stood up whinneying as if nothing happened.

What a relief. But weird!!

I checked she was ok then went out again. But I can't for the life of me figure out what happened. Did she pass out??

 

[equestriansports]

I have no clue but that must have been terrifying! Hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[Wagtail]

Why would you leave a horse tied up and unattended? Was someone else around?

 

[Ponycarrots]

Once my dales did a similar thing! He tripped over in the field and fell on his side (only from walk) he made no attempt to get back up! Luckily my other horse came over and he got up then. I was in hysterics; picturing a helicopter having to come and airlift him to the vets!

 

[Equi]

No idea but why was she left tied up unattended anyway? It could have been very dangerous. I hope she is none the worse for it. No injuries or anything? Maybe just the excitement and she got overwhelmed - is it possible for horses with low blood sugar to faint maybe?

 

[MDB]

No she doesn't have any injuries at all. She seems fine. Yes, she was tied up unattended.. well our neighbours were around but she wasnt being supervised. It's what you do in this part of the world when you are alone. She was tied very carefully so as it was impossible to get her legs trapped. I know it may not be the done thing in the uk so please forgive me. It is quite normal for horses to be tied up here. Horses are frequently tethered in fields for days.. not something I would want to do mind you, but I feel comfortable tying them safely and securely for short periods of times.

 

[3Beasties]

He may have slipped over and winded himself?
or banged head on stable overhang (Assuming there was one).

I am also baffled at why you would leave a horse tied up while taking his friend away, why didn't you leave him in a stable/field?

 

[Cortez]

Our horses all tie, all day if required. Please don't berate someone for doing something that is entirely practical IF THE HORSES ARE TRAINED FOR IT. Many British horses would benefit from learning to tie properly (or even at all.....).

 

[MDB]

There was no overhang. My field has walk in shelters and has just been ploughed for reseeding so is out of use. She was tied up in the only safe place to leave one whilst I take the other out. Maybe she slipped over like you say. It was just weird that she lay flat out in the ground for a good two minutes not moving.

 

[SpringArising]

Our horses all tie, all day if required. Please don't berate someone for doing something that is entirely practical IF THE HORSES ARE TRAINED FOR IT. Many British horses would benefit from learning to tie properly (or even at all.....).

To be honest I agree with this. There's nothing worse than having a horse who panics as soon as you step out of sight. As long as there are good safety measures in place then I don't see a problem with it. Having a horse who can stand for an hour or so on his own is a very useful thing.

 

[Equi]

Maybe just shocked herself when she slipped or couldn't figure out how to get up.

 

[MDB]

To be honest I agree with this. There's nothing worse than having a horse who panics as
soon as you step out of sight. As long as there are good safety measures in place then I don't see a problem with it. Having a horse who can stand for an hour or so on his own is a very useful thing.

thanks guys... I was starting to think I was a dreadful horse owner. Over here when they have all the horse fayres, everybody rides from miles around to the fayre, tie their horses up for three hours and go off for a drink and some Spanish seafood. It is quite a sight... 200 horses all tied up together among festivities and merriment. The horses are pretty well behaved, there are never any horses freaking out and getting injured. I guess it is all about training and what they are used to.

 

[Tiddlypom]

It would probably have been a good idea to have someone around to supervise her the first time you tried this. I would never leave a horse alone as you did, but guess we are all different. Knew a pony who broke its neck when left tied up unattended.

Glad she seems to be ok, but she may well show up stiff and sore tomorrow.

 

[EquiEquestrian556]

thanks guys... I was starting to think I was a dreadful horse owner. Over here when they have all the horse fayres, everybody rides from miles around to the fayre, tie their horses up for three hours and go off for a drink and some Spanish seafood. It is quite a sight... 200 horses all tied up together among festivities and merriment. The horses are pretty well behaved, there are never any horses freaking out and getting injured. I guess it is all about training and what they are used to.

Our 2 Andalusians who were imported from Spain will stand for hours if you tie them up, which is very useful, however we've only ever tied up for about an hour, and they are always attended. Then you go and get a British horse and they just won't tie up for more than 45 minutes before pawing and messing about.

 

[Rapidash]

Didn't horses used to be tied up all day in stalls rather than loose boxes?

Anyway that's not the point of the thread- doesn't sound overly healthy for a horse to do that!

 

[Goldenstar]

The only other thing that springs to mind is narcolepsy which can present just like that.

 

[LittleBlackMule]

Our horses all tie, all day if required. Please don't berate someone for doing something that is entirely practical IF THE HORSES ARE TRAINED FOR IT. Many British horses would benefit from learning to tie properly (or even at all.....).

I agree with this. However, it is one thing to expect a horse to stand tied all day if necessary with other horses near by (I would expect that of mine) but very different to expect it to cope when it sees its only companion leaving.

What concerns me is that she might have pulled back violently and done some damage to her spine, causing her to black out temporarily.

 

[Wagtail]

There is a big difference between tying a horse up on a yard where there are people or other horses about, and tying a horse up all on its own and taking its only companion away for the first time. I am puzzled how a horse can be 'tied safely' so that its legs cannot get tangled but yet it is able to lie flat out. Sorry, OP but regardless of the culture, it is not something I would ever do. Personally, I would have shut her in one of the field shelters if the field was unusable. I do understand it may be the done thing where you live, but it would never be okay with me to ride out and leave a horse tied up without others nearby. I expect she got completely overcome and collapsed through the stress. Some horses will throw themselves to the ground when completely overcome. I hope she is all right.

 

[MDB]

This thread seems to have gone off a tangent, lol.

I do take on board what people say about tying up and leaving them. Of course in an ideal world I would have lotsfof neighbours, friends and family to help. But I am on my own in a foreign country in a very remote location. Because it is so rural, it is just a normal part of routine here for people with horse.. ie to tie horses up and do what you have to do. In fact I have never thought twice about doing so. I woukd rather have them tied up safely than galloping about in a panic trying to plough through fences like my last horse.

Anyway, we all do things differently in different parts of the world. My mare who conked out seems fine. They are both in the garden and at precisely this moment about two metres from my window. I have given her a massage and have sat with them for the past couple of hours and she doesn't seem worse for wear. Just glad she is ok. I was thinking the worst when I saw her on the ground.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I am puzzled how a horse can be 'tied safely' so that its legs cannot get tangled but yet it is able to lie flat out.

I wondered about this. Presumably OP means she was tied up short, to prevent entanglement. How was she able to lie flat out on the ground in that case, wouldn't her head and neck be suspended up off the ground by the rope? (Which sounds very nasty..).

 

[burtie]

Our horses all tie, all day if required. Please don't berate someone for doing something that is entirely practical IF THE HORSES ARE TRAINED FOR IT. Many British horses would benefit from learning to tie properly (or even at all.....).

Whilst that is true, it sounds most likely this horse wasn't trained for it, at least not to be then left alone. Most likely it panicked, then slipped over and winded itself. I too am intrigued as too how long the rope was for the horse to be able to do this without a yank on the head!

 

[scotlass]

The only other thing that springs to mind is narcolepsy which can present just like that.

,

^This. Horses can suffer from vasovagal syncope (fainting), but I'd be wanting a heart check at the least

 

[MDB]

There is a big difference between tying a horse up on a yard where there are people or other horses about, and tying a horse up all on its own and taking its only companion away for the first time. I am puzzled how a hors can be 'tied safely' so that its legs cannot get tangled but yet it is able to lie flat out. Sorry, OP but regardless of the culture, it is not something I would ever do. Personally, I would have shut her in one of the field shelters if the field was unusable. I do understand it may be the done thing where you live, but it would never be okay with me to ride out and leave a horse tied up without others nearby. I expect she got completely overcome and collapsed through the stress. Some horses will throw themselves to the ground when completely overcome. I hope she is all right.

I do appreciate you taking the time to reply wagtail even though we have differences of opinion. I know you have the best interest of my horse in mind and i am thankful for that. You will just need to trust me when I say she was tied up safely. To be honest I would have been more concerned about her kicking out and panicking in the field shelter which just had one metal bar going across the entrance. I did what I thought was best at the time considering that she is totally accustomed to being tied up. In addition, I think my past experience of having a horse with zero respect for fencing has made me a bit nervous of leaving a horse loose in a field whilst taking another horse out.

The fact is, I am on my own in a very remote location with nobody on hand to come horse sit if and when I want to go out. If I want to go out riding then one horse has to be left unttended. Either in a field shelter or tied up, both with inherent risks. I have ridden all over the world from Mongolia to Patagonia, New Zealand, Africa and the Caribbean. ... in some of these places people would think it nuts to have to have somebody on hand to horsesit in such a situation. Yes it is not without risk to tie up a horse and leave it for half an hour, but either way(shelter or tied) there are risks. I decided at the time it would be better to tie her up and get on with it. Who knows what happened. I am just glad she is ok.

 

[MDB]

,

^This. Horses can suffer from vasovagal syncope (fainting), but I'd be wanting a heart check at the least

Thanks Scotlass. I never knew about this.

 

[Wagtail]

Then I would probably ride and lead the other. I just couldn't take the risk. I know you are a very caring owner from your past threads, but this would scare the bejesus out of me and I wouldn't be able to enjoy riding out through fear of what might happen to the horse left tied up on its own.

 

[MDB]

I wondered about this. Presumably OP means she was tied up short, to prevent entanglement. How was she able to lie flat out on the ground in that case, wouldn't her head and neck be
suspended up off the ground by the rope? (Which sounds very nasty..).

The rope was suspended from a point above with enough slack to allow her to put her head into a water bucket and eat her hay. Over here we put the rope through some thick and semiflexible rubber tubing which means that should a horse somehow get its leg over the rope, the tubing is not flexible enough to allow the rope being wrapped around the legs or other body part and cause injury. It is quite effective.

 

[MDB]

Then I would probably ride and lead the other. I just couldn't take the risk. I know you are a very caring owner from your past threads, but this would scare the bejesus out of me and I wouldn't be able to enjoy riding out through fear of what might happen to the horse left tied up on its own.

Yes. Good point. She is a very good horse so I think I wouldn't have trouble doing this

 

[MDB]

Just a couple of attempted selfies just taken to show we are all good after our little mishap today

 

[shortstuff99]

Horses can (especially ponies) faint if they throw their heads up too fast. He may have done this. My mare hates having mouth wormers but when she was ill she had to have mouth syringed medication she once threw her head up so violently to avoid it she made herself faint! I thought I had killed her! Vet told me how this can happen quite regularly.

 

[Lucybis1]

Vasovagal...