Found a dead horse

[chloebean]

Hmm decided to post this as having talked to a few people they have got me worried and said it all seems really suspicious. Of course it could be totally innocent and nothing to worry about..

Today we were riding on the common when a 4x4 of some kind came past us on the bridle path rather fast. We both thought it really odd as it doesnt go anywhere (they were heading back to the road). Anyway as we continued on our way my heart sank as I saw 4 legs sticking out ahead of me. I jumped off and got my friend to hold the horses whilst I went to check out what was going on. It was a big horse lying on its side obviously dead- I checked for a pulse. He was still warm but classic glassy eyes, tongue hanging out (sorry to upset peeps). All the tack had been removed but there were still sweat marks where the saddle had been. He was obviously dead I assumed heart attack as no obviously broken limbs. We took the horses past and got back on, deciding what to do. As we got to end the 4x4 came back past turned and went to horse and took ropes out to obviously pull it up the track, so we continued on our way thinking it must have been the vet. Now after chatting we are both like- surely you wouldnt worry about removing your tack if your horse has just keeled over and would you not cover the horse up. Why did the people not warn us that we could be very distressed by coming accross a dead horse, and finally would a vet (this is what we assumed the people to be) not wait with the horse until a trailer came- surely they woulnt try to pull a dead horse along a track? this could also be very potentially upsetting for walkers etc and just doesnt seem right. Just all seems really wierd and suspicious. I have phoned police but stupidly we have no details of car etc... Sorry if the owner is on here and everything was totally above board and there were reasons for what happened! I just know if it was my horse... Any thoughts from anyone!

 

[GTs]

If you have a horse having a heart attack the first thing you do if you can is remove the tack - also the owner could be devasted so they stripped the horse, and removed the greiving party - the 4 x4 intentions could be to quickly move it to where people would not see it.

Just my $0.02 - seems you have got yourself worked up over nothing.

 

[druid]

If a horse goes down surely the FIRST thing you'd do is remove the saddle at least?! Not sure why you think that's odd? Possibly the person was alone and had to go get help (the 4x4?)

 

[Caritas]

I find this very strange indeed, I do think that the police should try and look into this even if they have no registration. I would be very suspicious!

 

[RunToEarth]

Work shadowed vet for a couple of weeks and had an unfortunate case of horse going down,im sure you should strip horse of tack immediately? I think the reason the 4x4 did not inform you of what was ahead is because they were surely distressed said horse had just died?

 

[Caritas]

I totally agree with CF and Gts but why would the people in the 4x4 not warn the riders??

 

[GTs]

There could well be 2 reasons - one is they were on a mission, 2 if they are farmers a dead animal is not a huge deal, just something you deal with.

If I saw a dead horse on the side of the bridle path - the most I would do would call British Airways catering department see if I could sell it to them!

 

[Seahorse]

Yes, I agree that is a very upsetting thing to see. And a bit strange too. Maybe they were worried that someone would steal the tack off the horse?

A friend of mine years ago was hacking on the Downs on her own and her horse dropped down dead underneath her. She had no choice but to leave him where he was and go and get help. This was before everyone had mobiles btw.

 

[chloebean]

Well guess removing the tack isnt something I would think of! But ok, dragging up a track is odd- it would be a mile to the road and you could easily get a trailer up there. I also suppose if they were upset they wouldnt stop to warn us although I would definately warn a fellow horse rider that there was a horse up there. Well its out of my hands now anyway... I just hope the owner isnt injured badly- looked like he went straight down as only a fe scuff marks around it. I suppose if they were suspicious dragging a horse up a track would certainly draw attention!

 

[RunToEarth]

They might not have a trailer, and as GTs says, us farmers are heartless buggers.

 

[Seahorse]

Sorry to ask such a stupid question, but how do you get a dead horse in to a trailer?

Maybe they were dragging it out of the way of any more passing riders, and to make it easier for the knacker man to pick up the body. If it was a muddy track their van might not have got down there.

 

[Judie]

I think if my horse was having a heart attack my instinct would be to remove his tack. As you say the 4x4 was moving at speed I would think they were doing what they considered to be the best course of action and quickly. As GT said maybe removing the distressed owner who may actually have been injured if the horse fell whilst still having a rider on board.

I would imagine you are quite upset about coming across a recently deceased horse but who knows how we might react in a similar situation and without all the facts I would be inclined to think the 4x4 assistance was doing all they could. Not everyone carries around blankets to cover up fallen horses, or first aid kits to deal with injured riders or ropes etc etc.

Somebody, somewhere is having an awful night over the loss of their horse today - a quiet thought for them

 

[GTs]

2 people can't lift a dead horse into a trailer - last time I moved one we struggled with 10.

I think you are blowing it out of proportion - horses die, the horses death is not suspiscious unless you think it was posioned by polonium-210?

 

[Allykat]

Maybe it just wasn't something they thought about at that time? Grief and shock does odd things to people.

I went out on a hack from a riding centre years ago just myself 2 friends and an escort. One horse my friend was riding went down as we were on the way back. The escort stayed with the horse while myself and other friend rode back to the yard to raise the alarm. We were overcome with shock and I dont honestly think we would have thought to tell anyone that we happened to see that there was a dead horse up ahead.

Its very distressing to see something like that, and someone has lost that horse today

 

[Christmas_Kate]

firstly, If that happened to me (horse dropped) I would remove it's saddle if at all possible.
Secondly, why call a trailer? what's it going to do? walk on? I can't see it fitting on sideways. Maybe they could have waited for a tractor/JCB to arrive, but not everyone wants to do the whole 'dignity' thing.
Thirdly, if it was 100% dead, why would they get a vet out?

Seriously though, assuming the owners needed to get a tractor and trailer (of the flatbed variety) to collect the horse, and as you said it was a 'track' maybe turning said tractor and trailer would have been hard, so they were simply moving the horse to somewhere more accesible?

 

[filly190]

I think what the owner of the dead horse is correct by removing the tack. Also what else can you do to remove a 600 kilo animal other than drag it. Vets would not stand and wait, when its dead its dead. I dont see what else the owner could possibly have done.

Yes it would be upsetting for anyone to witness it, but thats countryside life. I think you are most probably shocked by what you saw and upset by this, as would anyone have been. You dont know the full story, the rider/owner may have been injured. Have you ever seen a horse having a heart attack, its not pretty.

I think you are being a little over sensitive about this and I would perhaps have felt the same, I hate things like this and it plays on my mind. I just cant think of how else the owner could have dealt with the situation. I dont think there is a better way.

 

[Thistle]

A horse dropped dead out hunting just near my house. The reaction from the dogooders in the village was similar to your.

It is common to remove the tack. It's no use to the horse now is it.

Do you take a large tarpaulin with you every time you ride just in case your horse keels over.

The carcass (yes it is no longer a horse) will have to be removed either by a knackers wagon with a winch or a farmer with a JCB. Pulling with ropes can position a body in a better way to be collected.

Instead of worrying about the horse (it is dead it doesn't care) think about the poor rider.

Was the horse otherwise well cared for. If obviously a rescue case phone the RSPCA.

 

[GTs]

I am surprised the police did not take this case up - it would have kept them from having to fight real crime.

 

[Skhosu]

I don't see what is suspicious?
How would they get the horse onto a trailer?
What would they have covered it with?
Why would there have been a vet there if it dropped dead?
Feel sorry for whoever was on it.

 

[Zebedee]

Chloebean, some of these replies have been quite harsh in tone, but in essence what people are telling you is correct. Horses do sometimes die under saddle. If a horse who is tacked up does go down the first thing anyone should do is try & remove the saddle, if its safe to do so (dying horses do sometimes thrash around I'm afraid). Once the horse is dead all that needs to be done is to dispose of the remains. Some will do this with a great deal of ceremony, with due regard for dignity. Others will just get the job done as quickly as possible. The end result is the same, & whichever methods are used they have no effect on the horse because it's already dead.
It was a horrible thing for you to come across though, and I expect of your local grapevine is anything like ours you'll soon know whose horse it was & what happened. If you do come across the person, try to be sympathetic. Even though you had a nasty shock, they've had a devastating experience.

Welcome to the forum by the way - hopefuly your future posts will be of a happier nature!

 

[emmajanerushton]

with regards getting a horse on the trailer without a winch, would probably been dragged with 4 x 4 into position and on the trailer via passing ropes through fromt of trailer onto 4 x 4 and driving 4 x 4 slowly to move body up ramp etc, with re not telling yu it was there thats abit wrong and upsetting, at least you could have de toured.

 

[Taboo1968]

Unfortunately its a fact of life..... horses drop dead..... If it had been me in that 4x4 and it was one of my horses.... I would want to be away from there as soon as poss and make arrangements to get said horse moved..... Can you imagine being a distraught owner, would you stand next to your dead horse and warn everyone coming towards it..... NO...... that would be the last thing on your mind... Yes it was unfortunate for you to come across this incident and yes it is upsetting for any potential bystanders to come across that situation..... As people have said.... we dont all ride round with a tarpaulin to cover horse just in case!

Someone somewhere is probably having the worse night of their life wishing they could change things now..... but another way of looking at it is.... at least the horse went doing something he obviously enjoyed....

 

[jumbyjack]

Sometime ago a horse just dropped dead on the road outside his yard. The first thing we did was to remove his tack and only because of where he was were we able to cover him up until removal was organised. He had to be loaded into a tractor bucket to get him off the road and my friend and I constantly apologised to him for the indignity because we had to fold him up a bit!

It's a fact of life that horses die but it's still sad and upsetting when you are faced with this reality even when it is an unknown horse.

 

[Elmere]

The only thing i think is a bit strange is that they hadn't told you but they might not be the type of people to think like that, also it is likely that the horse had a heart attack but thats not for certain, i certainly wouldn't have gone touching any dead horses if i were then to touch my own horse

 

[henryhorn]

Sorry you were offended but to some of us seeing a dead horse is not offensive, we all die at some point and have to be disposed of.
If that sounds heartless it isn't, we always cover any of ours until they can be removed once their companions have stood near them to understand what has happened.
I suspect the horse died out being ridden, the owners then removed the tack and had to get it off a public highway to avoid offening people, dragging the carcase is the normal way to move them, horrible as it sounds they tow behind a tractor or 4 x 4 easily, either to a place they can be collected for disposal or to be buried discreetly.
It doesn't sound mysterious at all to me, just a practical way of solving the problem.
Probably the first dead horse you see does upset you, but by the time you have seen fifty or more apart from the obvious grief if it's your own, you have to be practical and get on with the job......

 

[WelshRareBit]

Maybe it was the knackers yard coming to get it?? I dont know - sounds yukky and horrible to see - but dont worry it doesnt sound too suspicious to me, there's lots of reasons for taking off the tack, if nothing else but to make the animal more confortable...

 

[fgroom]

I can see why it upset you but if that was my horse and I had rung for help I would just want to get away as quick as possible, if the owner was in the vehicle they were likely to be very distressed (I'd be hysterical) the last thing on my mind would be to warn strangers that there was a dead horse ahead.

 

[brighteyes]

Well said, zebedee.

 

[RachelMcTimoney]

hahaha sorry that was funny, i'm sure he didn't mind beoing folded a little!

 

[Parkranger]

I think that it's just a fact of life - not a nice fact but one none the less!

My old boy was covered with tarpaulin and left in the field until the trailer come to pick him up - a few people bloody complained who were walking down the footpath....err, sorry if my dead horse ruined your walk!

I know it's disturbing but something that happens x