Had a horrible incident this morning - what to do?

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Ziggy_

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My mare narrowly avoided a very nasty freak accident this morning and I'm a little worried about her, any advice from anyone who has experienced similar would be helpful and reassuring.

Basically, I did what I always do in the morning - tied her on the yard with her breakfast whilst I mucked out her stable in the barn. After a few minutes I heard this horrible clattering so went running out to see her with her hind hoof caught over the lead rope - god only knows how she managed it as the rope was fairly short, she must have tried to itch her head with her hoof or something. She panicked and started flailing around, falling over and trying to get back up repeatedly and throwing herself agiant the wall she was tied to, all with her back hoof hitched up almost to her face. She was tied to weakened baler twine but for some reason it didn't break. She was going mad and I was convinced her leg must be broken.

When she saw me she lay still and nickered to me, and lay quietly while I freed her. I stepped back and let her get to her feet and to my relief she was weight bearing on all four legs. She is covered in cuts and grazes, has a nasty rope burn on the back of her fetlock and was shaking violently for about twenty minutes afterwards. I trotted her up and she appeared level, but looking from the side she is stepping short on her right hind.

So the advice I'm after - I'm thinking she will quite possibly need a visit from the vet and maybe the physio too - would you give it a few days for any bruising/swelling to reduce or get her seen to asap? Are there any after-effects or shock type symptoms I need to be aware of? And how can I persuade her to tie up again safely after this?
 
That must have been scary for you both, I hope she is ok. Could be worth getting her looked at, see how she is tomorrow.
Why don't you invest in the safety release clips you can get, that way she will get lose if she ever gets in a pickle and panics again, they are so cheap and after that I think you need it for peace of mind
 
Do you have some bute? If so, I'd give her 2 tonight, 2 in the morning and 2 tomorrow night! That will help relieve the inevitable bruising and discomfort. See how she is on Monday and if she's still sore, get the vet to check her out (tell him she's had bute so he can 'make allowance' when assessing any lameness.)

If you don't have any bute, then I'd speak to your vet and see what he says. She WILL be more lame tomorrow - don't panic about that - but early treatment with anti-inflammatories (bute - or something stronger from the vet) is advisable.

I certainly wouldn't be looking at physio/osteo treatment now - get the inflammation under control and then perhaps get her back checked out before you ride her again.
 
Poor you! This isn't the first such accident I have heard of and I amsure it won't be the last - another horse I know did sustain a broken leg from it so it is worth baring that in mind if she doesn't improve over the next couple of days.

treat her for shock - keep an eye on her and keep her nice and warm and feed her some arnica tablets in a piece of apple to help with the bruising - I gice 10 a day... if you have any bute It would be worth giving her some for a couple of days. She is bound to be stiff and sore after this ordeal so allow her free turnout and don't ride her til she's looking better.

as for the bailer twine.. It RARELY snaps before the headcollar (if leather), leadrope or the horse so it is worth fraying it before use. I would think, if shes a sensible sort she would
be ok to tie up after this but I would avoid feeding her in this way again... (I usually feed while I sort haynets and water buckets etc before turning out..

I hope she's ok.
 
Would treat for shock and then give 24hrs and trot her up again and go over her with a fine tooth comb if uncomfortable or sore then vet immediately for a good poke and prod.

Poor mare and poor you what a fright you must have got!!

Nikki xxxx
 
I agree with the bute and see how it goes route, and I know this is a bit 'closing the door after the horse has bolted' BUT I do not like to see horses tied up without an eye on them all the time, their ability to get in a mess is beyond belief. If we have to much out without the horses turned out then do so with them at liberty in the stable, making them move over as necessary. Mind you I would much rather muck out with the horses turned out in the field,much safer for all concerned :) Hope all is well by this time next week.
 
Poor you :-( that is a horrible thing to see.

My mare did a similar thing a couple of years ago only she caught her front leg in the rope and the string didnt break. She suffered with a lot of swelling which happened immediately - i thought the worst so got the vet out the next day and amazingly she was still very swollen but she was sound. I remember the vet gave me antibiotics and bute - I remember him saying that with rope burn injurys its common for them to develop cellulitis of the skin (skin infection) so that was why he gave me antibiotics.

I would be inclined to see what its like in the morning and if there is a lot of swelling and heat give your vet a call and see if they can give you advise - also bute would be useful.

This was my mares leg the morning after the injury
DSC00097.jpg
 
Same as above, give some bute and wait 3-4 days to see how stiff your horse is and for any lameness. Maybe give your vet a ring and see what they say. I would imagine you will need a physio and that your horse will need some quiet turnout to walk off the discomfort. I slipped down in the field this morning when walking the dogs, my legs went off at different directions and Ive pulled something in the same place in both knees (slipped on the mud). Stiff tonight so Ive had a hot bath and some painkillers. Bit the same for your horse, warm rugs, nice bed and painkillers. Hope it works out ok and theres no lasting damage.
 
Thanks for the replies, I don't have any bute unfortunately but will try and get hold of some, tomorrow if I can. I've definitely learnt my lesson and won't leave her tied up unattended again, she'll be either in the field or stable in future.
 
Poor you, you must have got a scare too, there is nothing worse than seeing your horse flailing :( My mare once got her front foot over the leadrope and that was bad enough, like others have said I'm careful when/where I tie up now; I think feeding is a tricky one as the leadrope is quite low down in that case.

One of my horses take ages to eat her breakfast and like you I don't have time to wait idly by while she eats. However I tend not to take a fork into the stables whilst the horses are in (another precaution!); so I use heavy duty gloves and a big-ish trug and skip all the poos and wet patches out while they are eating, plus do my hay buckets. That way after I've turned out all I need to do is smooth over the bed and sweep. I use cardboard bedding so this works well; might not work on other bedding though?

I hope she feels better soon - and you ;)
 
Always use a lead rope with a quick release fastener one it. I do this even with my old boy. He put his foreleg over the lead rope last year and went into quite a panic. Fortunately it was easy to just release the fastener. Failing that keep a decent swiss army kniife in your back pocket. I have cut a rope fairly quickly when this has happen before ( to the same horse - he is a bit silly at times). Always remember the saying "if it can happen it will happen", and be prepared.
 
Oh bless her, i hope she is ok. It's great that she lay still for you to help her, she must have trust in you. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she will be right as rain.
 
Sorry to hear about this. I never tie a horse up to feed it from the ground for this very reason. If I do feed one outside their stable then I untie them however it is my own yard and the gates are ALWAYS shut and I keep an eye on the horse. All mine are used to me being in the stable with them whilst they are eating so it is easy to work around them if necessary.

Until you can get some bute it might be worth trying arnica tablets to reduce the bruising.

When your vet does come out ask if they will give you some extra bute for any future incidents. I also have a supply - guess who has an accident prone horse ?
 
Sorry to hear of your fright, I can't give any different advise on treatment, and hope she will be fine in a day or so.

If her lead rope was long enough for her to reach her feed, which I assume was on the ground, then you really must either stay with her, or make sure she has something that will give quickly, as this is a long lead rope and is asking for a horse to get it's leg caught.Horses being what they are!! I guess you realise that now, don't go blaming yourself.
:)
 
Sorry to be the old fogey on the thread...but bute is a prescription only medicine, and shouldn't be given without a vet's visit (not every lay person has JanetGeorge's experience of when/when not to give it).
I'd be inclined not to give her it; if she's sore enough to need painkillers, you really ought to get her checked out by the vet. If she's not that sore - then avoid the drugs. Pain has a useful function - to tell the animal to rest the sore part, and if you bute her she could think she's fine and do more damage when turned out.
If she were mine, I'd probably walk her in hand in the morning, to assess how lame she is, and if she's ok, turn her out. If not, keep her in and get vet.
Hope she's fine (oh, and you can buy cheap breaky string in Tescos etc).
S :D
 
Hadn't thought through the bute issue when I posted Shils, and you are right (of course :) ) Mind you the anti-inflamatry effect of the bute would be a positive to help reduce the selling as well as reducing the pain.
 
Sorry to hear about your girl - I hope she feels better soon.

If you're worried about tying her in the future, why not by one of these quick release thingies? http://www.robinsons-uk.com/product...arentGroupCode=0303&groupCode=03302#sku.57607

I just bought one because Belle panics and pulls back (though now she does it out of naughtiness) and this clip really works to keep them safe. It is strong enough so that they know they are tied and can't wonder off but if they really pull then it comes apart easily. I use this in combination with the 'quick clip' breakties just in case. :)
 
Thanks to all who have replied. I'd just like to point out that she was tied to weakened baler twine and looking at it I can't believe it didn't snap. But don't worry, I have definitely learnt my lesson and will not be leaving her tied up unsupervised any more. I did use to use the quick release things but stopped as she breaks them on purpose and escapes, although I suppose this is preferable to having a nasty accident.

By way of an update, she is very lame, stiff and sore this morning so the vet has been called. I want to put an unhappy smiley here but can't work out how on earth to do it...
 
Agree with Shilsadair about the bute. Often its best to hold off because if a horse becomes markedly more painful after an injury you want to know. Also bute doesn't actually have an effect on swelling, its primarily a painkiller.

It is amazing what bute can mask- I have put down 2 horses this year that had septic joints but had been sound on bute after the injury occured. By the time I saw them (about a week later) the damage was to severe for surgery to be worthwhile.
 
The best way I've seen of feeding a horse when tethered is by using a bucket which hangs over a gate/stable door. This means the lead rope doesn't need to be long and there's less likelihood of an accident.
Mind you, if you're now feeding without tethering, that's better again.
I think it's brilliant that your horse stayed still for you to get her free and hope you're both soon over your ordeal.
 
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