Has anyone ever got rid of a horse because its accident prone ?

Gingerwitch

Gingerwitch

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 May 2009
Messages
6,102
Location
My own planet
Visit site
My little lad is the most accident prone beast i have ever met - i have just totted up that i have spent over 8 grand on him on vets fees over the 18 months i have owned him. Anything that can go wrong does, anywhere he can hurt himself on something silly he will. Tonight disaster is the final straw.... he's split his mouth whilst i was opening the gate to the school and he was stood right beside me, i bent down to pick up my whip, saw him fling his head back and yep you guessed it a mouthful of red splother all over me - what he caught his mouth on i really dont know - but a nasty cut to the inside of his mouth. Off work again.

I sometimes just want to wrap him up in bubble wrap, and just do show and tell with him about once a year...... he is a 9 year old tb - do they ever grow out of it?
 
Oh bless you must feel like I have done several times in the last few years. I have spent about three/ four times what I paid for my horse on vets bills as he is exactly the same. I f he gets a cut it gets infected so needs anti biotics etc, abcess ( got another horses rug strap between his hoof & foot )

Two weeks ago moved him and his friend to a new field lots of grass, 2nd night he had blood all down his face and legs, had managed to cut his bottom eye lid !!

But I would never sell him, I have got used to him and manage him better now knowing what a clutz he is. and he is also a 10 yr old TB !!

Also have a lame dog with a bandaged leg at the moment !! I think I was florence nightingale in another life ;-)
 
Well Im tempted too! But I love the beast, so far up to 7 consecutive weeks off work for 4 completley unrelated incidents and still on boxrest with vet coming back tomorrow :(. Costing my more money than I can physically afford to pay (thank goodness for insurance) and I worked out in the last 18 months of owning him hes had more time off work (for anything from an abcess to electrolite levels through the floor) than he has had in work! But I have grown very attached to him so wouldnt sell really - friends have advised padding stable out with foam and cotton wool top to bottom and wrapping him completley in bubble wrap......
 
I have lost count of the number of serious cuts he has had that require staples and antibiotics... his most memerable incidents todate are:-

ulcerated eye, by rubbing his eye on his fly mask ! -
Severed ear - took a huge amount of staples to stick his ear back on, of course this was summer and it had to get infected and split open 2 or 3 times before it started to heel
Impaling himself on a fence post - again 10 stiches to the muscle and 16 staples
Jumping out of a field and standing on a barbwire barb in his frog - a mm either way and we would have lost him
Twisted shoe
oh let me stop counting now... its getting scary
 
I know exactly how you feel! I would never part with my boy though! Was just starting work again after straining his collateral ligaments in both fore legs last May, building his fitness and work load back up....and you guessed it he has now done his suspensories in same legs! Back on box rest..... He is an 8yr old tb!!
 
Well my last horse was accident prone and I kept him until he was PTS in Dec.
I in the 3 years I had him probably never got to ride him anymore than 100 times tbh.
His list was, colic 2 times, abscess in foot, abscess in mouth (from a wire fence he chewed). then moved yards and he escaped and the once he escaped he ripped hind legs to shreds, ulcered eye (from rotational fall from escaping from field)(4 months boxrest), torn shoulder muscle and damaged his pelvis. Then he had recurrent eye problems every year, had chronic intestinal issues (3 months boxrest), the his pelvis flaired up during work and got so bad he was put down.
I would never of had sold him and gave him the best life he could get until the time came and he was PTS.
 
Ok I'm a bit late with the reply - morning shift is starting :)

There have been lots of threads about accident prone TB's as they are famous for doing themselves in - hasn't there been a clique set up for it? :D I think we all suffer from them being complete pillocks now and then but 8 grand doesn't sound like now and then.

Rumour has it they are supposed to be very intelligent compared to other breeds. On the evidence? nope. Not a chance.

We've had quite a few - the worst being when he decided it would be a good idea to break through a fence and run through the barbed wire on the far side. he was 3mm away from tearing out his main artery on his rear right hock.

I'd never get shut despite the knocks and bangs but I might think differently after 8,000 pounds worth. I was hoping they grew out of it as my boy has just turned 6 and I was hoping for a bit of a respite.

Obviously not...
 
Last edited:
No, but we didn't buy a horse once because it seemed so accident prone. :)

I would also steer clear of horses called Lucky (depsite my first pony being a Lucky!) as I think at some point it did something stupid and the owners went 'hey, that was lucky...' :D
 
I would never part with my lad apart from to the sky however we have had pretty much the worse luck ever:
5 weeks after I bought him he went lame, had a work up and found collateral ligament damage to both front coffin joints, IRAP and shockwave and 10 months box rest, then mild case of lami for 2 weeks, then arthroscopy to both stifles for OCD, more box rest, back in walking work for about 3 months and got nail bind, further box rest, started trot work a month ago and now has acute laminitis and is on box rest again. Vets fees have been paid for about £20,000 and in 21 months of owning him about 16/17 months were box rested.

I love him to bits and he is such an amazing animal - he isn't 6 till June!! He is pure ID so no TB.
 
Oh Lochpearl, why am I not surprised to see you answering this thread! ;) I reckon our horses had a good giggle about us when they were stabled at the vets together. :rolleyes: I'm not sure I can even begin to add up how much my mare has chalked up in vets fees, even after she had to be retired, but I wouldn't dream of parting with her :) True to form she is now costing us a fortune to try and get her in foal! :p
 
My 17 year old mare is a complete jackoffasaur. One time she let herself out of the stable (can open top bolt) and ended up on her back in the feed room with a bucket round her back leg and her head in a dog bowl. That is just one of many examples. Of course she finally managed to do herself in last year when she broke her shoulder in the field. She is now an expensive, and still accident prone field ornament. But no, it never entered my head to sell her.
 
My arab mare finds mischief like a magnet. Eveen if there's no way she can hurt hurself, she invents a way. Recently after 8 months off from a muscle strain she did her self in the field, she jumped on the harrow as it was being manoeuvred through the field gate (obviously knew she was due to resume work that afternoon). Thankfully got away with a minor cut, though I don't know how. This is my advanced endurance horse who after many miles competing at speed over tough terrain (where she is amazing sure-footed), ended her career aged just 9 by kicking herself in the leg & mangaling a tendon whilst I was leading her in (she span to look at a dog).

Her daughter also has no survivial instinct, has already got a scar on her hock from her nasty injury in field last year. Fingers crossed she at least has her mums nimbleness & talent when she starts to compete, otherwise I'll be hitting the deck a few times.

Given that arrab were the foundation for tb's, you don't have much chance based on my girls track records! Sorry! (No I'd never part with either of them - must be mad)
 
Puppy said:
Oh Lochpearl, why am I not surprised to see you answering this thread! ;) I reckon our horses had a good giggle about us when they were stabled at the vets together. :rolleyes: I'm not sure I can even begin to add up how much my mare has chalked up in vets fees, even after she had to be retired, but I wouldn't dream of parting with her :) True to form she is now costing us a fortune to try and get her in foal! :p
Click to expand...

and me you lol!!! Typical we now have this acute laminitis - not sure that he'll ever be able to be a field ornament if it all goes wrong this time!! :(
 
Ahh…I have one of these, my vets history is similar to yours, here are a few (all either in field or stable except the collapse):

-Skinned his leg trying to jump a wire fence
-Cut side open by trying to fit through a very small gap
-Skinned top of his head in stable
-Got cast in 10 acre field – wire cuts to legs
-Sliced top of his head open in stable (different stable!)
-Enormous hock…(hooning about in field)
-Puncture wound just above his eye so his head/eye swelled up like a boxer
-Ripped off both front shoes (and most of hoof) then stood on toe clip with hind and punctured sole rendering him lame on 3 legs
-Enormous fetlock…(hooning about in field)
-Came in from field with skin hanging off leg, look like someone had potato peeled his fetlock!
-Mysterious collapse at a comp which resulted in bonescan and 10 days at the AHT
-Bites/kicks/bits falling off too numerous to mention

The list goes on…plus as an aside I’ve also been asked to leave a private once yard because he let himself out of his field, let himself into the outdoor school, pulled off the elec cabling that was tacked to the fence, chewed through it and cut the power to the house and yard – almost went up in a puff of orange smoke!
 
Our lippizaner mare is prone to being kicked! She seems to just get in the way of horses legs. First way in the field - hock. Had to have vets our numerous times with something quite strong he was putting on. Second time was in yard and resulted in 5 months box rest. Third time was leading out too the field - couple weeks off. Numerous little kicks. Then got kicked out in the field by ex racer and that meant couple more weeks off. Had a near miss the other day in the field but hopefully she's learning to get out the way now but im very careful with who she goes out with (Out on her own now!) and who i ride close to!
 
Puppy said:
I"m very sorry to hear that :( Do you know what's causing it?
Click to expand...

Stupidly good grazing I think, he actually had a mild case before his stifle op last year, so should have been on the ball but it came on so quickly! Blooming horses!! He is now sulking in his stable again!!! :(
 
lochpearl said:
Stupidly good grazing I think, he actually had a mild case before his stifle op last year, so should have been on the ball but it came on so quickly! Blooming horses!! He is now sulking in his stable again!!! :(
Click to expand...

Oh no :( Poor chap. Hope he makes a speedy recovery.

I'm having a hell of a job keeping the weight off Be since her retirement. She's in the tiniest bare paddock and still fat as butter! What with that and my old girl having cushings I'm terrified of lami. YO was being very helpful offering to fertilize the field now it's Spring and I've asked him not to, have asked him just to spray the docks. I try and tell myself that it's better to have a field ornament that gets fat on thin air, than one who requires a ton of feeding, but it's such a worry keeping her trim. :o
 
In terms of self harmers - you can improve this by hobble training and leg restraint training

If you've got a horse that instinctively pulls away, does things too fast this can literally be a life saver

I've got a ginger thing that does everything too fast, and she is part way through hobble training so that when she does get herself in a pickle she waits to be rescued. Some horses do this naturally, but flightly ones need training!

The aussies do this because if a horse gets hooked up in wire if they don't wait to be rescued the end up dead.
 
My TB was like this when i got him aged 8. The first 18 months of owning him we had more self harming than i care to remember, think i only rode over that period at the most for more than a few weeks consecutively. It was that bad that the vet which the majority of the yard uses (riding school as well as livery) sent a Christmas card to the yard collecitvely but my horse was the only one individually mentioned!!

He is now 11 and touch wood apart from minor scrapes etc he has been injury free for over a year now. He is a big gangly 17h and i think it has just taken him this long to work out where all his body parts are supposed to be. There may be hope your horse will grow out of it.
 
lochpearl said:
Stupidly good grazing I think, he actually had a mild case before his stifle op last year, so should have been on the ball but it came on so quickly! Blooming horses!! He is now sulking in his stable again!!! :(
Click to expand...

When horses are on box rest here and the weather is fine, I make them a tiny paddock inside the main one so they are not stuck in. It's a nightmare having a horse on box rest. I've had more than my fair share the past 2 years. I hope your boy comes right. He looks lovely (if he's the one in your avi).
 
I too have an accident prone TB. We have clocked up a fair list of injuries and illnesses over the last 7 years..to be fair it didnt start well when he arrived with a severe absess requiring x rays to determine whether any bone infection! :rolleyes:
We then had front foot lameness issues, various absesses, cut knee which wouldn't heal, more box rest for front feet, first day of turnout after box rest resulted in a side on collision with a trailer at gallop - suspected fractured pelvis ie more cross tied box rest, then recurring spasmodic colic resulting in being tapped and a camera which revealed nothing.
Then more front feet issues, more absesses, another knee cut (there is a pattern emerging here...) which wouldn't heal, puncture wound to back sole. More absesses etc. Getting cast and skinning his face...
And there are the zillion superficial cuts and scrapes he had clocked up - mostly self inflicted from bashing into himself or something harmless.
I totally dread to think about how much it has cost over the years. It's got to the stage where insuring him is pointless now as there are so many exclusions!
There are days when he frustrates the hell out of me, and I wish there were things I could change, but in reality I wouldn't ever part with him other than to the fields in the sky. :o
 
My 3.5 year old CB is pretty accident / illness / injury prone but no, I couldn't part with him!!

Within a week or so of having him he had a hefty bite to his back, followed by mystery hock swelling (bog spavins), followed by various kicks to the legs, some requiring antibiotics and some being really STUBBORN to get rid of! This winter we got cast, then a month or so later had colic requiring hospitalisation, then four weeks after that, came in from the field with a swollen knee... four weeks later still not right! oh, and did I mention I'm trying to back him??!!
 
stilltrying said:
Ahh…I have one of these, my vets history is similar to yours,

-Ripped off both front shoes (and most of hoof) then stood on toe clip with hind and punctured sole rendering him lame on 3 legs

The list goes on…plus as an aside I’ve also been asked to leave a private once yard because he let himself out of his field, let himself into the outdoor school, pulled off the elec cabling that was tacked to the fence, chewed through it and cut the power to the house and yard – almost went up in a puff of orange smoke!
Click to expand...

Not another ginga TB?!? I'm sorry I'm shouldn't laugh but managed to render himself lame in 3 legs at once? absolute classic. You just couldn't make it up :) I'm not going to say my guy hasn't quite managed that yet cos I know when I get down the field tonight...

Like saying last saturday that my wife's horse has never ever chucked me off...
 
Wagtail said:
When horses are on box rest here and the weather is fine, I make them a tiny paddock inside the main one so they are not stuck in. It's a nightmare having a horse on box rest. I've had more than my fair share the past 2 years. I hope your boy comes right. He looks lovely (if he's the one in your avi).
Click to expand...

That's the one Wagtail and yes he is gorgeous thank you. Only problem in a pen he likes to spin on his stifles and slam on the breaks through the collateral ligs - last year I ended just turning him out with my other lad. I think if he gets over this lami I will strip graze them in the same bit so they can be together and not run about so much :) sorry to read about your mare too x
 
Sometimes I get worried about phoning the vets incase they think I have "munch stable ends by proxy" :) or incase the vet thinks i am a stalker ..... anyone else ever feel like this - oh and he has just removed half of his hoof and shoe tonight - thankfully my blacksmith is on the same yard as me- bless him !

aghghghghghhgh changing his name to Vet Bill !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top