Horse dies at Weston Lawns

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Peanot

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How horrible. Friend told me this morning as her husband is a course builder there and I was all set to go last Thursday but the rain changed my mind. She told me that the horse was 19 yrs old and had been off work for a year due to an injury. After it came out of its second class, it walked from the Weston Ring and got to the collecting area and collapsed. It couldn`t get up and after about 10 mins it died. They say it was a heart attack.
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How awful for the horse and owner.
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My friend who I hacked out with this morning saw it all happen, apparantly the woman went to jump the practice fence, the horse stopped, she then preceeded to thrash it and yell at it that it was useless and lazy (something nasty along those lines anyway), it then collapsed and it had about 7 people tryinbg to hold it up to stop it going down and the woman tried to get the saddle off then they let it fall and it died.
Poor bugger
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Kat
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I just couldn't believe that they tried to keep it up, what did they think they were going to achieve by it??? It's sad that the woman was to concerned about her saddle though
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Kat
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I do not think this thread is going in a good direction - I am sure some people here have experienced horses dying while under saddle; it is a very sudden occurance, one that you can not easily predict, and then in hindsight you question a lot.

The 7 people who tried to keep it up were very brave, once a horse is down in the middle of the field, there is very little you can do for it - keep it up, you can often beat it into a box, and see if you can get to the hospital in time. Taking off the saddle was not a case of trying to 'save the saddle', but is generally the first thing you do for the comfort of the horse, and it is not like it is going to be ridden again that day.
 
GTs, trying to stop a big horse from going down if something like this happens just doesn't really work does it & once the horse had gone down it would have been easy o take off the saddle because it was on a surface, it would have been fairly easy to drag the saddle out from under it.
 
Super_Kat - I do not think the goal was what was easiest to get the saddle off, but rather what was best for the horse. A weak horse on the ground, you can do absolutely nothing too, keep it up you have a chance.

As seaofdreams said, in these situations it is awfully difficult to think properly, but I can assure you the lady was not thinking [****] the stupid animal, I just want my saddle.
 
I agree with everything your saying, but if it's staggering trying to stand up don't yank it around trying to keep it on it's feet and faff about trying to remove the saddle....get out of the way.

Kat
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Hang on a minute - I thought the woman had been witnessed as haranguing the horse and calling it lazy. If someone is 'encouraging' a horse to get up, I bet 'please' would have been heard more than once. I don't apologise if the original account was fair - if the post was aimed at defamy then shame on the 'friend' who recounted the tale.

It is perfectly simple to distinguish mean spirited cruelty from well intentioned encouragement, even if the encouragement is born of desperation.

Oh, I forgot, GTs has been a great help to me and others in the past, and I'm not having a go - honest!
 
We are now presuming it was being yank around - if that is the case that is wrong, and would fall under not thinking properly in a crises.

TBH if my horse has a heart attack, I would probably run away, at the end of the day there is nothing I can do, and they become very dangerous at that point!

Having a dead horse is one thing, having a dead horse and being in the hospital is even worse!!
 
Unfortunately many people mistake an illness, for laziness or bad behaviour - it is not like they can say I am having chest pains, or my tummy is sore!! I did it at Pony Club Camp at age 7 - beat my pony and as I thought it was trying to roll as it was raining - turned out it was sick (and now had a bruised bottom).

Now I know better, know my horses, etc and am sensitive to the slightest change - hopefully it will not happen to me. But I have seen people go to the whip when horses are failing, sick, etc - can't save every horse, they will soon figure it out.
 
Okay, who are you having a dig at? Nobody was encouraging the horse to get up, they were trying to stop it from going down. Where was mean spirited cruelty mentioned? It just seems very pointless to try and keep a horse who is clearly going down standing and faff around with the saddle. If it was my horse Iwouldn't let people near her because it's too dangerous and the last thing that anybody needs after something like this is injured people.

GTs, thats exactly what I'm getting at, not a good idea to be around a big animal who is obviously going down, it's too risky.
 
Yeah, but people want to help - be a hero. If everyone ran away from the horse, then there would be a thread on HHO, saying how they could abandoned their horse in its time of need, and how they should have held its head with a tear in their eye while it died.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, but people want to help - be a hero. If everyone ran away from the horse, then there would be a thread on HHO, saying how they could abandoned their horse in its time of need, and how they should have held its head with a tear in their eye while it died.

[/ QUOTE ]

*nods head*

Very true.
 
As no one on this forum was actually at Weston Lawns today this is all heresay, which tends to get worse with each retelling. As GTs is saying if the horse is stood up it would be easier to get it into a trailer or something so it could go have medical assistance, whilst it was falling about I doubt anyone thought it was going to die.
 
I believe they do sometimes behave very oddly prior to collapsing and this can be interpreted as naughtiness - rearing or barging about. Let's hope none of us have to go through it. Do worry when I'm letting the big bay go for it along the beach tho!
 
Brighteyes what I think you are talking could not really be interpreted as misbehavior - while a horse is having a heart attack they will barge about and have erratic involuntary movements of their limbs (kicking, and striking) - in the cases I have seen it is blatantly obvious the horse is having severe problems. These are the movements that make it very dangerous to be in close proximity to the horse, and why I would recommend you run away!
 
I was on fun ride two years ago and was just behind a horse which was going in a normal, quiet fashion. For no reason I could discern it began plunging and half reared before collapsing on its shocked and bewildered rider (who suffered a broken leg). The horse had suffered a sudden something and died almost immediately - but its behaviour was certainly similar to a horse having a fright and being prevented from bolting. Which is what I was referring to. What I think I will do is shut up now! I am obviously not coming across well, and really, really don't want to upset you guys. You have been around much longer than me. I do apologise for any hurt.
 
Oh no you are fine - what you saw is typical. But the string of events at that point are happening very quickly, you can not control the horse (it is struggling to control itself), so it is quite a different sensation then naughtiness.
 
i heard this today from someone who is very very closely linked with goings on at WL. The horse did die of a heart attack-it was brought out of retirement recently, jumped a round and becasue it was 'being lazy' was given a thrashing around the collecting ring by its rider where it collapsed and died. These ppl had owned the horse since it was young.
 
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