Horse Vet Corner on FB

[meleeka]

Does anyone else follow? Probably not a good idea for anyone squeamish, but I find it fascinating. What amazes me is how many people don’t have access to vets, at all, ever. Faced with hoping for the best, or a shotgun, must be very hard, especially when it’s something we’d consider fixable, but I’m not sure I’d own any animal if that was the case. Consequently there’s a lot of “My horses leg is hanging off but the vet can’t come for a month” type posts.

 

[SpotsandBays]

I haven’t looked on there in ages but agree it’s fascinating but also quite sad sometimes. Interesting to see what horses in other countries have to deal with. Saw one a good while ago with a bloody face from coming across a snapping turtle!

 

[scats]

I find it quite distressing sometimes, when horses are clearly in a bad way but people can’t get them veterinary attention.

 

[meleeka]

I find it quite distressing sometimes, when horses are clearly in a bad way but people can’t get them veterinary attention.

Or sometimes they just don’t have the $ to call a vet. There was one last week that had seen a vet, but the owners didn’t want to take vet advice and pts. It had a broken leg. I hope that poor horse is now out of pain.

 

[Hallo2012]

Does anyone else follow? Probably not a good idea for anyone squeamish, but I find it fascinating. What amazes me is how many people don’t have access to vets, at all, ever. Faced with hoping for the best, or a shotgun, must be very hard, especially when it’s something we’d consider fixable, but I’m not sure I’d own any animal if that was the case. Consequently there’s a lot of “My horses leg is hanging off but the vet can’t come for a month” type posts.

what amazes me more, considering these people KNOW they don't have access to on call vets is the number of people posting stuff like:

"my 2yo filly got pregnant by her brother because we didnt think he was mature enough to cover a mare but he crashed through my fence made of pallets and here we are........ i don't have any stables so i turned the mare and foal back out with the herd and one of my old geldings known to be aggressive chased the foal through the barb wire fence and it fell in the blocked drain on the other side.
we pulled the foal out with a 4x4 but he has degloved both hind legs and i think damaged his neck being pulled out. i have washed him down with peroxide and put bag balm on the wounds.
when we let him go he panicked and ran off and collided with the rusting tractor carcass thats been in the field all winter, so we opened the gate and chased him back down the track with dogs but he fell over and scraped up his two good legs.
do i need a vet or do you think this can wait until next month? when the vet comes to do teeth?"

there are many horrific freak accidents, and many more absolutely stupid owners who dont have the facilities to keep horses and 100% shouldnt !!

 

[SEL]

I worked in Australia in a time before FB and we were hours from an on call vet. It was either my first aid or a shotgun. Amazing what you can do when you have to.

I admire the vets who respond on that page because it is relentless and must be pretty horrendous for them. So many of those horses need immediate attention and its obvious they aren't going to get it. Too many of they stories that @Hallo2012 refers to and in most cases the shotgun would be the best answer.

I can't follow it any more because its upsetting but sometimes FB shows me anyway. I try to scroll past the nasty stuff and just read the interesting.

 

[TPO]

in most cases the shotgun would be the best answer

Used on the owners

 

[Squeak]

It was a real eye opener that not everyone has the same access to vets that we do. For some reason it really surprised me that this was such an issue in America. I guess it must just be due to the size of it? It's certainly made me very grateful that I just have to pick up a phone and ring my vets at any hour and they'll be here and if for some reason they wont attend there are multiple others I could call.

 

[Hallo2012]

Used on the owners

yep!

 

[SEL]

Used on the owners

I regularly think that

I've also started following a charity that rescues from kill pens. They often rescue to euthanise so the horses avoid a journey to Canada or Mexico. The state of some of the horses arriving there is horrific - especially the working draft horses.

I don't know why animal welfare isn't better out there

 

[TPO]

I regularly think that

I've also started following a charity that rescues from kill pens. They often rescue to euthanise so the horses avoid a journey to Canada or Mexico. The state of some of the horses arriving there is horrific - especially the working draft horses.

I don't know why animal welfare isn't better out there

Yeah, those animal aid types really saved the day getting equine slaughter outlawed

 

[planete]

I followed it very briefly but stopped for my own sanity. The feeling of helplessness it brought about was too uncomfortable and pointless.

 

[Birker2020]

Does anyone else follow? Probably not a good idea for anyone squeamish, but I find it fascinating. What amazes me is how many people don’t have access to vets, at all, ever. Faced with hoping for the best, or a shotgun, must be very hard, especially when it’s something we’d consider fixable, but I’m not sure I’d own any animal if that was the case. Consequently there’s a lot of “My horses leg is hanging off but the vet can’t come for a month” type posts.

It says you can't join unless you are a vet.

 

[meleeka]

It says you can't join unless you are a vet.

Yes you can join, you just aren’t allowed to comment unless you are a vet, which is probably a good thing.

 

[Caol Ila]

I joined it for the novel I'm working on. You get all sorts of weird medical issues and vet advice for dealing.

I'll probably hide it once I'm done, though, because it sure clogs up my newsfeed. It is extraordinary how many people are like, I can't get a vet for two weeks and my horse's leg is hanging off.

 

[SEL]

Yeah, those animal aid types really saved the day getting equine slaughter outlawed

It's grim. Surely a million times better to have them slaughtered locally than transported in horrific conditions to another country. Some of those horses shouldn't even have been allowed to get to the kill pens alive

 

[Birker2020]

Yes you can join, you just aren’t allowed to comment unless you are a vet, which is probably a good thing.

Am I looking at the right one then, as it clearly states you have to be a vet to join?

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

Am I looking at the right one then, as it clearly states you have to be a vet to join?

View attachment 125817

Full description

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I've also started following a charity that rescues from kill pens. They often rescue to euthanise so the horses avoid a journey to Canada or Mexico. The state of some of the horses arriving there is horrific - especially the working draft horses.

I don't know why animal welfare isn't better out there

A lot of those draft horses are Amish, they do not prioritise animals in that religion the same way us 'westerners' do - and when 'we' relied on horses for work and to make an income way back then, I am sure that many of 'our' working horses ended up in the same way. It's a crying shame the rural US haven't moved with the times in a lot of ways. I also think that horses are more readily available over there as more people own land, but this also means that there aren't the services to cover the abundance of land in these places.

Desperately sad, but I can see how it's ended up that way.

I do follow this page and find it equal parts interesting, equal parts sad - I was also initially shocked at the lack of vet services to some places too.

 

[Steerpike]

I think it's a good idea, I don't try to to follow too much, at least those that post are trying to get some form of help, it does amaze me how vet services differ country to country and count myself lucky we have good vet services here for the majority. I am also glad it's only vets that can comment it would be a free for all otherwise with the invention of 'internet experts'. Also glad people are not supposed to screenshot and share the posts.