How long did it take my horse to die?

RIP Bobbi

I am sorry to hear about the whole story.

One thing I do not understand is WHY a vet wasn't called straight away to help get the horse out????

There are vets on here and I am sure they will be able to answer some of your questions.

I work on a Foal NICU and foals must be stood and supported regardless of being on a respirator etc. We can have about 4-6 people holding up the foal for just a few minutes before we have to lay down again.

Horses like dogs do not do well laying down as they cannot clear their lungs of fluid, hence why we try to keep them in sternal position but also have to stand them and turn them every hour minimum.

I think you need a post mortem but I think the findings will possibly show that your horse's lungs were saturated with fluid (not inhaling from the ditch btw) which normal horses standing up with their heads down grazing.

Long distance transport also prevents this normal procedure from happening. Pleuropneumonia is very common and it does sound likely that this is what your lad died from. With vet intervention and antibiotics horses can survive depending upon how quick they get to the vets, however most have scarring and lung damage and live as paddock pets.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/121306.htm
 
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This is shocking, devastating and terrible for you and your horse. You are in shock and you need to look after yourself right now. You will be going through all sorts of difficult emotions for some time to come. Make sure those around you know what's happened, work as well, as you will be very fragile for some time to come I suspect.

The how long question - who knows, and will the answer help? Probably not. Take each day as it comes and let out your emotions as you see fit, don't bottle it up.

I'm so sorry.
 
Echo what others have to say. If its any consollation, he would not have struggled being taken out of the ditch - he would have been tired.
My heart goes out to you. You must get another, not to replace him but for the space he's left in your heart which now needs filling for your own comfort.
 
Starbucks said:
I'm sorry to say (and I'm sure you already know) but I think you've been massively irresponsible here.
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I don't think so - from what the OP has said, she looked after the other girl's horse when she went on holiday for two weeks and had obviously asked for the favour to be returned. The girl let her down and the horse was not seen for 3 days before being discovered in a ditch. How can that be the OP's fault.

The only irresponsible thing she possibly could of done was trust that a friend was going to do what they promised to do.

I have every sympathy with the OP - my heart goes out to you.
 
I haven't read all the replies as I have to go out, but felt compelled to reply to your heart wrenching story. When I was a kid, I was riding through a field where earthworks had been done. There was grass grown over it so I couldn't have known. We cantered into the mire and just sunk. I managed to crawl to hard ground and found an old gate to put under the mare's head to stop her going under.

We were rescued in the end by firemen and tractors, but what I wanted to let you know, is that all through the ordeal, the mare was incredibly calm - she had a bit of a flounder at first, but then went into a trance-like state and actually closed her eyes. I think she thought she was going to die, but she was totally calm and accepting of it.

I think prey animals may have some sort of defence mechanism that makes them "zone-out" when they're in peril, so I imagine that your horse wasn't quite as distressed as you imagine.

Nonetheless, I would be absolutely bouncing in your position, so can understand your anger and pain.
 
I'm so so sorry for your loss :( at least he wasn't alone at the end, I hope you can take some small comfort from that. As for your friend, it may not be her fault, but you've certainly got every right to be angry with her. Whether you paid her or not, if she agreed to keep an eye on Bobbi then she should have done it.

Sending hugs, and thinking of you, RIP Bobbi xxx
 
Starbucks said:
How awful, poor Bobbi!! :( I'm sorry to say (and I'm sure you already know) but I think you've been massively irresponsible here.
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Starbucks - I have always rather enjoyed your posts, you tend to say what we all thinking but that last comment was unecessary and extremely unkind at this moment.

The OP is unknown to us as a person therefore we cannot make judgements on her simply from this, nor should we just now. I am sure the OP does feel very responsible, we have all done things that in hindsight we wished we had done differently but the last thing we need is someone saying 'I told you so' or 'you have no one but yourself to blame'. The OP came on here at a very difficult time in her life asking for a bit of reassurance, can't we just supply that and let her deal with her responsibilities and guilt at a later date?

One day Starbucks you will be harshly and possibly unfairly judged by others and you will then learn how unpleasant it is. It is all part of growing up.
 
From what I know of horses and how fast they go downhill from over exertion/exhaustion I would say not long at all.

They soon run up and from what you describe he wasn't - and absolutely rightly so - overweight. He would have been weak and possibly the right treatment would have been to try and get him on his feet, supported, to prevent his lungs filling from the pressure of too much weight.

I can't really say much on what the farmer did, except to his credit he got your boy out and back to the stables, but your 'friend's' lack of even basic responsibilty to me would be unforgiveable. Read ex-friend. I'm afraid my feelings towards her admitted negligence are pretty much unrepeatable here :( A vet should definitely have been called straight away.

I am so sorry and hope you can find a way to settle this with yourself. He sounded like a wonderful friend who did his job perfectly. I'm thinking maybe there's another one out there who needs as good a mum as you were to him, and maybe you should try, in his memory, to look for them?

Part of me thinks next time buy a crap horse - God never seems to want the bad ones...
 
Doormouse said:
Starbucks - I have always rather enjoyed your posts, you tend to say what we all thinking but that last comment was unecessary and extremely unkind at this moment.

The OP is unknown to us as a person therefore we cannot make judgements on her simply from this, nor should we just now. I am sure the OP does feel very responsible, we have all done things that in hindsight we wished we had done differently but the last thing we need is someone saying 'I told you so' or 'you have no one but yourself to blame'. The OP came on here at a very difficult time in her life asking for a bit of reassurance, can't we just supply that and let her deal with her responsibilities and guilt at a later date?

One day Starbucks you will be harshly and possibly unfairly judged by others and you will then learn how unpleasant it is. It is all part of growing up.
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Doormouse 100% agree with the above. Starbucks your response actually made my jaw drop when I read it. You should feel ashamed of yourself! and please do not even attempt the "I tell it like it is" defence.

OP sorry for your loss I can not even comtemplate how you are feeling.
 
Very sorry OP, in my rage at Starbucks I forgot to say how truely sorry I am for your loss, I can't even begin to imagine how you feel right now but do take heart that due to shock he probably knew very little about it and the people who were with him at the end were kind and caring to him. He died feeling loved and safe.
 
Much as Starbucks can make some fun/interesting posts, I quite often wonder if she ever stops and thinks about how below the belt her posts frequently are. Its not nice.:(
 
Serephin said:
I don't think so - from what the OP has said, she looked after the other girl's horse when she went on holiday for two weeks and had obviously asked for the favour to be returned. The girl let her down and the horse was not seen for 3 days before being discovered in a ditch. How can that be the OP's fault.

The only irresponsible thing she possibly could of done was trust that a friend was going to do what they promised to do.

I have every sympathy with the OP - my heart goes out to you.
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^^ this

Starbucks, IMO that was completely uncalled for, and in the circumstances exceptionally cruel. From what has been said the OP did absolutely nothing wrong.

OP left her horse in the care of somebody who promised they would check him, this obviously wasn't done.

If anybody is responsible (and I'm not necessarily saying it's her fault) it is the 'friend', not the OP.
 
Starbucks said:
How awful, poor Bobbi!! :( I'm sorry to say (and I'm sure you already know) but I think you've been massively irresponsible here.
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Doormouse said:
Starbucks - I have always rather enjoyed your posts, you tend to say what we all thinking but that last comment was unecessary and extremely unkind at this moment.

The OP is unknown to us as a person therefore we cannot make judgements on her simply from this, nor should we just now. I am sure the OP does feel very responsible, we have all done things that in hindsight we wished we had done differently but the last thing we need is someone saying 'I told you so' or 'you have no one but yourself to blame'. The OP came on here at a very difficult time in her life asking for a bit of reassurance, can't we just supply that and let her deal with her responsibilities and guilt at a later date?

One day Starbucks you will be harshly and possibly unfairly judged by others and you will then learn how unpleasant it is. It is all part of growing up.
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Thank you Doormouse, I had been trying to type a response to Starbucks but couldn't without it being full of vitriolic nonsense....:mad: and you put it far better than I can at present.

To the OP - really sorry to hear your sad news :(
 
Honey08 said:
Much as Starbucks can make some fun/interesting posts, I quite often wonder if she ever stops and thinks about how below the belt her posts frequently are. Its not nice.:(
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She is young and confident and has yet to learn the wisdom of when it is and isn't appropriate to say things. She has probably also yet to be judged by others and in her world things are very black and white. As we get older we all realise that life is full of grey patches!
 
This has to be the most heartbreaking post I've read, I wish I could take away some of your grief and hope that the memory of happy times and the love and care you gave him will help to heal the sadness.
I'm pretty shocked by the reply of Starbucks, totally wrong, wrong, wrong. I cannot fathom how she even came to think that way, let alone actually post it. It has marred a very sad thread which called for compassion and empathy.
 
Clippy said:
At the end of the day, unless you physically pay someone to look after your horse in your absence, then although your friend let you down morally, what happened is not her fault. I do think the farmer has some explaining to do though. If he moved the horse into an obviously unsafe field out of eyeshot of where your friends field was, and when you weren't in the country to supervise, then there's a few grey areas there.
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Rubbish, If I asked somebody to look after my horse and they agreed, whether or not they took payment has nothing to do with doing the job properly and accepting responsibily if something goes wrong.

I am not particularly talking about this case but whats the point of asking somebody to look after your horse if they are not going to?
 
OMG how horrible for you, its just the most terrible feeling when you lose a animal - horse/dog anything really as they are like our babies, even when there time comes due to old age and you know to expect it, it still hurts really bad, but when there taken from you out of the blue it hurts even more, i found one of my horse with a broken leg in the field, it was heartbreaking, again the thought of how long they have been like that suffering is all you focus on - in my case had it just happened or had he been like that for hours etc since seeing him the day before , but you just have to try and let it go.

As for your "friend" i would be livid and i am sorry never could i bring myself to speak to her again, i often ask a friend to check on my horse (even though its on full livery i like it checked) when i am away or have other commitment and i return the favour - thats what friends are for, i have seen myself going up in pitch dark in horrible weather walking round a massive field looking for for darn horse to check its ok, could i be bothered - NO, but a promise is a promise, i said id check it so I will check it,

She has let you down and i hope she is feeling extreamly guilty...!

What ever you do dont blame yourself..! The farmer would of done his best and wht he thought was right. If the blame is to lay on anyones door its this so called Friend!
 
What an awful thing to happen and I understand why you feel so angry. I would be mad if someone I trusted to care for my animal when I was away let me down so terribly.

However, if it's any consolation your horse may not have been doww there that long. one of ours got our stuck in a ditch that bordered our field, he was stuck on his side and had gone over a barbed wire fence and was hidden under brambles. It took a fair time to get him out - having to cut through the fence and remove all the brambles before hauling him out with a JCB from the neighbouring farmer. They are remarkably calm (our horse was a real worrier but was so chilled) as they seem to know they are being helped. Console yourself with the fact that the best, most knowledgale people got him out (farmers act quietly, calmly and are used to do these types of things). Also, from the sounds of it he was in a warm dry stable/barn with food and water which you said he ate so his last moments were spent having something nice to eat. Whether having a vet there would have helped noone knows. It sounds like maybe a mix of shock and possible internal injuries so maybe all a vet could have done is made him feel a bit more comfortable.

Sadly a part of owning horses is dealing with these things as horses do seem to have a knack of getting themselves into scrapes. There is no point dwelling on the details or the what ifs as this will never help you. However, I have done the same and still do on occasion as have lost a horse and dogs before in what i felt were situations that could have been prevented. But it just makes you miserable. It will take time but you will move on and remember the fun you did have together
 
How awful for you :(

Our horse spent a night in a ditch - didn't get bogged in, just was half upside down, and unable to get up, he was 30 at the time. Anyhow, we found him the next morning, and after having a vet assess his condition (ie if his pelvis was broken it would have been pointless bringing him out alive). Then we had a farmer come round and help. I think because of his age he wasn't sedated, but am unsure of that. He had chains put round his front fetlocks, and was dragged out by his front feet (we had already removed the hedge). He didn't struggle, and managed to stand at his second attempt. He was fine after that though, no injuries.

I really hope for you that you find out something. But please don't beat yourself up too much, there is nothing you can do now. I think the farmer is your best port of call for info, I wouldn't even give the 'friend' the time of day. :(

Don't worry OP - mine and the above story are the same one. :)
 
Thanks,Ladyt25and Stencilface for that account.One of the most awful thoughts must be worrying about how frightened the horse was and its reassuring to hear of your experience. I agree with your point about farmers being used to dealing with large animals. Being matter-of-fact and knowing how to move stock can be a bonus in getting the job done swiftly and humanely.
I sincerely hope this was the case too with the OP's beloved horse as I'm sure it would be a comfort to know that.
 
RIP Bobbi

I am so sorry you have had to go through this awful tragedy. If I were in your situation, that lady would no longer be my "friend". While I understand why the horse wasn't sedated, why wasn't a vet called to check over the horse.

I can't imagine how painful this must be for you, but there are serious questions that need to be asked. Why didn't your friend notice Bobbi's absence and do something about it? Why wasn't a vet called to help him recover? Why weren't you called during any of this? (I'm assuming from your post that you weren't, apologies if you were).

Like I said, I'm so sorry for your loss. I just hope that the people involved have extremely good excuses.
 
oh how very sad. have no idea on the time but hopefully he didnt remember much as when youre in shock it becomes a blur . i would be very upset and angry with your friend but would suggest you talk to her when you feel calmer .chances are shes devastated and feels gulilty ( i would hope so anyway ).
 
OP my heart goes out to you. This has to be the saddest post I have read on this forum and I am so sorry your first post has to be a sad one.

RIP Bobbi, run wild, run free over rainbow bridge.

I am sure when the time is right another horse will come into your life for a reason. They all take over a different part of the heart, never replacing or taking away the feelings for the one previously passed, they make their own place for different reasons. ((((Huge hugs for you))))
 
I've just read all of the posts and I have to say I'm incredibly touched by all your kindness, particularly since I am a stranger and only just posted.

I'm not at all offended by Starbucks comment...for a start, she is only a youngster and as someone has said, has yet to realise all the shades of gray out there in the world. However, you know, on retrospect perhaps I should have checked the perimeters of the field better instead of just assuming they'd be OK or that a young horse wouldn't be inquisitive and stray through gorse. Even though I had moved Bobbi into a better field, he had been in the field that he died in before, so it wasn't new to him. The accident could perhaps have occurred when I had put Bobbi in the field myself -- the only difference is I'm 100% sure I would have found him sooner. I suspect he was just left to his own devices and when no one checked up on him, he wandered away to an area he had never been to before and thats when he unfortunately discovered the ditch. I think my friend has figured out that I'm upset about the whole thing. She hasn't been in touch since and has moved her horse. I think perhaps she thinks why did my sister not check on Bobbi -- but I never asked my sister because she likes horses but she doesn't really know horses, if that makes sense. She loved Bobbi, but what's more, she knew how much I loved him which was why it was important to me that she was there when he died. We have the same size hands, so hopefully he felt close to me when he died.. that her touch was also my touch.

Please everyone, go tomorrow and just have a walk around your field. Check the fences, check for boggy ground. Perhaps you do regularly anyway, but let this serve as a little reminder from a friend who would not want any of you to go through what I've been through with my baby boy.
 
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