Vibes needed and a warning

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vikkiandmonica

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I'm in need of some famous HHO vibes are needed for Wings :( . I took him XC schooling today, he was really good, loaded him up, took him home, and opened up the trailer to get him out. Cue one very sweaty horse holding up a back leg. I got him out, only to see a massive chunk of his hoof missing. Looked in the trailer and was met by a hole in the trailer floor. Now, we were sold the trailer having been told the owner before us had put down a brand new aluminium floor. However, the floor was, in fact, wood, and Wings had managed to put a hole in the floor whilst we were driving along, and is now missing about 1/3rd of his back right hoof (the outside edge has gone, and the fleshy bit underneath is exposed with one deeper hole).

We called the vet out, who cleaned it, and gave him some injections for pain relief and antibiotics. Wings has got to be box rested for at least 2 months, if the injury was sustained through impact, meaning he has just hit the road once and it has snapped off. However, if the injury is due to the friction off the road, he will likely to need more box rest as the vet may need to cut off more of the horn and tissue as the underneath tissue is likely to be damaged due to the heat. Even if he does just need to be box rested, the vet thinks it will take the whole of summer to grow back normally for him to be brought back into full work.

So a warning, DO NOT believe sellers when they tell you a trailer floor is aluminium, get it checked out. We would never have travelled him all this time with a wooden floor, we were just naive enough to believe the seller would have told us the truth.

Vibes are really needed, especially as Wings was put up for sale 3 days ago as I am hopefully going to university in September, and have very important exams coming up so could really do without a horse on box rest! Looking on the plus side, the vet said that with these sorts of injuries, sometimes the damage is so bad a horse needs to be put down. We were also quite lucky that the floor didn't completely give in, as my friend's horse was also in the trailer at the time.

I'll pop a photo up tomorrow of his hoof. The vet is coming out again at the end of next week to see if there is any underlying tissue damage, so fingers crossed there isn't! Thanks for any vibes!
 
Oh dear how awful for you, and him! I'm sure he'll come right for you but I can't help feeling that strange things happen and you were meant to keep him! I have a fleeting flashback to a horsey story when I was a kid, Phantom something i think..

if your experience at uni is going to be anything like mine was, you'll need Wings to get you through xxx
 
Thanks. I'm sure he will, it didn't stop him rearing and boxing with the horse next door to him a couple of hours after the incidence. Yes, maybe this is fate forcing us together!
 
Your story makes my blood run cold, it made me feel physically sick, its an awful thing to happen to your poor horse, mega healing vibes coming wings's way, i hope he makes a full recovery.
I never believe anything about lorries. Trailers etc unless i check for myself, its not the first lorry or trailer ive been under and poking with a screw driver. If the rubber matting doesnt lift, i wont touch it. A hard lesson learned :(
 
I think the moral of the story is to get your floor inspected every year. I always get my dad to check out the floor of my 17 year old Rice Richardson although it has a double floor. I am slightly paranoid about this. I think you have been incredibly lucky that your horses hoof wasn't degloved. I wish your horse a speedy recovery.
 
massive vibes for him, how scary for you both (and the other horse).

i bought a second hand trailer a few years ago and the bloke said he had done the flooring using appropriate wood and had travelled his cobs in it with no problems. we looked underneath and it all looked good but when we got it home i had an urge to pull up the rubber matting, good job i did as it was just dodgy wood which would have gone through with a horses weight in it.
we went back to seller and he refused to take the trailer back as he had nowhere to keep it but after 'discussing' it with my OH he gave us the money back and also the trailer which we turned into a kennel for a couple of dogs. we were lucky unlike many others i've seen/heard about.
 
Thank you all! Yes, in hindsight we should have checked, however we bought it off a friend of a friend, so assumed it was being sold as described, metal floor included! I'll never make the same mistake again, that's for sure.
 
How horrendous for you and your poor poor horse. That is one of my worst nightmares and I have always hated travelling horses. I really hope he makes a full and as swift a recovery as possible.

Would def have any floor checked annually if I had a trailer.
 
ok sticking my neck out here but why oh why do so many horse people lie!! Its unusual to hear anything truthful from many sellers of things equine!

Its just unbelievable the lengths people go to get a sale and if you believed your floor to be aluminium from the previous seller that is just awful.

Heres hoping your horse will be ok and sounds like it could have been hell of a lot worse(although it probably seems terrible) it could have just been catastrophic).

Hopefully nothing underlying was damaged and wishing your horse good vibes to a speedy recovery.
 
((((((vibes))))). Also my mare managed to take off a chunk of her hoof a few years ago now, it looked horrible with the flesh exposed etc, but it healed perfectly fine and no lasting damage! Hope it all goes well x
 
Thanks for the vibes, and shortstuff99, that's really good to hear, thanks!

Copperpot, I haven't, as the lady has since died, so i think it would be a bit futile.

indie999, I agree, I don't understand why people lie so much!
 
This sounds awful for your horse and extremely painful.

I hope he does his box rest well and that he has no lasting damage or psychological problems when next loading him.
 
Thanks quirky, I hope he does too. He was very good for the vet cleaning it though, bless him, as it obviously hurt by the way he was very reluctant to put his foot down at all.
 
Ooo nasty!:eek: One of my biggest worries when travelling horses.

Just in case anyone out there with an aluminium floor thinks it's fine because it doesn't rot-check it thoroughly, because aluminium corrodes and a horse can just as easily go through a dodgy ali floor as a dodgy wood one. Look out for whiteish powdery stuff, (it's a bit like the equivalent of rust) and thin spots.
 
A couple of years ago, I was horrified when I found that one of my liveries had sold a trailer that I had told them was not safe to travel their horse in (floor was rotten), on ebay as in 'excellent condition and regularly serviced'!

I bought a trailer years ago on ebay and when I got it home noticed that the floor moved when my husband was walking in it! My own fault for picking it up in the dark. Cost me £500 to get a new floor.

Glad you posted this OP. NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING A SELLER SAYS ABOUT THE FLOOR OF A TRAILER UNLESS THEY SHOW YOU A RECEIPT FOR THE SERVICE OR REPLACEMENT OF THE FLOOR!
 
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What puzzles me is how anyone can lie about something that could mortally wound a horse, just to get money? How do they sleep at night?
 
Sorry about your horse, hope he's better soon

Some of the replies worry me a bit. I think trailer floors should be checked more than once a year, whatever they are made of. Things can go very wrong over the winter, especially if they have been used in the wet with salt on the road.

I actually check my trailer out every time I use it, and that includes a quick check of the floor, its not hard to do whether its wood or aluminium.

I include this with the check of the lights, jockey wheel and tow hitch. This is in addition to a yearly service to check the brakes, suspension, wheel bearings, towing gear etc.
 
rockysmum said:
Sorry about your horse, hope he's better soon

Some of the replies worry me a bit. I think trailer floors should be checked more than once a year, whatever they are made of. Things can go very wrong over the winter, especially if they have been used in the wet with salt on the road.

I actually check my trailer out every time I use it, and that includes a quick check of the floor, its not hard to do whether its wood or aluminium.
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Point taken, but with my trailer its just not practical as is the same with many other peoples. I have tongue and groove flooring. Unless I took the partition out (two man back breaking job as very heavy) and then pulled the heavy rubber matting up (impossible with my back) and then unscrewed all the tongue and grooved flooring to check the aluminium base underneath every single time I took it out (usually once a week) I would never go anywhere. I always check the doors are shut properly, and the lights work and cast an eye over the tyres, (check the tyre pressures about every fourth time).
 
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