MokeyBird
01-04-08, 10:17 PM 01-04-08
What a day! Mom and I were on our way to Lexington to see a movie, and I look out the window and I see a black horse in the middle of a frozen pond!
Mom slammed on the brakes, and we went back. There was an older couple there calling people to help, who also saw the horse from the road, and the barn owner was there calling people too. We talked to the BO and then went to go get Dad and some ropes. Luckily, one of our friends(Trey) was there too. It took us about half an hour to get home and back. We get back and no one who was called had come, so we got to work.
The poor guy had been in there a while, and was stuck in the mud. Dad threw a rope on him, and we started pulling and yelling and throwing ice at him. People who didn't know the situation or didn't realize the severity of it would have called us crazy. Four horse people yelling, cursing, hitting, kicking, smacking, pulling, beating, prodding at this horse. For a horse who was trying to die, it was necessary.
Finally he started struggling and came out a ways so that we could get close enough to him to get a butt rope on him and arrange the ropes better. Our ropes broke about four times. The horse had almost given up. He was tired, his eyes were dull and unresponsive and shivering so violently and groaning. Finally, Trey, with his high pitched squirrely voice started yelling and kicking and hitting the horse with the stick we were using to break the ice around him, and the horse finally managed to struggle onto the bank. Took us about half an hour to get him out. There were only six people working on it, and he was a BIG horse. He had to be seventeen hands. Of course we didn't know this as he was laying in the pond.
We got him under a couple of blankets and in a very dusty barn. Trey and I went back to the farm to get as many Baker blankets as we could grab. By the time we had gotten back, the animal control officer was there(probably on reports of people beating a horse with a pole in the middle of a field) and they had him walking, to help him warm up and dry, stopping occasionally to rub him. By the time we left, the horse had stopped shivering so badly, was heartily eating hay and drinking water, and the horse's owner had arrived. We had to go back to get something we forgot and as we left the second time, the vet had shown up.
Hopefully he'll be okay. By how he was acting, he certainly seemed like he will be. If mom and I had just drove on to our movie, the horse would have died. Heck, he was trying to die in the pond. His eyes were glazing over, he didn't have much desire to move. The people that were called never did show up. We didn't care if it was a nickle, fifty dollar nag from the kill pen. We can't knowingly leave a horse to suffer when we could help.
Yay for us! Yay for the horse! Oh how exciting. That is one horse who is happy to be alive.
Mom slammed on the brakes, and we went back. There was an older couple there calling people to help, who also saw the horse from the road, and the barn owner was there calling people too. We talked to the BO and then went to go get Dad and some ropes. Luckily, one of our friends(Trey) was there too. It took us about half an hour to get home and back. We get back and no one who was called had come, so we got to work.
The poor guy had been in there a while, and was stuck in the mud. Dad threw a rope on him, and we started pulling and yelling and throwing ice at him. People who didn't know the situation or didn't realize the severity of it would have called us crazy. Four horse people yelling, cursing, hitting, kicking, smacking, pulling, beating, prodding at this horse. For a horse who was trying to die, it was necessary.
Finally he started struggling and came out a ways so that we could get close enough to him to get a butt rope on him and arrange the ropes better. Our ropes broke about four times. The horse had almost given up. He was tired, his eyes were dull and unresponsive and shivering so violently and groaning. Finally, Trey, with his high pitched squirrely voice started yelling and kicking and hitting the horse with the stick we were using to break the ice around him, and the horse finally managed to struggle onto the bank. Took us about half an hour to get him out. There were only six people working on it, and he was a BIG horse. He had to be seventeen hands. Of course we didn't know this as he was laying in the pond.
We got him under a couple of blankets and in a very dusty barn. Trey and I went back to the farm to get as many Baker blankets as we could grab. By the time we had gotten back, the animal control officer was there(probably on reports of people beating a horse with a pole in the middle of a field) and they had him walking, to help him warm up and dry, stopping occasionally to rub him. By the time we left, the horse had stopped shivering so badly, was heartily eating hay and drinking water, and the horse's owner had arrived. We had to go back to get something we forgot and as we left the second time, the vet had shown up.
Hopefully he'll be okay. By how he was acting, he certainly seemed like he will be. If mom and I had just drove on to our movie, the horse would have died. Heck, he was trying to die in the pond. His eyes were glazing over, he didn't have much desire to move. The people that were called never did show up. We didn't care if it was a nickle, fifty dollar nag from the kill pen. We can't knowingly leave a horse to suffer when we could help.
Yay for us! Yay for the horse! Oh how exciting. That is one horse who is happy to be alive.