Horsing around is dangerous. I've been pretty lucky so far. Just had a little cart adventure and I'm limping around, so I thought it would make me feel better to hear of other horse-related "adventures".
What was your worst horse-related injury?
- Thread starter Marsha Cassada
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Field-of-Dreams
Well-Known Member
Several.....
#1) Riding my brand-new, owned for six months green broken 3yo Arab gelding- bareback in the pasture with a halter and two leads (Hey, I was 18- no brains at that point). The herd took off and he went with them. No stopping. He did stop at the bottom of the hill- I didn't. Saw his ears at my knees, then forefeet by my face, then.... crunch. He did not step on me, bless him, but landed on my back, knocked the wind outta me. 33 year later my back still pops and grinds when I move.....
#2) Same Arab, 5-6 years later. Decided to go trail riding, saddled up but put my blaze orange pad over my regular pad, since it was hunting season. Away we go, hit the main trail. It's crispy out, he wants to go, so we start cantering. As we go along, my saddle starts to slip to one side, obviously I hadn't tightened it enough. I lean forward to try and fix it, he goes faster.... I lean more, he goes into high gear. The more I leaned , the faster he went. We are now flying down the trail, and I can't get my balance on the sideways saddle to stop him. I also know the path turns into an asphalt street- something I do NOT want to fall on. So, I put my arms around his neck, and leap off. When I land, I bend my knee in the wrong direction... ouch. He stops about fifteen feet away. When I hit the ground I hollered, there was a jogger down on the road and he comes up to the bridle path. I ask him to catch my horse, and he gingerly does. Not a horseman, his guy. But he did help, a lot! I fix my saddle and try and find a place to get back on- no way can I walk home, the knee doesn't want to support my weight- at all. Geym is wired, but stands long enough so I can mount, then jigs the whole mile and a half home. I manage to untack him and put him away by myself, and drive home, whereupon my mom promptly takes me to Urgent Care....
One hyperextended knee that just needs wrapped and supported. But it still gives me issues every now and then...
I've also been kicked by an Appy at a horse show, bitten a few times, came off Geym many more times with just bruises. (Went head-first into the out gate at the show ring once. THAT was interesting.) But nothing like those two stories above for major crunch times....
Friday will be 14 years since I lost my old man to colic. As many times as he crunched me, it was never deliberate and I still miss the ol' fart.
#1) Riding my brand-new, owned for six months green broken 3yo Arab gelding- bareback in the pasture with a halter and two leads (Hey, I was 18- no brains at that point). The herd took off and he went with them. No stopping. He did stop at the bottom of the hill- I didn't. Saw his ears at my knees, then forefeet by my face, then.... crunch. He did not step on me, bless him, but landed on my back, knocked the wind outta me. 33 year later my back still pops and grinds when I move.....
#2) Same Arab, 5-6 years later. Decided to go trail riding, saddled up but put my blaze orange pad over my regular pad, since it was hunting season. Away we go, hit the main trail. It's crispy out, he wants to go, so we start cantering. As we go along, my saddle starts to slip to one side, obviously I hadn't tightened it enough. I lean forward to try and fix it, he goes faster.... I lean more, he goes into high gear. The more I leaned , the faster he went. We are now flying down the trail, and I can't get my balance on the sideways saddle to stop him. I also know the path turns into an asphalt street- something I do NOT want to fall on. So, I put my arms around his neck, and leap off. When I land, I bend my knee in the wrong direction... ouch. He stops about fifteen feet away. When I hit the ground I hollered, there was a jogger down on the road and he comes up to the bridle path. I ask him to catch my horse, and he gingerly does. Not a horseman, his guy. But he did help, a lot! I fix my saddle and try and find a place to get back on- no way can I walk home, the knee doesn't want to support my weight- at all. Geym is wired, but stands long enough so I can mount, then jigs the whole mile and a half home. I manage to untack him and put him away by myself, and drive home, whereupon my mom promptly takes me to Urgent Care....
One hyperextended knee that just needs wrapped and supported. But it still gives me issues every now and then...I've also been kicked by an Appy at a horse show, bitten a few times, came off Geym many more times with just bruises. (Went head-first into the out gate at the show ring once. THAT was interesting.) But nothing like those two stories above for major crunch times....
Friday will be 14 years since I lost my old man to colic. As many times as he crunched me, it was never deliberate and I still miss the ol' fart.
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FurstPlaceMiniatures
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To me? Not bad. But my beautiful little pinto pony filly wound up upside down, cast, and backward in a straight load trailer.
She's a brat, she paws for about the first mile then calms herself and eats. The joys of being 2. This time she was 'bouncing' and got her leg stuck over the chest bar. I went to free her, she was standing quietly like 'ok, I was stupid, help pwease?'
My mother runs up to the escape door and for some reason screams 'Get her down! OMG reba WHOA' right in her face. And that's when all heck broke loose. She tried to sit back, her back legs went out from underneath her, he halters throat lash (not the breakaway part of the breakaway) got caught on the ring you hang hay from. She began to choke and her eyes rolled back into her head. Breakaway crown halters don't always break when needed apparently.
I cut the halter off and she flops onto her back but seems ok and is calm. She's cast against the partition, Did I mention this is 1/2 mile from a thruway exit with a casino on it?
We stop traffic and open the ramp slowlyyyyyy. I wrap a dog leash around her face, and we open it the rest of the way. We usually have a halter, but our 'emergency box' was at home. She thankfully stays down and is trusting me, we move the partition and she waits for me to tell her to get up. She hops up and seems alright.
To make things even more impressive, she gets BACK on the trailer with just to dog leash! We call my barn owner and he runs us up a new halter, and we continue on out way, and she of course rode quietly. She has ridden quietly on the trailer since!
What we learned was to always travel in an all leather halter, breakaways apparently need specfic kind of pressure to do that. Also we have mounted a knife in the trailer with a magnet, and are purchasing a hitch mounted tool box to make our new 'emergency box,' instead of a tote in the truck.
If I hadn't had my knife she'd have choked to death for sure that day.
She's a brat, she paws for about the first mile then calms herself and eats. The joys of being 2. This time she was 'bouncing' and got her leg stuck over the chest bar. I went to free her, she was standing quietly like 'ok, I was stupid, help pwease?'
My mother runs up to the escape door and for some reason screams 'Get her down! OMG reba WHOA' right in her face. And that's when all heck broke loose. She tried to sit back, her back legs went out from underneath her, he halters throat lash (not the breakaway part of the breakaway) got caught on the ring you hang hay from. She began to choke and her eyes rolled back into her head. Breakaway crown halters don't always break when needed apparently.
I cut the halter off and she flops onto her back but seems ok and is calm. She's cast against the partition, Did I mention this is 1/2 mile from a thruway exit with a casino on it?
We stop traffic and open the ramp slowlyyyyyy. I wrap a dog leash around her face, and we open it the rest of the way. We usually have a halter, but our 'emergency box' was at home. She thankfully stays down and is trusting me, we move the partition and she waits for me to tell her to get up. She hops up and seems alright.
To make things even more impressive, she gets BACK on the trailer with just to dog leash! We call my barn owner and he runs us up a new halter, and we continue on out way, and she of course rode quietly. She has ridden quietly on the trailer since!
What we learned was to always travel in an all leather halter, breakaways apparently need specfic kind of pressure to do that. Also we have mounted a knife in the trailer with a magnet, and are purchasing a hitch mounted tool box to make our new 'emergency box,' instead of a tote in the truck.
If I hadn't had my knife she'd have choked to death for sure that day.
Debby - LB
Admin / Mod
Well my worst injury I'd have to say happened during the summer when I was to turn 12. My best friend and I were heading to my cousins and two boys who were good friends of ours rode up on their horses and asked did we want to go swimming so up we crawl on the backs of the horses.
I was behind the cantle and have NO idea why I did it but had my feet in the stirrups. We took a shortcut across the school parking lot and a dog started to chase us. The dog bit at the back legs of the other horse and then we were both running. I ended up being bucked off but my leg went through the stirrup and I was drug quite a ways before someone was able to catch the horse and stop it. So I ended up pretty skinned and broken up as well as a skull fracture and in a coma for over 3 months.
I remember only bits and pieces of my life before age 12. I had a lot of therapy and a lot to completely re-learn. A few of the things I have trouble with to this day are:
-Processing and understanding information that I can remember. I have to learn things over and over because once I shut down most of it's gone.
-Not being able to concentrate on only one thing. I can actually compartmentalize several different things and think about them or work on them independently BUT If others or maybe the TV is on talking in the background, it's like I'm honed in on it all, bouncing back and forth between them and my brain sometimes gets overloaded. For example if I'm speaking to someone in person I am listening, and contrary to how it seems I am very interested BUT sometimes I'm in another place still trying to fix a broken script or going down a list I made that morning of work that I need to finish.
-Difficulty carrying on a conversation, I get stuck on processing what someone is saying which forms a delay in my reply. I find myself saying ah and um a lot while I'm thinking of what to say. I know that some people who have spoken with me on the phone think I'm disinterested and/or stupid compared to how I can form intelligent replies via email. Right off hand I don't remember a lot But once I look it up it all comes back to me and I can continue the task at hand... But a couple days later I'd have to look it up again.
-Difficulty thinking of the right word...drives me nuts.
-I have real trouble with non-verbal communication. This makes me sad because on the inside I'm very warm and caring.
-Disinhibition, which is the little voice that helps prevent you from saying something inappropriate... I lost that filter. Brutally honest, I say things as I see them. Also....and don't know if this had anything at all to do with my tbi or not but I quickly spot fake people and can see right through someone who is lying.
-No sense of balance.
Hey It never took away my love for horses though!! I'm still that horse crazy girl. Although I did ride again a couple years later and worked with horses extensively for a few years, I tried riding again as a adult but I just don't have the balance to ride other than a dead head.
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I was behind the cantle and have NO idea why I did it but had my feet in the stirrups. We took a shortcut across the school parking lot and a dog started to chase us. The dog bit at the back legs of the other horse and then we were both running. I ended up being bucked off but my leg went through the stirrup and I was drug quite a ways before someone was able to catch the horse and stop it. So I ended up pretty skinned and broken up as well as a skull fracture and in a coma for over 3 months.
I remember only bits and pieces of my life before age 12. I had a lot of therapy and a lot to completely re-learn. A few of the things I have trouble with to this day are:
-Processing and understanding information that I can remember. I have to learn things over and over because once I shut down most of it's gone.
-Not being able to concentrate on only one thing. I can actually compartmentalize several different things and think about them or work on them independently BUT If others or maybe the TV is on talking in the background, it's like I'm honed in on it all, bouncing back and forth between them and my brain sometimes gets overloaded. For example if I'm speaking to someone in person I am listening, and contrary to how it seems I am very interested BUT sometimes I'm in another place still trying to fix a broken script or going down a list I made that morning of work that I need to finish.
-Difficulty carrying on a conversation, I get stuck on processing what someone is saying which forms a delay in my reply. I find myself saying ah and um a lot while I'm thinking of what to say. I know that some people who have spoken with me on the phone think I'm disinterested and/or stupid compared to how I can form intelligent replies via email. Right off hand I don't remember a lot But once I look it up it all comes back to me and I can continue the task at hand... But a couple days later I'd have to look it up again.
-Difficulty thinking of the right word...drives me nuts.
-I have real trouble with non-verbal communication. This makes me sad because on the inside I'm very warm and caring.
-Disinhibition, which is the little voice that helps prevent you from saying something inappropriate... I lost that filter. Brutally honest, I say things as I see them. Also....and don't know if this had anything at all to do with my tbi or not but I quickly spot fake people and can see right through someone who is lying.
-No sense of balance.
Hey It never took away my love for horses though!! I'm still that horse crazy girl. Although I did ride again a couple years later and worked with horses extensively for a few years, I tried riding again as a adult but I just don't have the balance to ride other than a dead head.
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Debby - LB
Admin / Mod
PS Marsha I'm sorry about your accident and I hope you get back to normal soon!!!
Rocklone Miniature Horses
past member -I gotta get a life...
My tb spooked and I went out the side door landing in my hip. It still is sore five years later.
Few weeks ago I was leading a cob and he stood on the back of my heel and didn't move. I couldn't walk for three days and it's still sore.
Worst though was being helped up onto a 17hh horse and the man was still taking to someone else so didn't stop helping and I went right over the top and landed on my side on concrete and cracked my ribs.
Few weeks ago I was leading a cob and he stood on the back of my heel and didn't move. I couldn't walk for three days and it's still sore.
Worst though was being helped up onto a 17hh horse and the man was still taking to someone else so didn't stop helping and I went right over the top and landed on my side on concrete and cracked my ribs.
Wow! scary stories! I guess my worst (yet) isn't that bad!
Got my left/dominate hand slammed against the fence and cut open like a ripe peach, bad last June. I saw tendons! before I slapped my other hand over it. I was holding Lexy's lead, she was tied to a post, The Vet gave her a shot. She didn't like it and bolted forward. Good thing he was there! After finishing the others shots(at my insistence) he vet wrapped my hand and DH took me to the VA ER. It was at least a week before I could semi use it around the bandages. This was preceded by a 6 week stay in a walking cast when I fell out of the attic and fractured my heel....
I am now under strict orders to "never get hurt again to where DH has to take care of the animals". LOL! Got my vote on that!
Got my left/dominate hand slammed against the fence and cut open like a ripe peach, bad last June. I saw tendons! before I slapped my other hand over it. I was holding Lexy's lead, she was tied to a post, The Vet gave her a shot. She didn't like it and bolted forward. Good thing he was there! After finishing the others shots(at my insistence) he vet wrapped my hand and DH took me to the VA ER. It was at least a week before I could semi use it around the bandages. This was preceded by a 6 week stay in a walking cast when I fell out of the attic and fractured my heel....
I am now under strict orders to "never get hurt again to where DH has to take care of the animals". LOL! Got my vote on that!
I would have to say my worst horse related injury has to be when I broke my first horse, a 4yr old paint/qh gelding. Sweet little horse so he didn't do any of this maliciously.
#1 I was walking him around my indoor and for some reason he thought he would stop and rear up, well he had such a short base when I leaned forward I couldn't get to the side fast enough and his crest nailed me square in the face knocking me out. All I remember is waking up on the ground flat on my back and looking up seeing him falling backwards (lost his balance) and then *boom* right on top of me. Luckily he didn't scramble, he might have known I was underneath him and he just stood up quietly, walked off to the side and stood there with his head down. I was smart enough to wear my riding vest so I think that helped the impact and I came away with no broke bones but my ribs were bruised
#2 was later on in the year when I was teaching him to canter, I was out in a small field to give him more room and on our 3rd attempt he decided to start bucking because he was having fun. Well I felt the western saddle start to come loose so I decided to bail because I knew it wasn't going to last long. As I was doing an emergency dismount, he bucked and the inside of my right hip hit the horn and it flipped me upside down and I landed square on my head and I heard a crack sound. Course I was scared to death that I broke my neck so I sat straight up from the ground. Later on in my life about 5 years ago when I got scanned for a car accident they found a compressed fracture in my lower spine that had healed, apparently that was from my fall.
One of my worst "on the ground" horse related accidents was when we bred TB racehorses, id say I was about 13 years old and I went out to the run in shed we had closed off for one of our mares and her new foal bc the foal had some kind of nasal code and needed to be penned off to give meds. Well on the third day of this routine, which I did, I fed mom and proceeded to get the baby to give her the meds. Well I completed my mission of getting the medicine in her with no problem, well I stepped back away from her with her facing me, mind you mom was on the left, run in shed wall on right and gated fence to my back. This filly all of a sudden got a look on her face, pinned her ears, whirled around slamming me with both back feet in the rib cage nailing me up against that gate. She went to do it again and I luckily picked up a rock and got her right in the rump so it sent her flying across the large run-in-shed. This gave me enough time to get out because at that point I was doubled over, barely able to stand let alone breath. I remember getting to the fence line and I crawled from there to the house. Luckily my mom was cooking dinner and could see me from where she was and saw me crawling. She went out there and leaned over the gate and when the foal decided she was going to pin her ears and kick out with a lead rope my mom cracked that foal across the butt when she wasn't paying attention and let me tell you she never pulled that stunt again.
I remember it took a week before I could get out of bed normal, because I couldn't sit up. I had to roll different ways before I could get up and I couldn't do my barn chores for almost a month, I couldn't even pick up a pitch fork; that filly messed me up lol
#1 I was walking him around my indoor and for some reason he thought he would stop and rear up, well he had such a short base when I leaned forward I couldn't get to the side fast enough and his crest nailed me square in the face knocking me out. All I remember is waking up on the ground flat on my back and looking up seeing him falling backwards (lost his balance) and then *boom* right on top of me. Luckily he didn't scramble, he might have known I was underneath him and he just stood up quietly, walked off to the side and stood there with his head down. I was smart enough to wear my riding vest so I think that helped the impact and I came away with no broke bones but my ribs were bruised
#2 was later on in the year when I was teaching him to canter, I was out in a small field to give him more room and on our 3rd attempt he decided to start bucking because he was having fun. Well I felt the western saddle start to come loose so I decided to bail because I knew it wasn't going to last long. As I was doing an emergency dismount, he bucked and the inside of my right hip hit the horn and it flipped me upside down and I landed square on my head and I heard a crack sound. Course I was scared to death that I broke my neck so I sat straight up from the ground. Later on in my life about 5 years ago when I got scanned for a car accident they found a compressed fracture in my lower spine that had healed, apparently that was from my fall.
One of my worst "on the ground" horse related accidents was when we bred TB racehorses, id say I was about 13 years old and I went out to the run in shed we had closed off for one of our mares and her new foal bc the foal had some kind of nasal code and needed to be penned off to give meds. Well on the third day of this routine, which I did, I fed mom and proceeded to get the baby to give her the meds. Well I completed my mission of getting the medicine in her with no problem, well I stepped back away from her with her facing me, mind you mom was on the left, run in shed wall on right and gated fence to my back. This filly all of a sudden got a look on her face, pinned her ears, whirled around slamming me with both back feet in the rib cage nailing me up against that gate. She went to do it again and I luckily picked up a rock and got her right in the rump so it sent her flying across the large run-in-shed. This gave me enough time to get out because at that point I was doubled over, barely able to stand let alone breath. I remember getting to the fence line and I crawled from there to the house. Luckily my mom was cooking dinner and could see me from where she was and saw me crawling. She went out there and leaned over the gate and when the foal decided she was going to pin her ears and kick out with a lead rope my mom cracked that foal across the butt when she wasn't paying attention and let me tell you she never pulled that stunt again.
I remember it took a week before I could get out of bed normal, because I couldn't sit up. I had to roll different ways before I could get up and I couldn't do my barn chores for almost a month, I couldn't even pick up a pitch fork; that filly messed me up lol
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Got kicked in the knee by a 29" stallion...hyper-extended it, and 14 years later after multiple arthroscopic surgeries, finally had a total knee replacement. So now I set off alarms when I go thru airport check-in, and it's a weather barometer. Today? It's raining and my knee knows it.
Ryan Johnson
Well-Known Member
My worst related horse injury goes back many years. I had a brilliant little pony when I was about 10. One that had been there and done that, perfect first pony that Id saddle up in the mornings and off we would go , trail riding for the day , trip through McDonalds drive thru for lunch on horseback , then we would continue on.
My only rule from the parents was that I had to be back before dark.
Well this one day , we had an encounter with a group of dirt bike riders that thought it would be funny to hoon up right behind us.
My pony reared and I was hurled down a 15m embankment and into rocks. I thought I had broken my knee cap at the time but only ended up being really bruised. My parents were furious and wanted to find these kids on dirt bikes but couldn't see them.
A month later when my knee had healed and I wasn't limping so bad, we headed out again on the trail and I spotted the same group of dropkicks just over the hill. Lucky for me they had left there lovely polished bikes on the other side as they went to check how wet it was over the hill.
And god bless my pony and my friends pony that both needed to drop manure at the same time.
Bet you can guess what I did next......................... Yep that's right , I filled every crack and crevis on their bikes, cramming manure into the exhaust , and filled their helmets with the wettest manure/ water combination I could create.
Never did see them again
My only rule from the parents was that I had to be back before dark.
Well this one day , we had an encounter with a group of dirt bike riders that thought it would be funny to hoon up right behind us.
My pony reared and I was hurled down a 15m embankment and into rocks. I thought I had broken my knee cap at the time but only ended up being really bruised. My parents were furious and wanted to find these kids on dirt bikes but couldn't see them.
A month later when my knee had healed and I wasn't limping so bad, we headed out again on the trail and I spotted the same group of dropkicks just over the hill. Lucky for me they had left there lovely polished bikes on the other side as they went to check how wet it was over the hill.
And god bless my pony and my friends pony that both needed to drop manure at the same time.
Bet you can guess what I did next......................... Yep that's right , I filled every crack and crevis on their bikes, cramming manure into the exhaust , and filled their helmets with the wettest manure/ water combination I could create.
Never did see them again
chandab
Well-Known Member
That's the funniest thing I've ever read, Ryan. Obviously not the part about you getting hurt, but the ending of the story.
shandoaharabmini
Active Member
Just had my most serious horse related injury a couple of days ago. I was driving my experienced driving mini mare when she spooked at something. One minute she was calmly walking then she was off to the races. She kicked the cart a couple of times. I tried to turn her but she refused to turn. The shaft tug loop tore off the saddle causing the cart shaft to drop freaking her out more. Eventually I lost my balance and was thrown out of the cart. I landed on the left side of my back and slid. She kept on running but at some point she tried to run in between the garden fence and the horse trailer. The cart shaft got rammed into the fence and the wheel on the opposite side of the cart was caught on the trailer wheel which forced her to stop. Thankfully my horse was not hurt. I have bruised ribs and possibly some vertebra. Been having bad muscle spasms in my back and my neck hurts too. I am in a back brace and have had a laser light treatment with ultrasound on my muscles to help them heal faster. I will be getting another treatment tomorrow.
That's terrible! I was doing some research about bolting and came across a very interesting article about the actual mechanics of a bolt. Once the horse goes into the bolt, the hind end loses all flexion. That's why they bolt in a straight line. If the rider/driver does not react within a few seconds, it is nearly impossible to stop the bolt. I can't remember all the technical terms, but that is the gist. . No way could one be alert to that with a horse that has never done such a thing. The whole disaster only takes a few seconds. So sorry to hear of your injuries. (I notice we always say "thank goodness my horse wasn't hurt". Our cart, harness, our bodies may be in splinters, but thank goodness the horse wasn't hurt...)
bevann
Well-Known Member
Got my first pony at age 3 almost 73 years ago and rode everything.No lessons since my father didn't believe in that.Got thrown off and bucked off many times over the years-always got back on since that's what I was taught to do.When I was 46 I started taking English riding lessons so I could help my boyfriend's daughter with her Pony club stuff.Had 2 or 3 lessons(very difficult for someone who can't walk and chew gum at the same time)Heels down, knees in ,elbows in-not chicken winging,am I on the right diagonal(didn't even know what that was)after 3 or 4 lessons I got left foot in stirrup, went to swing right foot over horse's back and in mid air she decides to buck.I went flying and landed on my tail.Dusted my self off, got back on and finished the lesson.Got saved since the next week instructor had her baby.A few days later went to get out of bed and couldn't .Ended up in the emergency room and in the hospital in traction and therapy for almost 3 weeks.Bought a farm while in the hospital(had my file cabinet and office with me)Promised the surgeon if he would cut and fix me I would never get on a big horse again.That was 1986 and sold my big horses and started looking for Minis.I still have a few Minis and still have back related issues due to all the falls.Something good came out of something bad.I have met so many nice people through Minis and have friends all over the US.
Reignmaker Miniatures
Well-Known Member
I've been thrown, stepped on and dragged by horses. Had broken a collar bone and shoulder blade,cracked ribs and more rope burns than I care to think about but my worst horse related injury took place when I was not even riding. I was helping a friend lay her Anglo filly down to check/clean/doctor an injury when the horse somehow managed to stand up on one rear leg but then lost her balance. I knew she was going to fall on me so I threw myself to the side, unfortunately I managed to land with my left hand under my body and the back of the hand on the ground. My finger tips touched the inside of my wrist...I'm no where near that flexible so I knew it was not a good thing. My friend, a paramedic, looked at me laying on the ground and her filly laying on the ground and was torn about who to see to. She asked me if I was ok and I said not really but lets get this horse taken care of . Lol, priorities are important . After we dealt with the horse and turned her back out she stabilized my wrist and off we went to the ER. X-rays and a nerve block and 7 hours later I went home with a cast on my shattered wrist. After 8 weeks the doctor pulled the cast, re ex rayed and told me it had healed poorly and needed to be re-broken and reconstructed. Couldn't they have rebuilt it the first time? The second set called for opening my wrist up and breaking and putting back into place many fractures..a jigsaw puzzle I was told, and then pinning it all to hold it. Ten more weeks and the most painful healing I can remember and I got the cast off again. The doctor told me I would never have the range of motion nor strength I'd had but I worked that wrist with weights every day and surprised him by how it ended better than ever. Now it only bothers me if it gets really cold or the weather is going to change for the worse..better than the weatherman lol.
paintponylvr
Well-Known Member
Well, having been around horses all my life I too have been stepped on, kicked, bumped, drug by lead or loungeline ("water skiing" thru sand doesn't work well when you hit a Yucca plant or Cacti) and thrown (and landed on when they flipped either sideways or backwards). I've had at least 3 ankle sprains w/ boot hangups in stirrups (2 english w/ proper boots!) and one western when I parted company and my boot came out of the stirrup but not before that ever "faithful" twang on the ankle... (I've also had a couple of ankle sprains outside the horse world and they have added up) - don't heal well and sometimes wish that a broken bone could have been set instead...
But the worst was by teeth! An old range broodmare was unhappy with me handling her foal. I knew it and had her tied up, but was working alone. I had been warned to be careful (& I thought I was) - I was somewhere between 19 & 21. Her foal was a bit restive but doing great - had been leading her around and she had stood quietly while I lifted/held both front hooves. Then she got upset when I went to handle her hind leg - I brushed a hand somewhere between her flank and rump (? I think?) and she SQUALLED like she'd was being skinned alive. The next moments - are hard to place (they were then too - really haven't forgotten it) - heard/saw mare get loose (surprised the barn and fence weren't destroyed) and swung her 3 month old filly between us - and it didn't matter. I had "hurt" her baby and she'd had enough. She "bowled" both of us over - and her teeth and hooves continued after me! I remember I couldn't get out of the pen at first - think I'd come up square against a post instead of an open area between them. She literally reached down, picked me up by my "chest" and shook me like the rag doll I'd become. I don't know how many times she managed to slam me against the fence or the barn side wall. It all hurt and I was trying to get away. She pawed a couple of times too. Then my jacket ripped (and so did flesh - layers underneath) and I hit the ground again at which time I was able to roll under the fence clearly... I laid there for quite some time (according to my watch) - until it started getting quite dark on a VERY COLD winters' eve. Thankfully, I'd already finished the chores - both at our home place and at this place I was working at for the winter AND I'd driven instead of ridden horseback over there that afternoon. It was still probably the longest 7 miles I'd ever done... At that time, I didn't carry Tylenol or Ibuprofen (what were those - we still did orange flavored, children's aspirin then, LOL) and when I got home I managed to get those layers off before my mom got home from one of her late meetings.
Those layers - while not at that time consisting of cover/over alls - were many times blessed!! The actual tear in the skin - not my chest - but the fleshy part to the right side kinda near my armpit/shoulder - wasn't too bad. Hurt because her teeth had torn it. No such thing as Rapid or Urgent Care then, I did NOT drive the 50 miles into Denver to go to the ER that night. DO remember cleaning it up - the bruising across my chest and various other parts of my body was GLORIOUS the next morning when I did go in to be seen and I was thankful that ONE of the guys at the office (not a doc, don't remember what he was) was a horseman and an acquaintance because everyone was truly upset about the "car wreck" I had to have been in - and only the one "little" laceration! Tetanus shot and some stitches and out the door I went. It was the bruising and soreness that was terrible (and the bruising to my youthful ego as well as guilt as I knew I should have waited for a helper and it wasn't absolutely necessary to handle that mare and foal when I was alone). O - and that mare was a wonderfully bred, SHORT (under 14 HH), old timey type Morgan - actually "cowy" bred... The filly went on to do just fine - the mare never relaxed her "care" of that foal - her last as she was in her mid-20s - until she was weaned 2-3 months later.
Then recently, during our move, when our daughter's medium sized pony gelding decided he didn't want anything to do with loading, then jumped into the trailer wildly. I slammed my left hand into the trailer - thought that I'd just "jammed" the ring finger. I even got it to pull out later and "reset". But months later it still hurt and was bothering me. I can no longer wear my wedding band. Turns out I didn't jam it - I broke it and it has not healed well at all. In fact when I "pulled it out", I probably did a lot of extra damage. Sigh. This high humidity stuff or sudden weather changes when the barometer pressure either dips or climbs really fast - I KNOW ABOUT IT. It's amazing how much strength in your hand you can lose when you damage a joint. I'm still trying to get it to work properly - I have problems with dogs pulling on that hand (leashes) and with lounging/ground driving the ponies. It's one of the reasons' I've been somewhat content not to be working ponies regularly yet - I building up to it so to speak...
Some have mentioned hip and/or knee surgeries and I've already started wondering what a hip surgery would help with improving. HMMMM....
I imagine that things will get quite interesting in the next 20 - 40 years! But I still love the little "hosses" and we'll just keep on - keeping on!
But the worst was by teeth! An old range broodmare was unhappy with me handling her foal. I knew it and had her tied up, but was working alone. I had been warned to be careful (& I thought I was) - I was somewhere between 19 & 21. Her foal was a bit restive but doing great - had been leading her around and she had stood quietly while I lifted/held both front hooves. Then she got upset when I went to handle her hind leg - I brushed a hand somewhere between her flank and rump (? I think?) and she SQUALLED like she'd was being skinned alive. The next moments - are hard to place (they were then too - really haven't forgotten it) - heard/saw mare get loose (surprised the barn and fence weren't destroyed) and swung her 3 month old filly between us - and it didn't matter. I had "hurt" her baby and she'd had enough. She "bowled" both of us over - and her teeth and hooves continued after me! I remember I couldn't get out of the pen at first - think I'd come up square against a post instead of an open area between them. She literally reached down, picked me up by my "chest" and shook me like the rag doll I'd become. I don't know how many times she managed to slam me against the fence or the barn side wall. It all hurt and I was trying to get away. She pawed a couple of times too. Then my jacket ripped (and so did flesh - layers underneath) and I hit the ground again at which time I was able to roll under the fence clearly... I laid there for quite some time (according to my watch) - until it started getting quite dark on a VERY COLD winters' eve. Thankfully, I'd already finished the chores - both at our home place and at this place I was working at for the winter AND I'd driven instead of ridden horseback over there that afternoon. It was still probably the longest 7 miles I'd ever done... At that time, I didn't carry Tylenol or Ibuprofen (what were those - we still did orange flavored, children's aspirin then, LOL) and when I got home I managed to get those layers off before my mom got home from one of her late meetings.
Those layers - while not at that time consisting of cover/over alls - were many times blessed!! The actual tear in the skin - not my chest - but the fleshy part to the right side kinda near my armpit/shoulder - wasn't too bad. Hurt because her teeth had torn it. No such thing as Rapid or Urgent Care then, I did NOT drive the 50 miles into Denver to go to the ER that night. DO remember cleaning it up - the bruising across my chest and various other parts of my body was GLORIOUS the next morning when I did go in to be seen and I was thankful that ONE of the guys at the office (not a doc, don't remember what he was) was a horseman and an acquaintance because everyone was truly upset about the "car wreck" I had to have been in - and only the one "little" laceration! Tetanus shot and some stitches and out the door I went. It was the bruising and soreness that was terrible (and the bruising to my youthful ego as well as guilt as I knew I should have waited for a helper and it wasn't absolutely necessary to handle that mare and foal when I was alone). O - and that mare was a wonderfully bred, SHORT (under 14 HH), old timey type Morgan - actually "cowy" bred... The filly went on to do just fine - the mare never relaxed her "care" of that foal - her last as she was in her mid-20s - until she was weaned 2-3 months later.
Then recently, during our move, when our daughter's medium sized pony gelding decided he didn't want anything to do with loading, then jumped into the trailer wildly. I slammed my left hand into the trailer - thought that I'd just "jammed" the ring finger. I even got it to pull out later and "reset". But months later it still hurt and was bothering me. I can no longer wear my wedding band. Turns out I didn't jam it - I broke it and it has not healed well at all. In fact when I "pulled it out", I probably did a lot of extra damage. Sigh. This high humidity stuff or sudden weather changes when the barometer pressure either dips or climbs really fast - I KNOW ABOUT IT. It's amazing how much strength in your hand you can lose when you damage a joint. I'm still trying to get it to work properly - I have problems with dogs pulling on that hand (leashes) and with lounging/ground driving the ponies. It's one of the reasons' I've been somewhat content not to be working ponies regularly yet - I building up to it so to speak...
Some have mentioned hip and/or knee surgeries and I've already started wondering what a hip surgery would help with improving. HMMMM....
I imagine that things will get quite interesting in the next 20 - 40 years! But I still love the little "hosses" and we'll just keep on - keeping on!
amysue
Well-Known Member
I have had my fair share of broken toes from being stepped on, smashed fingers in stall doors and they always get pinched in round pen panels. I have had my nose broken 7 times, all from horses either rearing up and smacking my face with their crest, or with smacking me in the nose with their jaw. Once got a black eye when a mare picked up her foot while I was brushing her leg and she smacked me in the eye with her knee.
I tore my right knee riding in an indoor with a viewing window, the gelding that I was finishing stepped too close to the wall and my knee hit both sides of the window casing at a full gallop and tore. Thst same year, I got my left arm pulled out of the socket while ground driving my instructor's arab mare. My arm got caught in the line and I tripped (I am a stereotypical white girl because I always fall when running) mare was moving forward beautifully, I tripped over my own two feet and fell, she lunged forward just enough to pop my arm out. About two years later I was being lazy and walking two ponies in from the pasture at once, one of my barn kitties was bird hunting on the roof of the metal dairy barn that we were walking by and he slipped and fell, crashing and tumbling down the steel roofing, Beauty took off one way and lady ran the other. I couldn't let go fast enough. My left arm just fell right out again, as if nothing was holding it there.
The most crippling was one year at regionals when my gelding flipped out in the box stall and kicked me with both back hooves right in my lower back, I was peeing blood for days but was afraid to tell my trainer because I wanted to ride (young and stupid) turns out I had broken my back in two places! It bothers me every day.
The scariest was a situation similar to Paula's. I was working alone (as I often do out of necessity) I had 8 ten foot steel corral panels set up in a half moon around the corner of the big pasture fence to make a pen to corral my ottb mare while my ponies ate their grain. I would tie the ponies to the pen so they could all eat their grain while the tb and her filly ate their feed in the pen. I had a halter on the mare but did not clip the throat latch (it may have even been broken) I was brushing and picking the hooves on the filly when momma got her halter caught on one of the pins of the panels that hold the corral together when trying to steal some of the pony's grain. She pulled back, spooked, then proceeded to pull all 8 panels down on top of us with my 4 ponies still tied to them! She smashed my face all up, broke my occipital bone, my jaw and my wrist had a hairline fracture when the steel panels were dragged across my face and chest, she then stepped on my ankle. All 4 ponies were bruised and banged up, smokey needed stitches on his lip, Snowy broke a rib and Spankie lost a front tooth! Whiskey escaped unscathed because her halter broke (thank goodness). I was all alone so I had to calm the tb down and unhook her halter from the pen, cut my ponies loose and patch them up, and limp to the house to call the vet. She came right out and immediately called my neighbor to take me to the ER. I hadn't looked in a mirror yet, it freaked her out because apparently my eye was bulging out a bit and I was really bloody. I was sore for weeks and my eye was swollen for a long time. My jaw still pops a lot and everything aches in the cold. My nose is a bit crooked and I have some small scars on my face, other than that I healed up okay.
I tore my right knee riding in an indoor with a viewing window, the gelding that I was finishing stepped too close to the wall and my knee hit both sides of the window casing at a full gallop and tore. Thst same year, I got my left arm pulled out of the socket while ground driving my instructor's arab mare. My arm got caught in the line and I tripped (I am a stereotypical white girl because I always fall when running) mare was moving forward beautifully, I tripped over my own two feet and fell, she lunged forward just enough to pop my arm out. About two years later I was being lazy and walking two ponies in from the pasture at once, one of my barn kitties was bird hunting on the roof of the metal dairy barn that we were walking by and he slipped and fell, crashing and tumbling down the steel roofing, Beauty took off one way and lady ran the other. I couldn't let go fast enough. My left arm just fell right out again, as if nothing was holding it there.
The most crippling was one year at regionals when my gelding flipped out in the box stall and kicked me with both back hooves right in my lower back, I was peeing blood for days but was afraid to tell my trainer because I wanted to ride (young and stupid) turns out I had broken my back in two places! It bothers me every day.
The scariest was a situation similar to Paula's. I was working alone (as I often do out of necessity) I had 8 ten foot steel corral panels set up in a half moon around the corner of the big pasture fence to make a pen to corral my ottb mare while my ponies ate their grain. I would tie the ponies to the pen so they could all eat their grain while the tb and her filly ate their feed in the pen. I had a halter on the mare but did not clip the throat latch (it may have even been broken) I was brushing and picking the hooves on the filly when momma got her halter caught on one of the pins of the panels that hold the corral together when trying to steal some of the pony's grain. She pulled back, spooked, then proceeded to pull all 8 panels down on top of us with my 4 ponies still tied to them! She smashed my face all up, broke my occipital bone, my jaw and my wrist had a hairline fracture when the steel panels were dragged across my face and chest, she then stepped on my ankle. All 4 ponies were bruised and banged up, smokey needed stitches on his lip, Snowy broke a rib and Spankie lost a front tooth! Whiskey escaped unscathed because her halter broke (thank goodness). I was all alone so I had to calm the tb down and unhook her halter from the pen, cut my ponies loose and patch them up, and limp to the house to call the vet. She came right out and immediately called my neighbor to take me to the ER. I hadn't looked in a mirror yet, it freaked her out because apparently my eye was bulging out a bit and I was really bloody. I was sore for weeks and my eye was swollen for a long time. My jaw still pops a lot and everything aches in the cold. My nose is a bit crooked and I have some small scars on my face, other than that I healed up okay.
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lucky seven
Well-Known Member
I've read each story and it's a wonder that none of you were killed. Makes me think around my boys more. I have a habit of forgetting that they are strong critters.
paintponylvr
Well-Known Member
and very much alive and having brains that function so differently from ours!
Well, AmySue that's WILD!! I've managed to never had anything broken (but pretty sure I've got quite a number of hairline fractures - but then, so do dancers!). I have been in 2 vehicular accidents that actually have had more problems from than with the horses.
I know what I've done wrong and what I've done right (and still had accidents to myself or my critters) and I cringe all the time when I'm around newcomers to horses who've never been around any livestock and have no clue about their "babies"...
Shoot - all the time I spent with my own 3 children and they were in 4H and showed both english and western under various good trainers. NONE of the three of them have ever mastered a proper slipknot for tying a horse up!! Drives me INSANE.
Well, AmySue that's WILD!! I've managed to never had anything broken (but pretty sure I've got quite a number of hairline fractures - but then, so do dancers!). I have been in 2 vehicular accidents that actually have had more problems from than with the horses.
I know what I've done wrong and what I've done right (and still had accidents to myself or my critters) and I cringe all the time when I'm around newcomers to horses who've never been around any livestock and have no clue about their "babies"...
Shoot - all the time I spent with my own 3 children and they were in 4H and showed both english and western under various good trainers. NONE of the three of them have ever mastered a proper slipknot for tying a horse up!! Drives me INSANE.
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amysue
Well-Known Member
Paula, it amazes me how many people "train" horses and "instruct" riders without any formal training or schooling of their own. I have a lot of working students, some from well-respected and highly decorated trainers and a few from the ag university. It is frightening to see some of the careless behaviors and lack of safety precautions in these students. New horse owners scare me too, not that I do not welcome newcomers....I just worry when listening or watching them sometimes I wonder how they have not been injured yet. We all have to start somewhere, I pretty much always learn the hard way, but I try to use my experience to teach students to prevent injuries.
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