Another close call!
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From: MA
Another close call!
Wow, two times in one year......with two different horses. If you have ever had to upright a horse, you will understand my situation. My mother owns two horses, a thoroughbred and a CLYDESDALE (everything about them is so big, even the lettering of their name has to follow suit). He is by no means a spring chicken. I think hes about 23 now (very old for a clyde). Well she went into the barn to feed them tonight, and she found him on his side! Did I mention hes around 2200 lbs? I wont bore you with the details, but two hours, and my mother, father, and myself providing the grunt, we were able to prop him with hay bales. We forced him to eat sugar for that snap of energy, and it worked! He finally rose, and we got him out to the pasture ASAP (it would be very difficult to extract a horse of this size out of his stall). Thank god! Its 1am here, and I have to be to work for six....oh joy.
Rich
Rich
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Great job, Wheel! Seems like there are a few city types here and that reminds me of an old story. Seems there was a farmer in a field trying to help a cow birth a calf. He was pulling for all his might but couldn't get the calf out. A city slicker driving by saw the farmer and helped him pull out the calf. When the farmer thanked him for the help, the slicker asked, "Could you tell me about how fast that calf was going when it hit that cow?"
Dono
Dono
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From: Cleveland, WI USA
wheelMA1
Good job! I know what a pain it is. I have a Percheron and she likes to roll in the stall once in a while. I've never had to lift her to her feet (thank God) but I have had to roll her away from the wall when she gets stuck. It's not as hard as lifting one, but it aint easy. Especially when they're kickin' and squirmin'.
Is he OK now? Does he have health problems or just old and arthritic?
AegisSailor,
Yes they can get up off their sides, usually. Ever see one scratching it's back? They lay on the ground, roll onto their back and wiggle around kinda like a cat playing. It's actually funny as heck to watch. It's even funnier when they stand back up and shake off. Mine makes a sound that's exactly like a person shivering and saying "BUURRRRR".
Good job! I know what a pain it is. I have a Percheron and she likes to roll in the stall once in a while. I've never had to lift her to her feet (thank God) but I have had to roll her away from the wall when she gets stuck. It's not as hard as lifting one, but it aint easy. Especially when they're kickin' and squirmin'.
Is he OK now? Does he have health problems or just old and arthritic?
AegisSailor,
Yes they can get up off their sides, usually. Ever see one scratching it's back? They lay on the ground, roll onto their back and wiggle around kinda like a cat playing. It's actually funny as heck to watch. It's even funnier when they stand back up and shake off. Mine makes a sound that's exactly like a person shivering and saying "BUURRRRR".
Last edited by KJKozak2; Nov 7, 2003 at 10:40 AM.
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Yes, he is very arthritic, and has a bad leg (his previous owner used him to pull sleds). We were very scared. I do now know how long he had been down, but his breathing was very laboured, and he had gas building up. My mother is an animal tech, so shes knows what to check. If we had called our vet, I am positive they would have put him down. Talk about a lucky horse. There was no way we could let him pass on in that stall. I checked him before I left for work, and he seemed in great spirits. I have pictures of him many years ago with our two goats sleeping on his side (he was zonked out in a field). How big is youre Perch? Our clyde is 17 and a half hands. I remember going to a percheron farm many years ago. There were 30-45 in a field, and they all came storming towards the gate from a couple hundred feet away.....talk about the earth trembling.
Rich
Rich
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From: Cleveland, WI USA
My Percheron is pretty small at only 16 hands and about 1800 lbs. She's getting pretty bad arthritis, too. Her PO used her to pull downed trees out of the woods. They took great care of her, but that kind of work always takes it's toll later in life.
We actually have her on some all-natural supplements that make a huge difference. She gets Glucosamine twice a day to help replenish the fluid in her joints. But the biggest help is the Super Substitute. It's an all-natural pain reliever and anti-inflamitory that makes her feel a lot better. The stuff isn't cheap though. I think the two together cost about $2 a day or $60 a month. Well worth it in my opinion, though.
I still ride her a few times a week and lunge her for excercise. We took all the horses on day long trail ride and she did great. She's slow, but she goes.
Hope everything goes well for yours. I had to put down our 28 y.o. American Saddlebred because she could hardly walk. It's not an easy or fun thing to do.
Kevin K.
We actually have her on some all-natural supplements that make a huge difference. She gets Glucosamine twice a day to help replenish the fluid in her joints. But the biggest help is the Super Substitute. It's an all-natural pain reliever and anti-inflamitory that makes her feel a lot better. The stuff isn't cheap though. I think the two together cost about $2 a day or $60 a month. Well worth it in my opinion, though.
I still ride her a few times a week and lunge her for excercise. We took all the horses on day long trail ride and she did great. She's slow, but she goes.
Hope everything goes well for yours. I had to put down our 28 y.o. American Saddlebred because she could hardly walk. It's not an easy or fun thing to do.
Kevin K.
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