Horse Rescue of a different kind ( long )

[kimk]

Last evening as I was winding down, I heard an enormous crash outside. I went out to see what was up, and could see a huge cloud of dust out at the road. As I got out to my fence I could see a trailer upside down in the ditch. all I could see was the bottom of it and it was very small so I assumed it was a utility trailer of sorts. Until it started kicking. The neighbor girl was standing there in shock as she saw it all happen. The trailer was an old, rickety one horse single axle trailer; you know the kind with a fibergalss roof? It had been towed by a Jeep Wrangler, and the hispanic guy driving was going WAY TOO FAST on my road. When he hit the curve, the trailer detatched from the Jeep and flipped into the ditch. The guy wasn't even out of his Jeep yet when I got out there. He was obviously intoxoicated. We called 911 and opened up the trailer. The horse inside had flipped over with it, so he was right side up inside the upside down trailer. however, the feed manger was over his head keeping him from being able to get up. The spare tire was also on top of him. I went over him quickly and could see no visible life threatening injuries, although he was pretty cut up. He was wearing a saddle ( charro type ) and a horrid bosal wrapped in baling wire over the nose piece. Fortunately he hadn't been tied or he likely would have snapped his neck when he flipped.
The poor horse was terrified, and the owner ( who spoke very little english ) kept yelling at him and hitting him trying to get him up. We kept trying to tell the guy that the horse couldn't get up, and we got the tire out of there and cut the latigo to remove the saddle. At some point someone also removed that bosal as I found it later in the middle of the road.
The fire dept. arrived and it was decided to call a vet to sedate the horse, so I called my vet. She happens to also work closely with WSART ( Washington State Animal Rescue Team ). It took her about a half hour to reach us. In the meantime I ran over to my other neighbors to get someone to translate for the driver as he was becoming quite aggitated and appeared to think the fire dept was going to kill his horse. Finally got someone there who could speak spanish and communicate with the guy and convinced him to leave the horse alone and let it rest until the vet could get there. I stayed by the horses head for awhile and spoke quietly to him to keep him calm. By this time the horse had thrashed around enough to get himself on his back, and we managed to get him back to the upright position, this time with his head above the feed manger so he was no longer trapped by it. When the vet arrived and got the horse sedated, I went and got my 25' soft rope lungeline, we padded a halter and got on the horse. Then the towtruck came and he straightened the trailer out more so the roof was more level. We got the mat out and put on the ground directly behind the trailer. Then the towtruck ever so slightly lifted the front up to tilt the trailer slightly. The horse scrambled up to his feet and stood there. We then threaded the lungeline thru the trailer so it was coming out the back and after we let him get his bearings for a few minutes, asked the horse to back out. He backed out and was free of the trailer! The first thing he did was try to eat the tall grass growing there in the ditch. This is a very deep ditch and the entire trailer was engulfed by it. We let the horse rest for awhile and then led him up out of the ditch, where the vet gave him a good exam. He was pretty beat up but surprisingly, nothing serious. As it turns out, he was a beautiful palomino 3 year old Azteca stallion. I feel so bad for him, because I know the kind of owner he has, and the abuse he will endure for the rest of his life with this guy. The owner was sited for DUI among other things and will possibly be sited for animal negligence, although the animal control officer didn't sound too promising. Friends of the owner showed up with a newer Ford F350 and a nice newer 3 horse trailer and they loaded up that poor horse and took him home.
I'm glad he wasn't more severely injured, and that we got him out safely, but am sad that he still had to go home with that guy.
In looking at the trailer and the jeep after they got the trailer out of the ditch, I noticed that the trailer hadn't even come undone at the hitch. It was still locked closed. The ball on the jeep was TOO SMALL for the trailer, so it just came off when he sped around my corner. Can you say IDIOT?
Enough excitement for me for one evening!

[fantasykiger]

OH MY WORD...talk about a load of excitement...jeez'. That is a hec' of an event and I am with you ..not necessarily a happy ending. :/ I can say I am thankful you were there to call 911 and get the horse the needed help and hopefully the DUI will at least keep that guy from hauling that horse anywhere or anytime soon.

[desperatehorsewife]

That poor horse. Glad you were there to help, Kim.

[dunbnwild]

Wow--that is crazy, and sadly I imagine it happens more than we'd like to admit.

I'm appalled by the condition of trailers and bad practices I see all the time--like heads out windows going down the highway.

My friend's husband is a horse trainer, and she said one of his clients horse went through the floorboards on the way to drop them off at their place. The horse had to be put down, of course. Just the thought of such a thing makes me sick to my stomach.

I'm glad things worked out better for this horse, but, yeah, for how long?

[kigerfan]

Oh my Lord, through the floorboards??? THose boards had to have been in total disrepair. How can one put their child in a situation like that?? Don't spend the money on training and keep a trailer that is deadly. Rediculous.

[DianneC]

Well Kim, that horse's angels were on the job to have the wreck where you could help. Now if they will just find him another home.