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Alone on farm, horse cast in stall, what is your protocol?

I don’t know what sort of pants all y’all wear that don’t have a place for your phone, but I’ll put in a plug for these:

They’ve got a great cargo pocket on the thigh for a phone. They’re comfy & wear well, too. Be careful out there!

Hold up… it’s possible for a horse to cast themselves at a convenient time when there are lots of helping hands around? That’s news to me. :joy:

Adding: I always go for the tail. I find that faster, safer, and more effective. The neck/mane is my second choice, but I usually can’t make too much headway with the neck alone without a rope.

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Years ago my horse got himself cast on the back wall of the little barn. The BO was the only one there. She was able to pull him over pulling on the legs that were against the wall.

He got himself cast in a round bale feeder on a nice sunny spring morning - a Sunday. The phone rang. The BO’s daughter, roughly 8 at the time, said mom told her to call and tell me my horse was okay. HUH?? Same thing on the second try. What are you talking about? 3rd time, another try. I replied: “It’s April Fool’s Day, what is supposed to be funny?”

By the time I got there he was okay, sore but no injuries. It was one of the “tombstone” feeders, usually dark red with the vertical loop and a brace down the center. They found him with a hind leg caught in one of the loops. Fortunately he didn’t move. If he had he would have destroyed his pastern and fetlock. BO sat to keep his neck down while the DH busted the thing apart with a sledge hammer. I didn’t hear all of the details until about 5 years ago and I’m glad I didn’t. A newer boarder asked about round bale feeders. BO got rid of them shortly after this happened. Better to waste hay than lose a horse.

Another option is the “jaws of life” which many fire departments have to extract people from cars after an accident.

Bluey’s post is what our vet taught us to do at a horse healthcare clinic. You pick the one guy in the audience and have him lie down on his back against the wall. Then ask him to put his arms and legs up in the air and lean into the wall. There is an actual knot with a name that does what Bluey described. You want something that will pull them over but falls off the legs so they can’t get tangled up. The vet also said you should have a couple of long pieces of genuine cotton rope that will stay soft. Hang them in the barn where they can be seen. Off limits for any other use.

I have seen a few horses cast in their stalls. All ended well, but getting them up required different tactics. One was helped with the loop around the underside leg - he was cast against a back wall. Another was against the back wall but so close and curled up that we really couldn’t get to the underside legs. So one person grabbed his tail and I grabbed his mane and we pulled him back from the wall. We thought that would get us room enough for the rope, but it ended up being enough for him to get up.

The most difficult was the one cast on the side wall with her butt to the open door. Didnt want to flip her while in the stall - not enough room to get out of the way. Tried a rope around a hind foot and pulling from the doorway but couldnt get a good enough angle. (And she was kicking!) Eventually a couple of guys used a rope around her neck and her mane and pulled her front end quickly and strongly diagonally so they had an escape route!

Sometimes you don’t have to actually pull them OVER, if you can just shift them a bit, they can get up. Choose the best spot to put the soft cotton ropes that you keep in the barn for this very reason. You may choose front legs, or hind legs, or around the neck/chest. You choose the best spot, and pull. You can pull while they put in a struggle, sometimes just the pressure you can apply will shift them enough. One person CAN usually do this OK, if necessary. Don’t panic, panic doesn’t help. In horse or human.

Keep in mind that often getting cast, and having colic, CAN go together. A horse who usually looks after themselves about not getting cast, “forgets” to look after himself if he is in pain. So always check that colic is not an issue when you are successful in getting them up, and that it is not the cause of getting cast.

The worst case I’ve ever had was a gelding who would dig a hole next to the fence. A big hole. Filling in the hole was not an option, he wanted the hole, and would redig it daily if we attempted to fill it in. He wanted to play in the water. We found him cast, in the hole (it was full of water) with his legs under the fence. So he had to be pulled UPHILL in order to get him out from under the fence, and get his legs out, then turned over and pulled by his legs to get him out of the hole. THAT was a case that took three of us. The horse was cooperative, not in panic, and not sick. We were considering employing a tractor, but couldn’t get it into the paddock. We don’t live at that farm any more!!! Horses and fences are always an issue, we avoid them as much as possible now. Horses now live together, in large pastures. Less getting cast… but not no cases of getting cast at all, it still happens occasionally. I have one who is especially guilty of doing this.

Depends on which horse. If its my mare, my brother’s bay, or the old paint, either pivot their front end or pull them over (Depends where and how they’re stuck)

Now if its either of my dad’s knuckleheads (i love them lol, but they’re crazy), Looney Bin, or the old TB, Im calling help/the vet, because they’ll likely need some tranq or a second person to hold their head

EDIT: just remebered a stroy about the old paint. He got himself cast in the fence, probably was there for a good 15 mins before feeding time. Didnt make a sound. Mom found him and he just looked at her like “Little help?” Good old boy didnt panic, didnt even scrape his legs <3

I put the halter on, if possible, then pull from the poll, then pull tail, then poll, tail, etc., until you’ve shifted them enough they can get up themselves.

Timely subject. Went to the barn this morning to do flymasks and spray and found our POA tangled in the panel fence of her run. She had all 4 legs through to the next run with the horse on the other side of her. So I had to get her to bend her legs to flip her. Good thing she’s a calm little horse and I’ve taught her to give her foot at a pat and the word foot!

Assess situation and mindset of horse.

Sometimes you can pull them by the tail a bit and that’s enough to shift them sufficiently away from the wall.

Otherwise, I have an extra-long lunge line made from climbing webbing that I will try to loop over a leg on the side that’s further away from me. The lunge line is long enough to loop over the leg and hold both ends, while being able to stay somewhat out of the danger zone. Pull.

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Oh! I had a loose horse this weekend. I kept thinking “I wish I had my phone with me!” to call SO who was in the house. He heard my yells and came to assist. Once the beast was captured, SO turns to me and says “You could have called on your cell.” as he points to my phone, on a workout armband (but attached around my riding boot, upper calf). Frig.

PSA: if you keep your lunge lines out by the arena, check them for dry rot from the sun!

Lots of great tips here. I second the suggestion to put on a helmet before going in. After 3 major concussions, I put on a helmet to do just about anything.

I have told my friend that storing her cotton lunge line on the fence, in MN, is going to result in rotted lunge line. She ignores me.

The horse I put down in May cast herself several times this Spring. Her hind left no longer was very functional - her hamstring had atrophied and she had advanced arthritis.

She was very good about always laying down and resting on her right side so she could get her back legs under her and get up, but every once in a while she’d roll a little too far and end up stuck on her left side. She was effectively cast, even in the middle of a wide open field - she simply couldn’t get up.

Because she was also crippled and ancient, she wouldn’t ever kick or thrash when you went to help her roll back to her right side - but that meant she also wouldn’t really help you at all if you managed to get her halfway over or start her hips rocking. You had to pull her all. the. way. back over to the right.

Cotton ropes around the front and hinds fetlocks closest to the ground. Pull.

I don’t know that I would call the firemen unless I was completely out of options - I think my horses stay calm because they know me, but I’d be concerned that big strangers in bulky clothes may scare a horse who is already in a compromised position. I could be wrong, but I feel like it could be a disaster. Guess it would come down to what the bigger disaster is - is there horse losing energy and has been down for a while? Worth it. Is the horse recently down and we could try a couple alternatives first? Probably going to be my call.

As a bit of an aside, PLEASE never go anywhere alone with horses without your phone. I broke my foot off my leg by slipping in the snow and dropping a round bale feeder on my lower leg while out in the pasture about 200’ from the house. In January. Without my phone.

It was clearly a case of needing to get to the house or freeze to death in my pasture. Fortunately, the impact of the feeder smashed the nerves and I had no pain, so I was able to drag myself to the house where there was a frozen doormat that functioned as a ramp to pull myself up the stairs and inside to warmth and 911. Keep your phone with you when alone.

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Oh Tarlo_Farm, that was my worst nightmare when my SO was out of town one January when we had ice just everywhere. That must have been a horrifying experience for you! I’m glad you had horse-person strength and will to get to a phone.

I’m pretty good most of the time, except in the evening once I’ve changed into my comfy pajama pants with no pockets. But this thread is making me mindful to be much more attentive to making sure my phone is with me.

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That is terrifying. I’m so glad you were able to make it.

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Agreed…absolutely terrifying. I’m glad you are still here.

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For those who don’t have pockets I am sharing a belt clip phone holder I use.
My breeches pockets are too small for the phone. I am often prepping one my horses at a a show early AM w no one from my barn around or riding in a field etc. I take my phone in the case I need help. It can be annoying but I got used to it clipped to my belt.
I usually take it off to jump as I don’t jump alone.
Stays on well for barn chores.

Encased iPhone 11 Belt Clip Holster Case (2019 Rebel Armor) Heavy Duty Protective Full Body Rugged Cover with Holder (Turquoise Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X5CR4M7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QDY89FM76CVQFGF3SJCV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I have for years now used one similar to this, neoprene, so soft, clipped to a belt loop:

https://www.amazon.com/ykooe-Holster-Samsung-Motorola-Smartphone/dp/B07TYM41T7/ref=pd_pb_ss_no_hpb_2/143-3819226-6246122?pd_rd_w=LNq0s&pf_rd_p=45f92aae-3fbe-4e26-9929-951264041217&pf_rd_r=YB2NX6BRXXQRT6N17WC8&pd_rd_r=5b2603d1-3ae1-4149-979d-8f07d6b1204a&pd_rd_wg=30XWz&pd_rd_i=B07TYM41T7&psc=1

Works great for me, is always there handy, all the time.
Mine is medium blue with little black horses on it.