Pasture Accident That Could Have Been Prevented

[WildGooseChase]

Just coming to vent and to make sure I do not get irrational about this…

A 16 year old gal who boards her horse at the same barn as me, has been putting my horse out into turnout next to her horse who needed time off. It’s a very show oriented barn, so pasture time is limited. She asks each day that she would like to turn out, and I either give her the clear, or give her the no go. It’s been going great for a couple days. The only thing I asked her is that my mare gets turned out in a specific pasture that has higher, more visible fencing, as my mare doesn’t have the most incredible eyesight.

Well today, for some reason, instead of putting Goose in the pasture that’s been working for several days in a row now, she put her in a different one that I specifically said I didn’t want her in. The fence in the back is a bit low, and I want to make sure she can see her boundaries. She usually has no issue as long as the fencing is somewhat visible… Well Goose ended up attempting to clear that back fence, for what reason we do not know. Since she is a fatty patty, she didn’t make it over.

She got caught up and has several injuries. Two lacerations are very clearly going to take weeks to heal, others not so long, but she will need a lot of tending, cleaning, etc in the coming weeks. I touched based with my vet immediately upon arrival to the farm and getting pictures to send. Unfortunately, nothing can really be sutured due to proximity to joints. She even managed to cut up the knee that she fractured as a long yearling. Needless to say, I am FREAKED OUT about long term issues. I have issues with anxiety and depression, and this is just the icing on the cake right now. The young gal didn’t even tell me that she got out, until AFTER she left the farm, and she kind of downplayed the extent of Goose’s injuries.

I realize she is young, and was probably freaking out that I’d be mad at her, but I’m really not all that mad. At the end of the day, it’s poor Goose that suffers, which makes me more disappointed than anything else… I wish she would have put her where we know she is good. I wish she would have called me immediately upon finding her loose and beat up. I wish she wouldn’t have downplayed Goose’s injuries.

I don’t think I’ll be having her handle Goose anymore, but not because I think she will do it again. I really don’t. She has messaged me several time asking about her, and apologizing. Goose may not be able to be turned out, worked, or even trimmed by the farrier for another 4 weeks. We had plans to go to a show the end of this month too. So now that’s out, I can’t ride or even turn out my horse. She is in pain, and her wounds must be cleaned, cold hosed, dressed etc daily…

UGH

Here’s to trying to make sure as many of these cuts and scraps don’t scar!

Photos-001 (2).zip (12.9 MB)

UPDATE 10/05/2022: She is sore and slow moving today. All 3 legs that were affected are hot and swollen today. The lacerations and scraps themselves do look a lot cleaner today though, so I can really tell how deep things are. The one on the anterior of the right hock, and the anterior of the right knee has us a bit more worried than the others. She actually tried to bite me this morning as I cleaned out the one on her knee, which is VERY unlike her. We are following DVM instructions to a T, so hopefully these heal quickly! Thank you everyone for the encouragement!

[Warmblood1]

These all appear to be superficial scratches. I don’t even see anything that needs to be sutured barring any deeper cuts that I can’t see in images. I don’t think this will affect long term soundness as long as basic wound care is given. If sound currently, I would still turn out and proceed as usual. I also don’t see a need to not have the horse shod or trimmed in 4 weeks. These will heal significantly by 2 weeks time.

That said, I don’t think the girl did anything malicious. She obviously feels very bad. She did not know your mare would attempt to jump the fence, I’m sure. Maybe she didn’t call immediately because she was tending to the farm. She was also probably afraid of your reaction. I think it would be beneficial to make crystal clear turn out requirements for your mare. If she has limited eyesight, maybe make a sign for her stall that designates a specific paddock for turn out.

[Libby2563]

I didn’t download the pics but I completely understand why you’re upset. It sounds like you know your horse well, you set parameters with that knowledge, when the parameters weren’t followed it ended exactly as you feared, AND you weren’t immediately notified. I’m assuming you were super clear and direct about it—not “Oh, I’d prefer she not go out in that field.”

Unfortunately some people (of all ages) are focused/responsible enough to be trusted with our horses, some aren’t, and sometimes you don’t know which one you’re dealing with until it’s too late. At one farm near me a working student turned the stallion out in the wrong field one day and he ended up dead. Hopefully your mare will be okay and now you know not to entrust other boarders with her handling!

[moonlitoaksranch]

That just sucks. I’m sorry about your horse’s injuries. I hope she heals up well and things go smoothly at your barn.

[swmorse]

I understand your feelings. Most look like scratches but the one across her hock looks troublesome, and the knee doesn’t look too good. Would the knee get better with a bit of turn out for walking or would that make it worse?

Is the vet going to come out and take a look, or just go by those pictures?

I always say, if something happens because of what I did, I can be mad at myself; but if it’s due to someone else, that makes me really mad. The kid didn’t do it on purpose, but I’m sure that doesn’t make you feel any better. Maybe take a few more days and when you feel a little better about it, talk with her about the situation

I agree with your decision to not allow her to handle your horse any more

I hope it turns out to not be as bad as it looked at first

[Arlomine]

This is a learning opportunity for this kid. I would take her to task. She ignored specific directions and your horse was injured as a result. While I don’t think the injuries are severe, they could have been.

Make it clear to her that it was irresponsible of her to ignore your directions, and that she is responsible for your horse’s injuries, which are not severe only because of luck. Ask her why she did what she did…and tell her to never handle your horse again. This may sound harsh, but it’s how people learn.

[lenapesadie]

I’m so sorry! Poor Goose.

I’d be steaming mad if I’d told a person that my horse could only go in X paddock and then person put horse in Y paddock. Full stop. To then have horse get injured in Y paddock and person to delay telling me? Screaming mad.

Again I’m so sorry. But I don’t think you should feel badly about being upset / mad / etc.

[beowulf]

Oh no, so sorry to hear Goose got hurt. I completely understand your frustration and in your shoes would be having trouble not having a CTJ with the person who decided to ignore specific instructions.

Is there a reason that this young woman is turning out your horse and not barn staff? Is it possible she was told to turn out under the trainer or BM’s instruction since you mentioned it was a show barn? Have you had a chance to talk to her face to face and get the story laid plainly on the table?

I browsed through the pictures. Take a deep breath. Yes, those are some ugly injuries, and a lot of them, but Goose will be okay. If this was my horse, I’d see how she is tomorrow. If she is sound, there is no reason to give her time off. I definitely would not limit any turnout. The motion is the lotion - it’s likely she may be muscle sore from her acrobatics. Keep her legs clean and dry. Don’t be surprised if her legs “blow up” tomorrow until next week. There’s a lot of insult to an area that doesn’t tolerate a lot of poking and prodding. The only one that has me concerned is the one closest to the hock joint. The rest do look superficial, albeit ugly. Some WoundKote or Alushield should keep those cuts clean.

I’m glad to hear the young woman feels awful and is apologizing. Good.

Wishing Goose a quick recovery!

[trubandloki]

Those do look ouchy but thankfully none of them look very serious, clearly photos can be deceiving though.

I think this is worth using as a teaching moment for this young person. We were all young once and we all have done things in our lives that we look back on and think - darn I was stupid.

So talk to her and explain the importance of calling the owner immediately and explain why you wanted a certain turn out.
If you want her to help with the wound care then ask her if she wants you to show her how to take care of the wounds and ask her what days she would like to do the wound care.

[findeight]

IMO those will heal well, look awful but clean. Confused, is the 16 year old a working student or just a young boarder? Are her parents involved? Might want to rethink things just from a potential liability point. Yes, its a teaching moment but…

[Arlomine]

Just wondering what kind of liability issue do you think there may be from having a conversation with this kid?
Nobody is suggesting that she pay for vet bills or anything like that… Just an adult pointing out to the kid how she made a mistake and how lucky she wants to have dodged a bullet, and And that she should never do anything like this again.

[Angela_Freda]

@Warmblood1

I think it would be beneficial to make crystal clear turn out requirements for your mare. If she has limited eyesight, maybe make a sign for her stall that designates a specific paddock for turn out.

@WildGooseChase

The only thing I asked her is that my mare gets turned out in a specific pasture that has higher, more visible fencing, as my mare doesn’t have the most incredible eyesight.

@WildGooseChase

Well today, for some reason, instead of putting Goose in the pasture that’s been working for several days in a row now, she put her in a different one that I specifically said I didn’t want her in. The fence in the back is a bit low, and I want to make sure she can see her boundaries.

My bold

To me, those are pretty clear.

[luvmyhackney]

I agree, very clear to me as an adult, but to a younger person the paddock was probably full or she couldn’t use it for whatever reason and didn’t see the harm.

Teenagers do dumb things and aren’t the greatest at risk assessment.

Make it a learning moment not a jump down her throat CTJ moment.

I’m sure teen is already beating herself up over it.

Sucks horse got injured and hopefully she heals well. From the pics it looked like no major damage except deeper laceration on the hock. Keep it clean and thankfully it’s not the middle of summer.

[trubandloki]

Not related to the topic - When I scroll past the quotes of the OP’s posts their avatar looks sparkly. The pale green with white writing must be why. It is fun.
That is all.

[WildGooseChase]

Her legs are hot and swollen today. Sadly, not all of them are superficial. Sure, some of them just took the hair off, some are deeper than the photos tell. I’m sad for my gal. She was super brave and well behaved while they got cleaned out and re-dressed this morning.

[WildGooseChase]

Just a younger boarder. I do not pay her for anything. Her parents are involved as well.

I am fully aware of the liability, which is why I did as much damage control as I could, from the start.

Unfortunately, it is what it is.

[WildGooseChase]

I may end up doing this, and have her parents sit in on it as well. At this point, I just want her to know that I am not upset with her, but at the situation and the end result. I have told her as much through messaging, but tone and meaning can get lost there.

Luckily, my new job doesn’t start until next week, so I’ll be set to do all the wound care until next Monday. Hopefully by then she will just need tending once a day, or every other day.

[WildGooseChase]

Since it’s a heavy show barn that’s understaffed, they don’t turn out. She was using my horse as a buddy for hers who cannot be worked right now, which instead she wanted turned out. The barn owner/staff said that’s no problem, but that us two would have to do the turning in and out. I have no problem with this at all.

I got the chance to talk to the owners granddaughter who was also there at the time she skipped town. She is a bit older than the gal who was turning Goose out. She gave me the low down and it was exactly how the other gal told me.

She is unfortunately, very sore today. Definitely moving much slower than normal. Legs are hot and swollen. I touched base with my DVM immediately following my arrival to the farm yesterday, and I am following his instructions. He didn’t want anything caustic being used on them, although didn’t tell me why. So I am hosing them off 2x daily, cleaning old ointments away, and redressing with topical antibiotic ointment and Desitin underneath the ones that I think might drain a little. No bandages either. I’m not sure Goose could handle them with how sensitive they are lol

[WildGooseChase]

My vet didn’t feel the need to come out based on the photos, and my skill set. He is confident that I can handle this as long as not complications arise. I trust him implicitly!

The one on the hock and knee have me worried too. Poor gal actually went to bite me when I cleaned that one out. It’s hurting for sure!

I also planned to do some hand walking so I can make sure she isn’t going to go bonkers out in the paddocks. She is just 5 years old and still has some baby moments obviously! LMAO

[scislandsprite]

Agreed. I’d be pretty irritated and I don’t think it would be unreasonable to have her pay the vet visit. The photos look okay but then again, I had a horse get severely injured that required surgery but at first glance we initially didn’t think a hospital visit was necessary. Hard to tell off of photos!