Someone called AC on me...HAPPY update post 137

[2horseygirls]

[QUOTE=cowgirljenn;7036823]
I have problems with a caller calls about the same animals 20 times or calls 5 different agencies in an attempt to make trouble. It is HARD to prove intent though. How do you prove that someone is calling because the neighbor made them mad and they KNOW the animals are ok instead of being a clueless city person who now lives in the country and knows no difference?[/QUOTE]

Concerned citizen reports a thin horse that appeared abandoned to my NGO humane society - and posts on FB. Within 2 hours, multiple people also called my NGO, the other local NGO humane society, Animal Control, the county sheriff, the EPA, Fish & Wildlife (???), Conservation Dist & state Dept of Ag because - literal quote - “I know a lot of people have called, but maybe if you get enough calls, you’ll get off your butts and do something.”

Seems none of us were moving fast enough, so the Crazy Horse Club went out after 6 hours & delivered (mutant green) hay & water to horses they know nothing about (+ completely obliterated my owners’ duties notice of violation, thankyouverymuch).

Additionally, this well-meaning-but-SEVERELY-misguided group of animal loooooovers are now photographing & videotaping the property & horses then posting on Facebook, harassing the neighbors, feeding the horse themselves, setting up “shifts to monitor the horses” and decided to send a picture to the local newspaper.

Because there’s always an opportunity to learn, and 27 pairs of fresh eyes might actually have something unique to offer, I asked one of the members (who claims to have humane investigation experience) - “What is the ideal outcome that your group would like to see? How would they be handling it if they were actually authorized to investigate this case?”

Her response: “That’s a good question - I don’t know.”

I can only imagine that they want to see a round bale feeder stuffed full of hay + grain, new fencing and a new shelter – all within 24 hours.

It’s a little frightening that I have to point out to the Crazy HORSE Club that you can cause a horse to become laminitic or colic (and possibly die, on a non-residential property where someone might not see a down horse for hours) by throwing different/richer hay & grain over the fence, or allowing them to free-feed — ahem, refeeding syndrome, anyone?

[mpsbarnmanager]

UPDATE

About AC, I was not upset that they came out, I understand it is never personal. I was irritated by the caller being so nosey and trespassing!

The vet opened her up again around lunchtime today, hoping to find something he could remove. He found a track, shot bright blue dye into it, and followed it up and in as far as he could reach. Unfortunately he ran out of finger length before he ran out of track to follow. he probed around as far as he could and had to close her up. He did so loosely, and left the track there. He told me that now, it is no longer a wait and see situation, because of the depth of the track he felt certain there was something up there good and deep, and the options were to take her to the clinic and open her up on a table and dig deep. So now I have to figure out a way to come up with $1200-$1500, when I have already been making payments to the clinic for all her other bills. OR I can decide not to do the surgery and put her down. All of this needs to be decided in the next couple of days. :dead::sigh:

I am honestly leaning towards putting her down. She is facing at best another long recovery. At worst, nerve damage, and being a gimp, for the rest of her life (If she were to stay in pain, I would have to put her down, I couldn’t let her be in pain indefinitely). Although I really like the mare, she was given to me because her owner could no longer afford to keep her. Obviously that does not make her less worthy of trying to save, I guess I just mean I didn’t really sign up for this, and was not prepared for this to happen. Who is, right? If I had the money lying around, I would probably do it, but unfortunately this is not fantasy land, and things are what they are. Now I am praying for wisdom to make the right decision and for a miracle, really. Jingles appreciated!!

[quietann]

OP, what a horrible dilemma. You and the mare definitely have a lot of jingles from me!

[shezabrazenmare]

OP, I have no issue with you euthing a horse when finances are a consideration and the horse is in pain. Let me say that I once boarded at a barn where years before, a school horse had had a board impaled in his shoulder. After surgery, that horse turned out to win his pleasure horse division (including jumping) classes every year in our local circuit. He had a huge scar on that left shoulder, but was sound and was the favorite lesson horse at that barn. He colicked and was put down about 5 or 6 yrs ago. Despite having had a terrible injury a few years before I moved to that barn, he had recovered after shoulder surgery and had a nice long career with the kids.

I agree with 2horsegirls. BTDT.

While all of us know something about horses, when animal control officers who deal with dogs mostly come out, they don’t know much about horses. Unless they have horses themselves. And remember, in most states, you aren’t guilty of trespass if you go onto someone’s property to help an injured human or animal. It is your intent that is the deciding factor. If you go onto property with the intent to help, it’s not an intentional trespass.

One woman at an Arabian barn here told me that someone reported all of her horses as being blindfolded when they were out in a pasture wearing their fly masks. She was not upset by the report nor did she call the person who reported her “stupid.” Uneducated about horses maybe, but not stupid.

Good luck with the horse. Euthanasia is better than giving the horse away or letting her exist in pain.

[alabama]

Bwwwaaaaahhhhh! That’s too funny!

Edited to say that my above quote was in response to Laurierace. I thought I’d quoted her. Nothing about the OP’s story is funny.

[microbovine]

I’m very sorry it has come to this. You are between a rock and a hard place. Hugs.

[mswillie]

Can you talk to the vet and find out what he thinks her chances of recovering sound are? If they are good it might be worth doing the surgery but if the odds are not good then putting her down would be a responsible option.

I know you don’t want to just give her to anyone but if her chances are good do you know anyone who can afford the surgery and would be willing to take a chance on her?

Just a though.

[MillysGirl]

[QUOTE=microbovine;7035359]
“why does that poor horse have a blanket on in this heat” (fly sheet). You would be surprised.[/QUOTE]

Ugh, had this one this weekend. I was in one of the back pastures, cutting the twine off a new roundbale when I heard commotion in the individual turn-out area. I legged it back there to find a woman with 3 kids feeding the horses handfuls of grass. I asked who they were, etc (horses can’t be seen from the road, so not many looky-loos come in) and they said someone had told them there was a barn here, so they decided to see if there were pony rides. The mom (who apparently used to ride, knows a lot, etc etc as per usual) was VERY concerned that 2 horses had blankets on in 20C+ weather. I explained that they were fly sheets, she then explained to me that if you don’t clip a horse’s hair, they don’t need a fly sheet. I told her to just leave. As I walked her down the drive, she continued to tell me things (never turn a pony out with a full-size horse, like we do…horses should only eat grass not hay…oh gosh, I was so excited when we got to the gate). I locked the gate behind her.

[Nezzy]

i am so sorry. Lot’s of Jingles. i think you putting her down would be the WISE decision,. but it’s not the one your heart wants to make.

[RacetrackReject]

Someone called and reported a dead horse in my pasture once. I guess I can’t really blame them as he does appear a bit bloated.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/288763_2300234623698_1573826_o.jpg

[Sannois]

[QUOTE=mpsbarnmanager;7037355]
UPDATE

About AC, I was not upset that they came out, I understand it is never personal. I was irritated by the caller being so nosey and trespassing!

The vet opened her up again around lunchtime today, hoping to find something he could remove. He found a track, shot bright blue dye into it, and followed it up and in as far as he could reach. Unfortunately he ran out of finger length before he ran out of track to follow. he probed around as far as he could and had to close her up. He did so loosely, and left the track there. He told me that now, it is no longer a wait and see situation, because of the depth of the track he felt certain there was something up there good and deep, and the options were to take her to the clinic and open her up on a table and dig deep. So now I have to figure out a way to come up with $1200-$1500, when I have already been making payments to the clinic for all her other bills. OR I can decide not to do the surgery and put her down. All of this needs to be decided in the next couple of days. :dead::sigh:

I am honestly leaning towards putting her down. She is facing at best another long recovery. At worst, nerve damage, and being a gimp, for the rest of her life (If she were to stay in pain, I would have to put her down, I couldn’t let her be in pain indefinitely). Although I really like the mare, she was given to me because her owner could no longer afford to keep her. Obviously that does not make her less worthy of trying to save, I guess I just mean I didn’t really sign up for this, and was not prepared for this to happen. Who is, right? If I had the money lying around, I would probably do it, but unfortunately this is not fantasy land, and things are what they are. Now I am praying for wisdom to make the right decision and for a miracle, really. Jingles appreciated!![/QUOTE]
Sending HUGE prayers and jingles for her.
Your story brings back some horrid memories from many years ago.
I had my heart horse get hurt in a paddock accident, Fighting over a fence and broke off a 8 in piece of board in his chest. The vet did not know there was anything there it was so deep, He stitched it and put a drain in and it never healed. After a month I took him To a big equine Clinic in MI.
They put him on the table and opened him up, And found it. So deep and so close to a min artery in his neck. They had no idea why it had not ruptured it.
After 5 thousand dollars and a year of trying to get him sound. We thought all was well, he had been going out on hand walks and short stays in a little paddock with a buddy who was mellow.
I actually got on him once and he was great. My luck did not hold,
He went ape shit one morning and took off galloping in the paddock and fractured his pastern. IT was not to be. My heart horse had suffered long enough for over a year, I finally had to let him go. Everything started to give out on him, HAd Chiros working on him. It was a nightmare, So I really do know what you are going through, This was many years ago, And I was MUCH younger and I would have done anything to keep this horse alive.
But I could not let the best horse I have ever owned suffer, He had been through so much in a year and a half. So I let him go. And 30 years later I have never sat on one to equal him!

[cowgirljenn]

@2horseygirls;7037352

Concerned citizen reports a thin horse that appeared abandoned to my NGO humane society - and posts on FB. Within 2 hours, multiple people also called my NGO, the other local NGO humane society, Animal Control, the county sheriff, the EPA, Fish & Wildlife (???), Conservation Dist & state Dept of Ag because - literal quote - “I know a lot of people have called, but maybe if you get enough calls, you’ll get off your butts and do something.”

In probably 90% of the cases, I HATE seeing the ‘lets post this on FB and this message board and that email list and get a bazillion people calling in and harassing the sheriff’s department’ type of post.

Occasionally this scheme is effective - if legitimate complaints have been ignored for months/years/whatever. What happens far too often is that the agencies getting called are flooded with calls and can’t do their jobs, multiple agencies trip over each other, OR the agency gets so pissed off they stop taking horse calls (I’ve had that happen).

We, of course, get yelled at from time to time because we’re not moving fast enough. We had one case in which a news station called me and said, “I hear you guys are seizing horses at XXX address today.”. I said that was news to me - we don’t have authority to seize horses (only to help the sheriff’s department) and our help hasn’t been requested. When asked for more info, I just kept repeating that it was an open case and I could not discuss it. The news man got frustrated with me and called the SO to harass the deputy who was working on the case. We were both thrilled…

And if you were to ask many people what they want when they harass the authorities like that, they either want the horse taken away and given to them (I’ve been told that too many times) or they want the horse removed. They aren’t interested in education. They just want the people to lose their animals.

Argh!

[TaterTotTB]

I’m so sorry that you are faced with such a tough situation. Jingles for you and the mare.

[fooler]

As an option, is there a vet school within safe, for the horse, driving distance where the surgery could be done for less money. I would think there are very few horses who survive such an injury and this would be a great teaching opportunity for the vets in training.

Totally understand your financial situation and would request best guesstimate from your vets as to success of the surgery. Since this is so deep and behind the scapula, what are the odds of retrieving whatever is in there without massive tissue damage. Then long term care and recovery. I know they don’t know more than they do, but they should be able to provide some info based on historical vet cases. This info would help you make the next decision.

Hugs.

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=RacetrackReject;7037457]
Someone called and reported a dead horse in my pasture once. I guess I can’t really blame them as he does appear a bit bloated.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/288763_2300234623698_1573826_o.jpg[/QUOTE]

That happened ALL the time with the horse my brother was leasing when he lived in Florida. He did the best dead-horse impression I’ve ever seen, and of course you can see the pasture from the road. He’d even use it as an evasion–see you coming with the halter and flop over on his side. “Nope. I’m dead. Come back tomorrow. I’m dead.” And it’s really hard to convince a 17+ h TB to get up already when he doesn’t feel like it!

[IdahoRider]

Tough decision, OP. And one I am sorry you are faced with. I had hoped that your update would be good news. Euthanasia is never an easy choice, but sometimes it is the right choice. I don’t think anyone could fault you if that is the decision you make.
Sheilah

[poltroon]

OP, I am so sorry for your dilemma.

I would say that for me wait and see might continue to be an option, if you can address the pain. Only you can look at her eyes and demeanor and say whether or not she seems in distress. You might also see about stronger pain meds. Obviously, it’s hard to know.

I say this only because I have seen some severe injuries heal with time. The body does have some impressive resources when given time to address them. You might also do some more trolling the 'net (a thread with that topic here?) and perhaps calling up the vet school to discuss more specifically the likely options and possibilities.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[Jazzy_s_mom]

OP- is it possible to scope it? A friend had her gelding impale himself on a stick out in his pasture, it went up the inside of his front leg up into the chest area. He eventually foundered and she chose to euthanize. Our mutual vet asked if he could open up the area after he was euthed and found wood debris way up in the wound tract, too far up to have been removed or palpated.
This is a total off shoot but some of the plumbing companies have scopes to find issues in pipes and the scopes are fairly small, maybe they would be willing to work with the vet and search the drainage route with some fiber optics.

[goneriding24]

Okay, have my flame proofed jammies on, but I was in your situ last December. Nothing was helping Leo and we aren’t loaded. He went downhill too fast, was supposed to be at least another five years before he got as bad as he was, last December.

I took one look at him, knew in my gut what to do, went in the house and made the call. He was gone that afternoon. I still don’t regret the decision, although I do miss him and think of him often.

Sure, he could have hung on but when his prev owner came out one day, she was aghasted how badly he was moving.

Seriously, when a horse is like that, it doesn’t take me but a split second to know what I’m supposed to do, which is to make sure my horse doesn’t hurt anymore and is at peace.

[saddleup]

Just so sorry for you and for your horse. It’s hard to make these kinds of decisions but that’s what we sign up for when we have animals.