Sunday, May 31, 2015

Safety First Children

(**WARNING: some graphic images)

Yesterday was supposed to be a fun day. Friday was amazing in terms of my life and I was on cloud nine. I had made plans with Amy to go XC schooling with the red nugget for the first time ever and I couldn't be more excited.

Then I dreamed some horrible things and woke up wondering if it was a sign.

It was.

Xc was not meant to be. I don't even know anymore if anything is meant to be. Like what is life.

In case you didn't know, recently Bacardi has been a dream to load. Which is a huge deal. He even loaded into Amy's trailer last week without much fuss and I thought we were totally over it.

I still put the dunce cap on him though in case of any surprise explosions.


I thank sweet 8lb 5oz baby Jesus that I did because my adorable OTTB turned into a shitshow.

All of a sudden he just decided he wasn't going to go into the trailer that day. Just decided against it in typical Bacardi fashion. I didn't push it. I was calm. I was relaxed.

45 minutes later I was not so calm. But I tried to remain relaxed. We were going schooling dammit and I had all the time in the world. Now it was just the principal of the matter. This was just a tantrum and I was pissed.

Amy showed up with her trailer thinking he may go into that one and just at that moment, the Red One threw the biggest of all horse tantrums I have ever seen.

I mean, this was epic. Words cannot describe. You had to be there.

I wasn't even doing anything but asking him nicely to come hither and he EXPLODED. I mean exploded backwards, throwing his body everywhere, essentially flailing like one of those blow up dolls you see at car dealerships.


I hop out of the trailer, steaming with anger and frustration only to see my horse standing splayed, shaking, with his head bumper askew.

I'm just shaking my head like "You are an idiot SIR, what the HELL"... until I see blood dripping from his nose.

I do not do blood. Cannot.

And then I see bone. Actual bone. ON his face. I almost pass out.

I attempt to assess the situation, shaking all over.



I think I was blacking out as I dialed the vet. Like literally blacking out. Not even sure. I do know I was seriously choking back tears talking to the ER vet.

WHICH BY THE WAY. I called 6 minutes after they closed. SIX. FUCKING. MINUTES. 

So of he had JUST been a retard like 7 minutes earlier, I would not be paying for a fucking ER vet visit. Perfect.

Anyways. All I could think was, holy fucking fuck thats my horses skull. I can see it. Hes never getting near a trailer again. We are never going to a show. Hes never going to trust me. He hates me. He will have a giant scar on his face. This is all my fault. I've ruined everything.


And then I felt really really guilty. Horribly. Liek how retarded is it of humans to ask a horse to go into a metal box? Really. For our own wants and desires. And now my horse was seriously injured and in pain. 

I was dying inside from the guilt and fear. Dying.

As I continue to assess, I note he has also managed to nick his forehead, and 3 of the 4 legs. I dont even understand.

And then I pull off his bumper. ALL the hair is missing form his poll. All of it.

I think about how if he didn't have the bumper on how I might have a dead horse instead of an injured one, and I am overcome with emotion. 

While waiting on the vet, I administered some bute to my poor fellow and hose him off. He had rightfully worked himself into a lather and I figured some cool water might help.

The ER vet was there within the hour and for that I was thankful.

Bacardi was more than a handful for the stitches. More so for the actual needle. He wouldnt let the vet NEAR him. He really worked himself into a tizzy all over again. He was lashing out, dancing around and being a total fuck. But I felt guilty enough to not be mad. I'm sure his ears were still ringing from that facebashing.

Eventually I had to twitch him, which killed me inside, but then he went to sleep.

You can see blood on his white socks where he expertly nicked himself 
 The vet was quick and efficient and he was all stitched up about 13 minutes later.



Drunk horse lips, haha. 

Anyways, the vet thinks he should heal nicely. I'm still terrified of the outcome of all of this.


15 comments:

  1. Oh man, that first picture is terrible, but the stitch job looks pretty good. I had to use a lunge line and pulley system to literally haul my mule onto the trailer today (we were away and needed to go home, so I had no choice to just skip trailering for the day or something), so I feel your pain. I don't know why they fight sometimes and go on so well other times. I hope he gets better fast.

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  2. It looks so much better after the stitching, you probably won't even be able to tell when it finally heals. Just keep chanting the mantra "we love our baby horses" as we want to shoot ourselves over the stupid, nonsensical things that they do.

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  3. So glad to hear he was wearing a bumper, yikes! Here's hoping that heals quickly and you guys can get back on track.

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  4. Noooooooo Bacardi nooooo! Ah that looks so painful. It is so much easier to just hop on the trailer like a good citizen buddy, I promise!

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  5. Oh Bacardi!! Why?! If we could only tell what the heck is going on in their heads lol. I'm glad he's going to be okay. The stitches look good.

    Don't beat yourself up about it. There is no way you could predict he would explode in such a huge way. He'd been doing so well and lulled you into a false sense of security. Just give him a hug and be grateful he's okay. You can worry about figuring out the trailer stuff later. Sorry you missed your big day.

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  6. 1. I probably would have thrown my horse's lead rope at someone and hid in a corner until the blood was gone. Fuck that noise.

    2. Looks like the vet did an awesome job stitching. I bet once it's fully healed you'll barely be able to find a scar there.

    3. Bacardi, don't be an asshole.

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  7. Your snapchats are amazing. But seriously this is awful. Sorry you had to go through this! Hopefully things get better quick! If only horses could talk..

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  8. That is horrid. So glad you had that bumper on. Here's to him having hit his head so hard that he remembers none of it.

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  9. yikes - what an awful day, and totally NOT what you had hoped for :( don't beat yourself up about it tho - he won't hate you forever and the wounds will heal!

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  10. Eep. I do people blood, not animal I feel so bad for them. People, meh, only kids usually. He should heal up well.

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  11. I read Steady's post...and those were some mighty horrible storms that rolled in that afternoon. Is it possible that B is really sensitive to barometric changes? Do you remember if his misbehavior over winter coincided with storms moving in? It would explain so much about his behavior! I've met horses that would be unridable before storms.

    I'm glad he's okay; that the vet was able to come out and fix him right away! The cut looks great after being stitched. I

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    1. Holy shit. My mind just exploded.


      You might be on to something

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  12. Eeeek! I hope he starts feeling better ASAP -hugs-

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  13. Oh wow! That looks so nasty! The vet did a great job stitching up, but oh boy - I would totally freak if I had to deal with a wound like that too... I'm glad you and B are okay. Get better soon Bacardi!

    bonita of A Riding Habit

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