Let me be an example to you all :(

[chukkerchild]

So last night I was taking off my horse's blanket in his stall and my Mom was holding him for me, and when we finished I forgot to take off his halter. His NYLON halter. And when I came back out in the morning to let the horses out, I discovered that in the night he had caught the halter on the hinge of the door next to him, must have reared up, gotten his legs caught over the stall wall... his eye was ripped up from the buckle and he had a HUGE gash below his knee on his near fore. The halter broke, but he used so much force that it TWISTED the metal where it was stuck and is now pretty much bolted to the wall. :no:

So my poor boy had the vet come out and had to have his leg stapled, and he'll have to have stall rest for about four weeks, with bandage changes daily starting Sunday, hoping that the tendon sheath hasn't been harmed. He's feeling very sorry for himself and VERY bored because he's used to going out all day. Luckily, his eye is fine, it's just puffy and has some surface cuts around it (but oh my gosh did it ever look awful when I first saw it.)

We just got him two months ago and I feel so so bad :( I really really hope he will be okay and I am NEVER using a nylon halter again for ANYTHING. :no: Please don't either!! If I had just taken it off like I'm supposed to, or had just always used a leather halter, this never would have happened. :(

[Quinn]

You know chukkerchild, worse things COULD have happened and it wasn't done intentionally so cut yourself some slack. I'm sorry the poor guy has roughed himself up but hopefully no permanent damage.

http://community.webshots.com/user/ballyduff

[Coobie]

So sorry for you and your boy. Scarey how things can happen like that. I have so many stories of dumbass moves I've made, all ending with "it could have been so much worse". Hope he's going to be okay!

[chukkerchild]

Thanks guys! I think he will be okay as long as he manages to stay amiable with all the processes and the leg doesn't get infected or isn't into the tendon sheath and, and... I really like him though, he's a very cool horse. I only rode him three times before it got too wet but he was really good. I'm wondering if you had any suggestions for things he might be able to do/play with? He weaves when he gets bored... I'd like him to keep the leg straight... I was thinking one of those Lik-It things, or maybe just a salt lick in some kind of holder? Or do you think horses actually play with those ball things?

[pintopiaffe]

Just don't fool yourself that the same thing could not have happened with a good leather halter. Only CHEAP leather breaks. Good triple-stitched halters don't. :no: The hardware usually goes first.

I actually prefer the cheapest nylon halters I can find. Single or double ply, no Hamilton halters for me. The 'stamped' hardware is what I like... SOMETHING will fail.

The single ply leather 'safety' halter crownpieces break TOO easily... the cheapo nylon halters are the cat's meow for me. I don't mind a single ply leather turnout halter either, but they don't last.

Don't beat yourself up. It was an accident. It's why they are called 'accidents.' Horses are born trying to kill themselves. The miracle is that the species has survived. :uhoh:

[AKB]

People will always be forgetful and horses can always find ways to hurt themselves. We all try to be careful, but it is a constant struggle. I have concluded that I am so absent minded that I cannot keep nylon halters around. I try to use the safest version of everything because of my forgetfulness. I always use the velcro trailer ties, with baling twine, because on several occasions I have forgotten to untie my horse and then scolded him for not getting out of the trailer when I told him to get out. Obedient horse that he is, he backs out as soon as I raise my voice, even though he is tied. My neighbor tied her horse to the trailer at a show, and then drove off without remembering to load him in the trailer. Fortunately, people at the show saw the horse trotting along side the moving trailer and stopped her.

The one problem that I haven't figured a way around is remembering to fasten the trailer hitch after I back the truck ball under the hitch. I have not yet driven off without fastening it, but I know many people who have. All of their horses have survived, but some were pretty close calls. Someone needs to redesign hitches, recognizing that most of us are forgetful.

Don't feel too guilty about forgetting the halter. All of us make mistakes, no matter how hard we try to avoid them.

[blackstallion2]

Horses are born trying to kill themselves. The miracle is that the species has survived. :uhoh:

This is so true. Jingles for your fellow! Be careful tying him, as he may pull back again while this is fresh in his memory. I am sure he will be very sore the first few days :( . Thanks for warning the rest of us!

[marta]

don't beat yourself up.

but i agree w/ others, a thick leather halter would not have saved the day. thin leather halter - maybe.

[SandyHTF]

Glad to hear your guy didn't get hurt too badly. With good care, he should be fine. Try not to beat yourself up too much over it, it's pretty impossible to be perfect all the time.

I haven't had much luck with the likit toys though I thought they looked like they would be fun. My girls just ignored it, and we had a very playful gelding here that pulled the ball part off of it the first day, stomped it into the ground and was done with it. No one seemed to like the food part at all.

I have had good luck with the hanging grain toys like pony pops. Another barn favorite here is a clean plastic milk jug hung up with about a cup of grain in it. Poke a few holes in the sides so the horse can figure out it's a food source that he shake a bit of grain out. Upside: it keeps them occupied. Downside: if they can get their teeth on it and it's near a wall... it can get pretty loud. :lol:

Jingles to you both. :)

[Dune]

Sorry to hear about your boy. :( I'm with the "leather halter might not have saved you anyway" camp. I had a trailer incident about a month ago in which my precious little pony caught her head on something (who knows what) and put a very bad gash right above her eye and another one in the corner. Her neck was also VERY sore, so sore that I couldn't take contact for 2 weeks! She had a lovely leather halter on and it didn't save the day at all.:no: And this is a trailer she's been in many, many times and a place we've hauled to several times, you just never know. Best wishes for you and your boy! :)

[murphyluv]

My neighbor tied her horse to the trailer at a show, and then drove off without remembering to load him in the trailer. Fortunately, people at the show saw the horse trotting along side the moving trailer and stopped her.

.

Holy Crap!!! WOW! What a good horse!!! LUCKY too!

OP, Don't worry. We've ALL made mistakes. And I also agree that even if it was a leather halter, it wouldn't have broken. And there's no guarantee that even if you had taken the halter off, that he could have done something else to himself without the assistance of the halter.

[horsegirl888]

So sorry that this happened, but don't beat yourself up about it- it wasn't intentional and everyone makes mistakes! Try not to worry. The leather halter wouldn't have helped. My mare pulled back when tied while wearing one and the hardware broke before the leather did (actually, the leather didn't break).

-Mom (horse had a fairly considerable leg injury from a tiny metal edge on the buried bottom of our run-in shelter, way at the back of the shelter where it seemed impossible): "Why do they always find the one thing in the paddock that might possibly get them hurt?"
-A friend of ours: "I know, and it's always the good ones that do it, too. There's all these horses out West hanging out in fields with, like, farm implements. And they do just fine. Whereas if I let (her horse) out there, he would probably say, "Hey, I wonder if I throw myself at that, will it hurt?"

Bottom line: It sounds like you take excellent care of your horse, and accidents will always happen no matter what. Now you know what to do in the future, and thank you for sharing so that we can learn from it also. Best of luck!

[Watermark Farm]

Oh, you poor thing. Don't be too hard on yourself.

One of the best things about my girls getting involved in Pony Club is that they are required to use safety halters, with a leather breakaway crown, on their horses. So we've gone to all safety halters in our barn. It's prevented many serious accidents!

Thanks for posting your story so that others can learn. Halters left on horses can be deadly. I am glad yours will be OK. Make sure you have some chiropractic work done on him when he feels better as his neck and back are probably pretty badly tweaked!!!

[abbydp]

I have been really happy with the FieldSafe halter from Smartpak. It has a velcro piece under the buckle. It comes with 2 "strengths" of velcro. Mine has come off twice I think, in 2 or 3 years and goes right back together.I am not a fan of leaving halters on ever, but the boarding barn I just left insists on them 24/7. It was keep a halter on or leave. The BO actually prefers the nylons so they won't break!!!!!! His horses all have lovely dents on their noses from the constant wearing :( . These are nice because they are also padded on the crown and noseband.

Don't beat yourself up - we all forget things! I have a habit of putting in the thermometer (on a sting and clips to the tail) and forgetting it. I went all the way home once, put my pj's on and then went "DAMN" and had to go all the way back. If he could talk, I would not have liked what he had to say!!

[tkhawk]

So sorry about what happened and don't take it personally. The list of things a horse can do to itself is just too long. Hope he makes a quick recovery . Yes it is a good idea not to leave the halter on-but a horse can cast itself or kick out and -well you can never figure out everything they can do-just learn and do your best. Good luck to both of you and hope he heals and is back to his usual self soon ....

[gooselover]

Like everyone else stated, don't beat yourself up over this. horses are just accident prone. I have heard about stories of horses get caught on their halters so I never have one on them except while grooming, etc. However, I see TONS of horses out in a field with halters on. Of course, these horses will never get hurt, but sure enough, if I would fail to take one off one of mine, they would get hurt.

Murphy's Law - Jingles for your boy