Reminder: let's be careful out there... [girl loses hand in leading accident]

[dalpal]

I boarded at a barn that was notorious for allowing kids/barn workers to go get horses while driving those Mule carts. Disaster waiting to happen.

[tikihorse2]

Not gonna debate the whole "did she/didn't she wrap the lead" bit; I'm gonna take it as a PSA to be more careful myself. (I'm pretty diligent, but I admit I get careless sometimes--stupid.)

I'm more concerned about the girl involved, after the fact. What an incredibly horrible accident! I'm praying she recovers and has the best outcome possible.

How awful for everyone there, as MunchkinsMom said.

Kim

[MistyBlue]

Can they reattach with an injury caused like that? A twisting compression injury?
Wouldn't the parameters be, well, not easy to work with?

Such a shame for someone to lose a limb for one minute of non-thinking action.

My sister almost lost her right pointer finger from exactly the same thing. She was inexperienced, but has a heart of gold and someone else who was dumb as a sack of hammers asked her to hold the lead of her horse *through* the bars of the stall. (owner was afraid of her horse and had to go in the stall with him, snapped a lead on and passed it through the stall bars to my sister)
My sister was absently twirling the rope in and out of her fingers as she held it. Horse whiped his head up and back and that lead was wrapped through her fingers. Her pointer finger was compressed where it meets the hand the entire length of it was twisted around. Thankfully it was the end of the lead, had more run through her fingers it probably would have removed that finger.

I was at the barn but not in that barn with them. She came walking up to me white faced and said, "Can you drive me to the hospital?" I asked why, she held up her hand. Her pointer finger was perfectly backwards. The skin around the bottom looked twisted. Her car was a standard so she couldn't drive, but I wasn't quite 14 years old yet so the BO's son drove us. Holy crap it was weird looking!

She had tons of pins and stuff in it and it's still crooked looking but facing the right way at least.

Such a shame this young lady lost her entire hand. Inexperience around a 1000+ lb animal can be devastating in the blink of an eye.

[fivehorses]

Just because the article said the lead line "was wrapped around her wrist" didn't just "become wrapped around her wrist when the horse spooked"

Oh good God sonny's mom, please let's not debate did she or didn't she...
the whole incident is so sad.

Personally, I know many times, putting on a halter or doing something, and momentarily I get 'hitched' and think, get out of this quick.
It is so easy to get 'caught'. One reason I don't wear rings around horses anymore.

Hopefully, surgery will be successful. I am sure for all involved, this is a horrible accident.

[amastrike]

Yikes! Whether by accident or stupidity, no one deserves something so horrible! I broke my leg a few months back, 95% due to my own stupidity... trust me, I regretted it and KNEW it was stupid without anyone else adding on! I wish this poor girl the best and hope they can reattach the hand.

[SaddleFitterVA]

I am careful to not loop lead ropes in coils that could tighten, but back and forth, but there are times when I've had one get looped wrong. I generally end up dropping it and picking it up if I'm even slightly concerned that the horse will spook. I'd rather go catch the horse dragging his lead than be injured...and still probably have a loose horse.

Hope the young lady's hand can be reattached.

[Tif_Ann]

Oh wow, how horrible! I can't even imagine. Does drive home the leading safety thing, though. I swear that's the first thing I tell everyone - in fact just last night my boyfriend picked up Pi's lead rope to bring him in (he's just getting introduced to the horses, and asked me to start teaching him how to put halters on, lead, etc) and he instinctively looped the rope. And just like I did with his 9 & 10 yr old daughters - I immediately stopped him, made him undo the loop and showed him how to fold up the rope so there's no loop, all while explaining "you could lose a finger or worse if the horse spooks and the loop tightens on your hand, this is rule #1 for safe horse handling."

Me thinks I'm going to send the article on to back up the point.

[horsepoor]

When I say this was avoidable, I wasn't referring to just the looped/wrapped rope aspect, but leading a horse from a moving vehicle. That is dumb. I know, people do it all the time and will defend it with how they never got hurt, but I personally think it is a dumb thing to do.

[Lori B]

What horsepoor said.

I know that folks who handle horses in their job all day do it, but I don't even like to lead 2 horses at once. It just feels like 27 different bad things could happen, even if I'm careful.

I plan to be so much more careful with ropes generally. Yikes.

[wireweiners]

When I was young, one of the things my daddy would tear our butts up about was looping a lead rope around any part of your body. It has stuck with me to this day.

As far as leading horses out of a vehicle, I have done it and it can be done safely. I let my daughter lead one of the haflingers from the back of the pickup. The lead rope was not coiled and she had strict instructions to drop the rope should he even try to pull back. I was going very slowly. I had a bunch get out on the road. I caught the alpha mare, led her out of the window of the truck and the rest followed. I've also led one from a golf cart. It can be done if you're careful.

[Foxtrot's]

The adult driving the car must have been an idiot. Kids -- well they just don't think ahead to consequences. There is so much to learn about safeteys around horses, hence the value of Pony Club or mentoring. Brings to mind the current thread about what footwear to wear cleaning stalls. Good habits make for safety...riding and car driving.

A good reminder to all of us to sharpen up, even in the little things, and around horses you know and trust.

[crosscreeksh]

Years ago I was the RN on call to the operating room where I worked. We got a call in for a horse related accident. A man trying to load a horse in a trailer wrapped the rope around the palm of his hand...then the horse flew back cutting off everything from the thumb forward. No re-attachment was possible, so the surgeon closed the wound leaving the thumb and half a palm. I never fail to have a flashback to that case when I see someone wrapping a rope or shank around their hand!!! People do that more than you'd think!!

[sketcher]

It can be done if you're careful.

And lucky.

Granted you can be lucky for years to either not 1) have multiple horses come to blows and do something stupid or 2) lucky not to have to let one or more of them loose and have one of them get hurt or 3) lucky not to have a freak accident where the rope momentarily at the most inopportune moment gets caught in such a way as to remove part of your anatomy.

[Silk]

The first line of the article states it was her left hand.

That seems odd, as she was in the passenger's seat. Hope it can be reattached!

[Foxtrot's]

Crosscreek's story about losing half a hand while loading a horse makes me think. So many fingers have been lost loading and tying a horse before putting up the bum strap. Just as the fingers push the rope through to form the knot, the horse flies back and off with the finger(s). Maybe that's why I don't usually tie.

[chemteach]

Tragic.

[Trakehner]

Stupid and Mr. Murphy take their toll. Sorry, but she was an idiot.

Well, some good came of this if Cothers think about this girl when they're leading their horses...her injury wasn't in vain.

I saw a barn worker loop a lead shank around his arm several times, get in a "gator" and then have the end of the shank go under the hind wheel....ZIP! He was off the vehicle and on his way to the hospital to put his shoulder back together.

[Rebe]

Girl loses hand in freak accident (HR)

Just. Wow. So many things that can be said, in so many different tones of voice.

http://www.ocala.com/article/2010082...acility-&tc=ar

UF student's hand severed at equine facility

An 18-year-old University of Florida student had her left hand severed Saturday in an accident at the UF Equine Research Center in Marion County.


The accident occurred at noon at the center, 2655 N.W. 100th St. in Marion County, according to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report.

Marion sheriff's Capt. Eddie Leedy said the woman, identified as Courtney Mason, 18, of Lake Placid, was sitting in the passenger seat of a UF vehicle, holding a rope lead line.

The lead line, which was attached to the horse and wrapped around her wrist, was being held out of the window, the report states.

The horse became spooked and pulled away from the vehicle, severing her hand from her arm.

The hand was recovered, packed in ice and sent with Mason to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Leedy said Mason was alert and calm when they arrived.

It remains unknown if doctors were able to reattach the hand, Leedy said.

[Prieta]

I'd print it out and have people read why I insist on why we ought to regard lead rope as "rattle snakes" if coiled around our hands, arms, etc.

[Sithly]

Yikes. What a senseless accident.

I saw that episode of Law and Order the other day that was based on the whole "killing horses for insurance money" scandal. One of the actors was leading a horse with the lead coiled in his hand - perfect way to get dragged if a horse pulls and tightens the coils.