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Conference noted::equitation

Title:Equine Notes Conference
Notice:Topics List=4, Horses 4Sale/Wanted=150, Equip 4Sale/Wanted=151
Moderator:MTADMS::COBURNIO
Created:Tue Feb 11 1986
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2080
Total number of notes:22383

519.0. "Aid For "CAST" Horses" by SALEM::DOUGLAS () Mon Mar 07 1988 18:30

    This has never happened to me (yet) but I'd like to know
    how one goes about helping a horse that is "cast" in
    his/her stall?
    
    Right now, my 16.1 hand qh/tb is stabled in as 12x12 stall
    and I will be moving him to a 10x12 stall. Is this too small
    for him? Does he have a worse odds at getting cast in a smaller
    stall? 
    
    Tina  (Hansum's mom)
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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519.1CELICA::GOLDMANTue Mar 08 1988 12:3944
    Tina,
    
    This just happened to a friend of mine with her 16.2 TB who is kept
    in a 12x12 stall.  He got cast about 2 weeks ago.  We have no idea
    how long he was stuck (he was okay at 8:00 p.m. but was found cast
    at 6:30 a.m.) he did a job on his legs.  He ended up with about 7 cuts 
    on them.
    
    Anyway, what his owner decided to do which has seemed to work so
    far, is we keep a 5' banking around the walls with shavings and
    its about 2' deep.  So the actual amount of room the horse has is about
    8x8.  But it doesn't seem to bother him and he is a lot warmer with
    that extra insulation.  Also, she raised his water and feed buckets
    because when she found him he was kind of stuck underneath them.
    It looks something like this:                                             
    
                |				|
    		|				|
    		|\			       /|
    		| \			      / |
    		|  \                         /  |
    	        |   \                       /   |
                |    \                     /    |
    		|     \___________________/     |
    		|_______________________________|
    
    
    Unfortunately, this is pretty expensive at first for all the shavings.
    But we are finding that the stall is easier to clean with that small
    area in the middle.
    
    I had a 16h Saddlebred that was in a 10x10 stall that got cast once.
    But I was lucky that my barn was attached to the house and my bedroom
    was close the barn so I could hear her banging soon after it happened
    and she never got a scrape.
    
    As far as stall size making a difference, I don't know.  I've seen
    it happen with two big horses with two different size stalls.
    
    I hope this is of some help.
    
    Sue
    
    
519.2CELICA::GOLDMANTue Mar 08 1988 13:0524
    P.S.
    
    As I reread your note I saw one more question I didn't answer.
    
    As far as getting a horse out of being cast.  To be honest, before
    it happened, I never really thought about what I would do if it
    did happened.  And when it did happen, I didn't have time to think about
    what I wanted to do.  I just new I had to get that horse up right
    away.  Thank God, my horse seemed to know I wanted to help her and
    she lay still when I came in.  It did take me and another person
    to roll her over though.  I guess the same thing happened with my
    friend's horse.  As soon as he saw that she was there he stopped
    thrashing and she too had someone there to help her.
    
    Maybe somebody else has had more experience or has taken the time to
    think of a solution, sense you can't guarantee that the horse will 
    relax when they see someone come to the rescue.
    
    Regards,
    
    Sue
    
    
                  
519.3Pull my tail, please!ZEPPO::FOXA momentary lapse of reason... PFTue Mar 08 1988 14:338
    Use the tail as a pull to move the hindquarters away from the wall.
    The horse usually can get itself sternal (up on its chest) once
    it has space to manuever its rear end.
    
    I know it sounds mean to "pull a horses tail" but it isn't and it
    works!
    
    Linda
519.4Use Soft RopeGENRAL::BOURBEAUTue Mar 08 1988 17:2516
    	According to books I;ve read,the recommended way to get the
    horse away from the wall is with a loop of soft rope around a leg
    closest to the wall. If you have help,get both legs. It could be
    very dangerous to grab the tail,or a leg with your hands. The horse
    may panic and kick out.
    	You should be very careful when you put the rope(s) on,and try
    to do it in such a way so that once the horse is rolled over,the
    ropes will fall away,or can be pulled away from a distance if need
    be.
    	I only had to do this once for a pony,and it worked fine. In
    this
    case,the pony thrashed around the whole time,and ran out the door
    as soon as he got to his feet.
    
    	George
    
519.5Be careful, safety first!ZEPPO::FOXA momentary lapse of reason... PFTue Mar 08 1988 18:0314
    Re. .4, using the tail is no more or less dangerous than trying
    to get a rope around a hind leg which, as George mentioned, is another
    way. Remember whenever a horse is cast that whether using the tail
    to just move the hind end away from the wall or using a rope to
    roll the horse, BE CAREFUL! Horses can (and do!) react very quickly
    to being pulled and rolled and please keep in mind that YOU and
    YOUR helpers safety is IMPORTANT! After just having been through
    episodes of sometimes hourly having to "move" a downed horse, I
    just want to remind people to be careful... A cast horse can leave
    a painful injury/bruise/worse when flaying leg connects with human
    flesh.
    
    Linda
    
519.6Don't try to go it alone!!!TOMLIN::ROMBERGKathy Romberg DTN 276-8189Tue Mar 08 1988 18:3323
	 The (human)  safety  issue cannot be emphasized enough. Much as
     you  may  be  distressed  to see your many-dollar horse lying in an
     uncompromising  position  and  kicking the wall and everything else
     within  a  leg's  reach,  do  not put your life at stake unless the
     horse  is  calm.  Talk to the horse from outside the stall first to
     see  what  their reactions are before rushing in. The horse's first
     concern  is  NOT going to be you. Seeing you he may try even harder
     to get up.  

	 If the  horse is big, and doing damage to itself and showing no
     signs  of  stopping,  call  the  VET,  who  probably  has  had some
     experience  with  panicky  animals  and  can  probably administer a
     tranquilizer  which  (may)  help calm the horse to a point where it
     can  be moved. (The vet is also another body to lend brute strength
     to the task.)

	 Remember, horses  seem  to  acquire  super-equine strength when
     they  are scared. They also seem to lose whatever common sense they
     may  have  normally.  Do not depend on them to 'think' clearly when
     they  are  cast.  NEVER  ASSUME  that  they  will listen to you. BE
     PREPARED TO MOVE FAST when you enter the stall.

519.7I was thinking of AppaloosasGENRAL::BOURBEAUWed Mar 09 1988 12:279
    	Linda,,you're probably right about using the tail not being
    any more dangerous than a rope. We have three Appaloosas who have
    short,thin tails,so I was thinking of them. I also keep my quarter
    horse's tail short,so that would make using it more difficult. I
    guess you have to make a judgement as to what's safest and most
    effective in a given situation.
    
    	George
    
519.8thanks for the infoSALEM::DOUGLASWed Mar 09 1988 16:097
    Thanks to all for your methods.
    
    Hopefully I will never have to help a cast horse, but it's good
    to know in advance.
    
    Tina
    
519.9ASD::NAJJARWed Mar 23 1988 17:1025
             <<< DELNI::WORK$01:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EQUITATION.NOTE;1 >>>
                      -< - Equitation Notes Conference - >-
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Note 531.0                          "CAST"?                             1 reply
TELALL::CROSS                                         8 lines  22-MAR-1988 13:21
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    RE: 519
    
    I know this may sound like a stupid question, but what does it mean 
    when a horse is "cast" in his stall? I can surmise what it means
    by reading the replies to 519 but how does a horse get there in the
    first place?

    "Inquiring minds want to know..."
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Note 531.1                          "CAST"?                              1 of 1
GENRAL::BOURBEAU                                      4 lines  22-MAR-1988 13:42
                                -< By rolling >-
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    	There are several ways that a horse can get cast, but the most
    common is when he lays down and rolls. He may then roll all the
    way over,and wedge himself against the wall so that he can't roll
    back over,and can't get up.