keeslarsfamilyfarm: A very Hard job-both physically and emotionally....

This photo of our horse was taken this past summer, she was 9 years old-
We have raised her since she was about a year old, the children use to camp out in the barn in the straw with her when she was a baby. They trained her and she was ridden bare back, but never had a saddle on her or a bridle. We just never purchased one, and thus never trained her to that. She was a strong willed horse, but was friendly and had a great life here on our farm. We were going to train her to pull a wagon and a buggy this spring...but now that will not happen. Our horse had to be put down. At feeding time Scott discovered a lard cut on her back leg, and artery was cut thru. There is no sign of how it happened, the goats -some have horns, but there was no blood or fur on any of the horns, the cow, no blood on him, no nails sticking out anywhere that she could have caught it on. Nothing.
She was loosing a lot of blood, we got a turniquate on it, and finally got a vet out here after calling our normal vet, and he could not come out-had nothing medical to give her. He suggested a vet in another town-over in coldwater, I called her-the emergency line, and she would not return my call. I would not recommend any one that will not return a call, even in courtesy when it is an emergency. Even if your not a regular client, hey, if you advertise to call in emergency then answer your stupid phone or quit advertising that way! Very frustrating. Why advertise that you will go on emergency calls and then not return calls?
Finally got a hold of a vet in LaGrange who agreed to come out and try to save her. She was bleeding now for 2 hours. the artery was not bleeding as bad, but still bleeding, and she was getting so weak. She was leaning on us for support. The vet arrived, got the artery tied off, but it was still bleeding. Just not as bad. He had assessed her, and was not sure she would make it. He gave her 3 bags of Lactated ringers, but she was still very weak. She would not walk at all, just would back up. Her gums were white, that did mean that she had lost way too much blood. The vet tried to help us get her to walk to the barn, where it would be warmer, but she went down, and I was pretty sure I heard her leg 'snap' when she went down. I kind of think she had fallen before and that is when the injury occurred, maybe fell on her leg hard, I don't know. Any way, when the vet heard that, he said we need to put her down.

I am so glad that it worked out that way, rather than her having this happen later after we did evening chores, and then finding her in the morning...that would have been much harder on us. And if Scott would have had to put her down, rather than the vet, I just do not think he could have done that. It would have meant that he would have had to shoot her. I do not know how (emotionally speaking) that people would have done that years ago, before the less harsh way via a direct artery access-and the medicine the vet gives.
Anyway, Our dog Draco howled for days after this. (he usually howls in the evening each day-but he howled almost all day for days).

We called around, and could not find anyone to help bury her. So we had to dig the hole our self. Scott used the tractor and the post hole digger, then we did the rest by hand. that was s deep hole and a big one. I do not ever want to do that again...but that is part of life...death...