Trouble some news, horse dies on friends watch.

[vicklynn]

Val, Bruce and I meet up at the gas station on Sundays, have our coffee and ciggy, then head off to church.
This morning Bruce said, you know the ranch I work at, I said, ya, he said well, I have some troubling news. He then went on to tell me about the hackney pony, one in the larger barn were I helped him load hay to. He said, he went out to feed and the pony was dead.
This pony wears a halter, has special shoes on, and Bruce said, the back hoof was stuck in the halter, looks like he had rolled alot, fighting to get loose, and just gave up.

The owner is coming home today. He was out of town showing other horses. Bruce did call him and let him know what happened.
Bruce feels bad cause it happened during his watch. I told him, there was nothing he could of done. I think the owner of the horses now has a clue, which he should of before. One of his horses lost a halter, said, guess it caught it on something, and blew it off. Bet he wont leave halters on the horses again.

BEWARE, if you have to halter your horses and leave them on, get break aways.
Ive never owned one, but IF I ever come to a place where I need to leave a halter on, I will be purchasing a break away.

[Arrow]

How awful, a lesson for us all.

[GrungeEquestrian]

O that is terrible, but it was not at all Bruce's fault. Since my mare Trouble is out in her own pasture she is led in. She wears a break away and they are worth every penny. She has had the pony next to her pull it off, it works and no more than a regular nylon halter.

[lovesfortune]

Horrible thing to have happen to that pony. Hopefully the owner learns from this and doesn't leave halters on again. I also don't see a need for a halter on all the time.

[magayle]

how sad and all because of leaving a halter on

[Gypsy Rose]

That's very sad! A good remindeer of why it's not safe to leave an ordianary halter on a horse in the pasture.

[PaintedDreamer_0110]

Aww R.I.P lil pony. I have heard stories of horses getting cought on things with there halter on wich is why I never leave them on anymore. It isnt worth it to loose the one you love. And I completely agree was not Bruce's fault.
-Painted-

[vicklynn]

That's very sad! A good remindeer of why it's not safe to leave an ordianary halter on a horse in the pasture.
Or in a stall, this horse was in a huge stall.

[lovesfortune]

Or in a stall, this horse was in a huge stall.


Okay, even more of a reason NOT to need a halter. It's not like they are in a huge 10 acre pasture, hard to catch, etc. In a stall? That just doesn't make any sense to me.

The ONLY time we ever kept a halter on any of the horses for an extended period was when Reggie hurt himself, was in the 80 acre pasture and became hard to catch because he knew we were going to treat him, give him meds, etc.

[vicklynn]

Okay, even more of a reason NOT to need a halter. It's not like they are in a huge 10 acre pasture, hard to catch, etc. In a stall? That just doesn't make any sense to me.

Dosnt make sence to me either. The owner told Bruce to take the halters off the other horses, which only 1 other horse, in a stall, had a halter on. The rest had no halters on.

[oursarge]

That is so sad. I don't leave halters on except during hunting season, I have orange break aways for them and then hope that if they need to break away they will.

Last week we took care of all the animals at our friend's barn, 60+ horses and a bunch of other animals. The work didn't bother me but a sick or dead horse or other animal worried me, thankfully everyone stayed healthy, we thought we lost a horse but he was in a different pasture. I didn't even let the dogs run because I was afraid they'd get away and get hit in the road so I just gave them attention in their runs.

I feel so bad for the pony and your friend and the owner too. Some people leave halters on for convenience but they worry me. Poor baby.

[missdixie]

Wow I have heard a horror story just like that before. At my old barn they required every horse to have a halter on in the stall, in case there was a fire or something. I was the only person who insisted on my horse having the halter OFF in the stall, and the BO put up a big stink saying that if there was an emergency my horse would be taken out last.

[vicklynn]

Gesh missdixie. I can see them requiring a halter and lead to be placed at the stall, but not requiring them to wear one.

[Hobo]

Personally I would never even agree to care for someones horses if they insisted on keeping a halter on without a really good explaination ( ie like a newly adopted mustang in a really safe pen).

[vicklynn]

Personally I would never even agree to care for someones horses if they insisted on keeping a halter on without a really good explaination ( ie like a newly adopted mustang in a really safe pen).
Bruce told me that the owner has another big show in a couple weeks, dosnt think he can work there anymore. I told him, IF the owner asks you to work for him during that week, that you can ONLY if the horses are not haltered.
I've heard that the horses are commodities. Thats sad.
These horses, as Ive walked by their stalls, were wide eyed and scared.
I dont care how many halter horses you have, and how spunky you want them in the ring, they need NOT be affraid of humans.

[FatSpottedAppy]

That's horrible, I'm so sorry. I never leave halters on the horses even if they're hard to catch. Not in stalls, not during turnout.. Only when I'm working with them.

[PoniesRock101]

thats horrible! your poor friend! its not his fault.if your gonna keep a halter on use breakaways........

[IrisGreen]

How sad for the pony, owner and your friend. I'm surprised the halter didn't brake or the buckle but then again some halters are made really strong, too strong sometimes. Muffin can brake the metal buckle or the snap for the throat latch on a regular halter quit easily, but he's not a pony.

I use rope halters on Muffin and I found out the hard way how dangerous they can be for the horse. They work great for me and I prefer them over flat nylon halters but if caught they don't have a chance of braking at the buckle like a nylon one does.

I put a rope halter on Muffin in his pen turned around to get something out of the garage real fast (not even 10 feet away) and he had put his head through the rails and got the loop caught on a bolt to his auto waterer. He paniced, pulled, sat back, and did about everything he could do to get free but was stuck. That rope halter could hold his weight and his full strength pulling back! I got him calmed down, standing up, and freed him and that's why I had to re-train him to tie again because after that he was done with the tieing idea. I don't blame him.

I don't tie him to anything he can get caught on or that has a gap to get the loop or knot stuck in. He can brake a nylon halter no problem if he needed too and I'm not talking about a brake away one, though I am going to get him a brake away one so I have one on hand if needed now that he is trained to tie and would only pull if in an emergency. But, rope halters don't brake so be extra careful when using them. There great and I prefer them but in a pinch have a pocket knife handy and never leave one on unattended for even a minute.

[vicklynn]

Wow Iris, glad he didnt get hurt. Any halter could of gotten stuck, that is sad.
You know the bar on the trailer, the one that locks the rear door? Well, it was positioned just right, and Myst walked around while I was loading City, she got her halter on that, and I am so glad I saw it coming. I immediately reached to calm her, told her easy, pulled her forward just a hair, and lifted her head up off that.
I will NEVER have my trailer door open again when a horse is tied to the side that bar is on. She could of hurt her and me. Im just glad she is trusting, and I caught it before it ended up like your boys. That would of been ugly.

[Equine_Woman]

How terrible sad. And so preventable!! I feel for your friend, and I feel for the horse. I hope that the owner has learned a very important lesson.

[Horserider]

Horrible thing to have happen to that pony. Hopefully the owner learns from this and doesn't leave halters on again. I also don't see a need for a halter on all the time.

I agree, but I do realize that sometimes there is a need to have a halter on a horse all the time. In most circumstances they wouldn't need it. But for example my horse Lady had to wear her halter all the time (it was breakaway) because she was hard to catch. We were trying to get her over it and planned to start taking the halter off again when she became easier to catch.

[EnglishGuy]

Thats really sad. But there was nothing your friend could do so he should try to not let it get him down.

We usually leave halters on when we turn horses out in the turn out pens at my barn. It just kind of depends on how long they're out and what not. There isn't really anything for them to get caught on, but of course theres always something they could do. Luckily the turn out pens are in a very high traffic area and there is always someone around from 5:00am to 9:00pm in view so I'm quite comfortable with it. Plus most horses wear break aways here, at least I know Tobey does.

Hope your friend feels better and the owner learns from this and never lets it happen again.

[vicklynn]

I agree, but I do realize that sometimes there is a need to have a halter on a horse all the time. In most circumstances they wouldn't need it. But for example my horse Lady had to wear her halter all the time (it was breakaway) because she was hard to catch. We were trying to get her over it and planned to start taking the halter off again when she became easier to catch.
See, the difference here was, YOUR halter was a breakaway, you had the right one on.
This pony didnt, poor pony.

[pandorasmom]

I switch which halters Pandora wears. She's out around our house here grazing most of the day, and I'm here all day so keep constant check on her. Whenever she's in her stall or if I'm leaving, she doesn't wear a halter.
If she's in her own pasture (not in our backyard), then she doesn't wear one.

So sad to hear about this! I feel very sorry for everyone involved in the situation. Thanks for sharing with us to remind us all!

[Mandy]

That's so scary. I saw my dog get her leg stuck in her collar the other day, if I wasn't there I know she would have freaked out and probably broken her leg.

I never left my halter on Samson, I just didn't know the reason to. I still don't, I just always assumed people did it in pastures to tell the horses apart sometimes.

[Cat]

That is the thing I have been struggling with Willie with. He has a non-breakaway halter but wasn't letting me get it off at all. Head tossing and stomping - he didn't like the 2 hands up by his head at the same time and this halter was too tight of a fit in the clasp for me to get it undone one-handed. However, we got it off today! Finally.

I remember having a fight with some other people on another forum about my mustang. He got loose outside the pasture on me and I had to use a little sweet feed to coax him in. I was pretty much tore apart on that forum because I no longer had a drag rope and halter on him and he was outside of the BLM approved pen.

Hmmm...Except for the fact that the BLM person had just been out at our property about a month prior and told me he was far enough along he could be let out in the field. But even when he was in the pen I got that hatler and drag rope off of him ASAP. They said I should have left it on because the drag rope teaches them how to give to pressure as it gets caught under their own hooves. Hmm...after seeing Bandit fly around the little pen and have that drag rope flip around his back leg, jerking down his head and sending him flying into the side panels - I think I will pass. I'll take the slow way and keep my horse safe - thanks. And what got me I was just sharing a story and he didn't take any longer than one of my domestics to get back in the pasture if they happen to get loose.

I'm very sorry for the pony and that happening on your friend's watch. Hopefully the owners will learn. It doesn't matter if its in a stall or in a pen with nothing to catch on. If the scratch themsleves wrong they can be caught.

[sugarsgirl]

How terrible. That poor horse. I definatly agree, never leave a halter on a horse alone, unless its a breakaway.

[Toodlestoo]

If we use a halter on the horses in the pasture, it's always a breakaway. We had a few times when they came in and the halter was broke. My old horse, Koda, was the culprit. He would pull at them on the other horses until they broke. When we found out, we stopped putting halters on at all.

An easy fix for the breakaways if you don't have the replacement tabs is to use baling twine. It will break easily too.

I feel so badly knowing how that pony must have suffered.:(

[vicklynn]

Oh I cant imagine the suffering that pony went through...that IS sad.

[Remali]

That is so sad, that poor pony. It sure wasn't your friend's fault at all. The owner is to blame in my opinion....if the owner wanted a halter left on that pony the owner should have known to put on a breakaway halter. Some of those nylon halters are so tough they won't break no matter what. And if this owner's horses and ponies are that wide-eyed and terrified, it sounds like the owner is abusive.....I'd report the creep.

[JetLagaside]

So sad, I either use a breakaway or a leather one just for that very reason ~ I want them to break in an emergency.

[JackieB]

Poor horse. I'll look forward to meeting it at the Rainbow Bridge.

[shynbvs]

thats terrible! i will definitely remember to take halters off any horses bring in! question: how come this caused the horse to die?