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Re: [RC] Horse Struck by Lightning - Chris Paus

Oh gosh, I'm so   sorry. This is horrible!

I have had a horse and lightning experience too. I had
taken my mare from Kansas to Iowa for breeding. When I
picked her up to bring her home, it was July 3, 2001,
we came into a terrible T-storm on I-35 south of Des
Moines. I had my grandson with me in the truck. We
pulled over at a rest stop to let the storm pass. It
seemed to get better, so we got back on the road.

Got two miles down the road and the sky just got pink!
Neither of us could see! Then we heard a terrible
crack. I pulled off at the next exit to wait it out
again at a truck stop. A trucker who pulled up next to
me told me that a semi in the next lane over had taken
the direct hit, but that we got lit up too.

I checked on my mare who was 3 days since her last
cover. She was quiet and munching hay. I didn't notice
anything wrong. So John and I hung out at the truck
stop listening to the weather report.

We got back on the road an hour later and when we got
into Missouri, the damn storm was there again. We
pulled over again and got rocked by hail and wind!

We finally got home about midnight. I pulled the mare
out of the trailer and my husband said, what's wrong
under her tail? I looked and she had a big red donut
where her poop hole was supposed to be. Her rectum had
prolapsed! I looked on the trailer door and it was
full of blood and tissue and feces! I had never
thought to look at the back end of the mare when I
checked her in Iowa.

I called the vet at midnight and we rushed her to the
horsepital. They put her back together. she spent
several days in intensive care and then had to spend 6
weeks eating sloppy mineral oil and beet pulp and only
soaked hay til she healed. 

We couldn't do a palpation or ultrasound to check for
pregancy until she was 4 months along. It took a 
while for her insides to heal. WE had no idea if all
the medication she had been on would have a bad
affecton the foal.

We surmise that she must have had her nose on the
metal manger in the trailer and the lightning went
through her.

We were very lucky. It took a lot of work, but she did
heal up and she had a very healthy foal, whom we named
Baraq (lightning) who now lives in Texas with his new
mom, Val.

I was afraid the mare would never get back in a
trailer again, but she apparently has never associated
the trailer with the episode and she just hops in,
yeah!

Long story, to tell you that there may be hope for
your boy. My mare and foal survived.

And please, don't anything think that because you are
in a trailer or truck on rubber tires that you and
your animals are safe! And I learned the hard way that
lightning CAN hit a moving target!

You and your horse will be in my prayers. Keep us
posted on his progress.

chris


Dear Ridecampers,

My Arab 9 yo, healthy, in good shape and current on
all shots. We were getting ready to
start competing in LDs this fall when he was struck
by lightning last Friday. The best we
can tell is he was drinking out of the pond when it
hit. It entered his mouth and exited out
his ear. It's been hell week since. The vet has
treated him each day with a three gallon
concoction of water mixed with DMSO, salt, etc. and
steroid and banamine shots. His corneas
have been burned and we are treating them with eye
ointment. He is as wobbly as a new
born foal, can hardly see, and he drools/slobbers as
if he just got out of the Dentist's
Chair - but he's a fighter. He is able to drink a
little on his own now and we switched him 
to Equine Senior feed - pellets that can be easily
digested. I am a realist and know that 
it will be months before we know the full extent of
the damage. My question is "Has
ANYONE experienced this before and would they please
share with me - online or offline - 
their thoughts, opinions, positive or negative? It
would be greatly appreciated. Ruth Abair
shakesbearides@xxxxxxxxxx              



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"A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot

Chris and Star

BayRab Acres
http://pages.prodigy.net/paus
============================================================
Arabians were bred for years primarily as a war horse and those
requirements are similar to what we do today with endurance riding. 
~  Homer Saferwiffle

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

============================================================

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[RC] Horse Struck by Lightning, Ridecamp Guest