AVOIDING NON-RACING OUTDOOR ACCIDENTS

[Jorge]

AVOIDING NON-RACING OUTDOOR ACCIDENTS:

Can non-racing outdoor accidents with Thoroughbreds be avoided
or exponentially reduced? I ask because so many good horses are freakishly lost each year while being simply bathed, walked, groomed etc, that I have to ask myself if horse people really understand that nothing is ordinarily safe when you are handling a Thoroughbred.

I would really like people reading this posting to write their observations and recommendations on how to avoid risky accidents when dealing with Thoroughbreds.

Here are my two cents:

01. Avoid at all cost stall doors with sufficient space between each hinge and the door frame that may trap the leg of an equine. It's incredible how many farms don't pay attention to this "detail".

02. Don't bath a horse in a non completely dry area.

03. Horses and open areas, specially when only one person is handling
the horse are potentially dangerous. Many many people ignore this dictum.

Would like to read your "two cents".

[LB]

My two cents is that TBs (and any other kind of horses) will come up with more ways to injure themselves than anyone can plan for or guard against. There is only so much that can be done to protect a big, strong, fast, fragile, animal with a highly developed flight instinct from itself.

From the moment they are born, horses are pretty much an accident looking for a place to happen.

With regard to #2 (above), it's hard for me to understand how a horse can be bathed in a "completely dry area". In most cases, hoses are involved. If not, then buckets. It doesn't matter how dry things are when you start out, eventually everything is gonna be wet.

With regard to #3 (above) again I'm confused. Horses belong in open areas. That's where they thrive and have the best chance to stay the healthiest. Sure it's potentially dangerous, but again... big, strong, fast, fragile animal. It's all a risk, no matter where they are.

[K~2]

I'm pretty certain that if you were to seal a horse in a padded bubble, they would still find a way to hurt themselves.
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Legal Jousting (Indian Ridge X In Anticipation - Sadler's Wells) standing at Kingsgate Stud