This message is from: laura fisher <laura_fishe...@hotmail.com> I had a horse that would "itch" his face on its knees- and then go down. I was told to always watch out for the itch and lift the reins and kick him forward immediately
> Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 22:14:20 -0500 > From: coy...@acrec.com > To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com > Subject: Re: hang on > > This message is from: "coy...@acrec.com" <coy...@acrec.com> > > plumg...@pon.net wrote: > > I cannot figure out why a horse would want to go down in a shallow creek with > > rocks all over the streambed.... > > Well, I can't figure it out either, Gail, but the fact remains that it > happens. I have personally seen it happen to other riders several times > and almost had it happen to me once. > > In EVERY case in my personal experience, the horse DID strike the water > several times with a front hoof shortly before attempting to lie down. I > do not mean to say they ALWAYS paw before lying down, but in my > experience, the pawing is strongly linked to lying down in the water. > > On the same note, I ~occasionally~ see the same pawing behavior right > before a horse lies down in the pasture. Even though it does not happen > every time on land, it happens often enough on water and on land that I > associate this pawing with the act of lying down. > > In the cases I can attest to, one was a small solid-granite pool up in > the west Texas hills, water depth of about a foot. The rider had stopped > to let his horse drink. When the horse had his fill, he started to paw. > I warned the rider to get his horse moving, but he didn't react fast > enough. After pawing several times, the horse calmly laid down in the > water. The rider got a foot briefly trapped under the horse and came out > of it with some good bruises. The horse got several abrasions and cuts > on its legs as it struggled to get up on the slippery rocks. > > The other two times I have experienced this behavior were in the Yellow > River here in northeastern Iowa. It has a rocky limestone bottom, the > depth ranges from 12" to 24", and the width ranges from 100 to 200 feet. > Same basic story as the Texas incident, but no injuries to the riders or > horses either time, thank goodness. > > And some years ago my mare Sissel, after taking a drink on a hot day, > started to paw and get "weak in the knees". Thankfully, I got her moving > across the river again before she went down. Once they get moving, their > "sinking spell" seems to evaporate and they're fine. > > --DeeAnna > > Important FjordHorse List Links: > Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e > FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw > Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222986/direct/01/ Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
