Horse Basic Care And Safety – The Cast Horse
The cast horse is whan a horse lays down too close to a wall or fence. In an effort to get up, they cannot get their limbs underneath their bodies. They become stuck and what follows is dependant on the horse. Either they become motionless or they thrash to the point of injuring themselves.
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The cast horse is when a horse lays down too close to a wall or fence. In an effort to get up, they cannot get their limbs underneath their bodies. They become stuck and what follows is dependent on the horse. Either they become motionless or they thrash to the point of injuring themselves.
The action of becoming cast usually happens when no one is around – late at night. However it can occur anytime a horse lays down. I was at my house recently and watched my horse lay down too close to the fence. She struggled to get up breaking one of the wood boards of the fence and scraping her legs. I was helplessly far away and the action lasted about 10 seconds.
One day while floating the teeth of a mini, the horse went down and became cast. He became motionless. I had my camera and asked the barn manager to film how I get a cast horse up without injuring the person. While I weighed more than this mini, the principle works no matter how much larger the horse is than you.
Please watch the 2 videos here to learn how to un-cast a horse without injuring yourself. Please also visit the topic “Cast rails” in the related material tab to see how these devices can be installed to help your horse get out of being cast on their own.
This describes what a cast horse is and how to recover a cast horse without getting hurt.
Helping the cast horse – a demonstration
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