Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Don't lie down Harv, you're scaring your mom....

Not harv or riley
I was about ten minutes late to work last Saturday (I work 1-5pm on some Saturdays). Why? Because Harvey gave me a mild scare. At 9am, I'm walking over to Riley's barn and happen to look out and see Harv outside. It's  chilly, not sunny, and he is lying down, feet tucked in, nose touching the ground. He's lying in the pile of hay that they left in the now grass-less field.

For a half an hour, I sat with him, touched his nose, felt his temp, watched his breathing. He didn't seem distressed, but he seemed very, very tired. Ready to expire tired. I wondered about his heart, but his breath was deep and slow, like sleeping. I finally left him to get Riley ready, thinking I'd check on him later. Grabbing the saddle and bridle, I caught a glimpse of him through the tack room window. Now he was stretched out. Like a dead horse. I ran back outside.

"Harvey! Speak to me!" He looked up, annoyed, and laid his head back down. I took the hint and left him alone.

Walked back to the tack room again.  I saw the barn manager. "Did you see Harv?"  I asked. 

"Oh, he was doing that yesterday."

The barn manager reported the day before he was lying down too, in the same haycovered spot. She went to check on him because Riley was standing over him, like he was guarding him, and that worried her. But he seemed fine. Later, she noticed Riley lying down beside him, and she concluded both were enjoying a little rest.

An hour behind now, I got on Riley and headed to the indoor. Rode ten minutes, and then the barn owner walked out, and with a worried expression told me Harvey was down.  I explained the situation. Twenty minutes later, she walked out to tell me he was up and eating.

I have to say, it's nice when so many people are keeping an eye on your boys. And doubly nice when they bring you good news.


20 comments:

  1. I have an older Appy mare that has done this to me twice now over the past couple of months and my heart stopped each time :/

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  2. There is *always* a heart-stopping moment when you see one lying down, especially when they are flat-out! Glad to hear that Harv is OK though, and WONDERFUL that so many people are keeping a close eye on him!

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  3. Any chance he might be cold? My older mare (24) did that for a few weeks last year when I didn't have her blanketed heavily enough. She would lie down in the middle of the hay in the field while the other horses ate around her. Her best bud would sometimes lay with her too.

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  4. I am sure the horses sleep (like the dead or LOOK like they're dead) and we just don't notice. I get the same way when I see my guy "down and out" in his stall. He doesn't often wake up (or GET up) when I come out early to feed, which is cause for some alarm. But his guts are roiling and broiling, he's not in any distress, and there's plenty of evidence "all systems" have been going. Still scary, though. Glad the boys are okay

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  5. Our OTTB, Cheers, lays down often -very common occurance. But I have never seen my 4 yr old mare laying down...until my husband sent me a phone pic this morning :)

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  6. I'm with ya on this! Mine's 29 and i H-A-T-E this when it happens. I guess old men should be allowed to nap as often as they want. (Big gulp.)

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  7. I wouldn't worry, this time of year I see horses out at the barn lying like that on left over hay. Maybe because it's the driest, warmest spot? There's so little grass to much I think they just rest more.

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  8. My old horse Pro and his buddy would routinely to lay out in the paddock head to tail; spine to spine. Alas this was the time before phone cameras and I missed the Kodak moments.

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  9. My boy does this 'dead horse' laying down position daily. He also does it when he'd cold.
    You're right, they do seem to be kinda in a sleepy trance when they're down. It's very strange, like they can't really wake up.
    I guess they need their REMs daily, though- and Harv has just chosen that time of the day!

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  10. Gee whiz, never mind scaring his mom, when I saw the little photo on FB I though that WAS Harv and it scared ME! Yikes! Having just come myself last week to find a (very unexpectedly) deceased pet, it was an icky feeling. :-(

    (My 16 mo. old guinea pig was lying dead under his Pigloo. No illness that I was aware of, seemed perfectly normal that AM. No idea what happened. His brother is fine.)

    I'm glad he is okay and glad that the other people at the barn were paying attention, too.

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  11. My mare is a very serious napper. When she spends a lot of time in a stall, she LOVES to go pass out in the pasture. The BO at our last barn thought it was hilarious. I'd turn Izzy out, and down she'd go. You had to halter her while laying down just to get her up in an hour or two.

    She was fine, just having a nap in the sun.

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  12. I always keep and eye on my Boys when they sleep like that, but it's usually just a good nap in the sunshine.

    One time my friend was at the barn when she found my Toby down like that making an awful noise breathing. She went in the stall and he wouldn't get up, so she called the vet.

    Turned out Toby was just in a deep sleep, snoring. Guess the vet got a good laugh out of that one. My friend paid the call fee, by the way, but I would have been glad to do it, knowing someone was watching out for my Boy.

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  13. My two horses lay down in the paddock every morning for an hour or two.
    It's always around the same time.
    Sometimes I still freak out a little when I see them (or one of them) laying out in the paddock.

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  14. When I was in college I took Horse Production and 4 of us had a 3 year old we had to take care of. I went out one day when the project horses were in one of the back fields.

    I discovered that he'd been double grained the day before, which kinda worried me. "What if he colicked?!?!" I went out in to the field only to find him totally out on his side, just like your picture.

    The first thing that ran through my head was "OMG! Do I fail if we killed our horse?" (hey, I was a college student...). He was fine, just dead asleep. I managed to wake him up and all was OK. But I still occasionally look at a sleeping horse and remember "Do I fail if we killed our project horse?"

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  15. My guy does this and extends his tongue so he can eat at the same time. He's really lazy.

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  16. My ottb does this pretty often - most days. I wave a treat, smelling salts style under his nose if I'm really worried. It does generate worried phone calls sometimes :)

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  17. It is a bit disconcerting when you see them like that! Glad all is well

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  18. As long as he is not distressed, warm enough and rises normally, he's entitled to an old dude's nap.
    Our horses, all ages, used to lay down for a nap in front of the house every day about noon. Sometimes they'd sit, the oldest horse (32) would always stretch out flat with a big ole sigh. After an hour, they'd all rise, and off to poop and graze.

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  19. Speaking of lying in the hay....I knew a pony who loved to lay in the hay. It was her way of seizing the food for herself. Then she'd snap at any horse who tried to eat. The owner had to feed her separately in a corral. Ponies!

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  20. I think if the horses lived with you on your own property where you could see their daily habits much more closely, it would not worry you as much. Horse like to have a lie down more often than people think. Not just a "sit down" nap, but a nice stretch out during the day. That they are willing to lay down and sleep soundly is also a good sign of their feeling of security. (My horses never did it for more than an hour, but they stretched out every day about noon.) It's nice that the barn people keep an eye out. Sounds like you are also paying for that much care, so you got your money's worth.
    Remember Seabiscuit was known for his ability to stretch out and sleep for hours, even when travelling. Of course they gave him very deep straw too, so he really indulged.

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