A Lesson Lived Is A Lesson Learned

One thing I love about working at the clinic is hearing all about the veterinarians wild tales of things that have happened to them during their years of practice.  Recently one of the veterinarians was telling a story about drawing blood on a horse for a Coggins test.  It was nothing too exciting, just a quick stick and everyone would be on their way.  When he went outside the clinic, the owner had not yet unloaded the horse.  The veterinarian asked the owner to unload the horse, but he insisted that it would be much easier and quicker just to draw blood from inside the trailer.  The veterinarian stepped inside the trailer and slowly approached the horse.  The horse, seeing and unfamiliar person coming toward him, began to panic.  The vet and owner tried to calm the horse down, but it began to frantically pull against the trailer tie.  Suddenly the horse swung its head to one side and snapped the tie.  The horse's face collided with the side of the veterinarian's head and knocked him out cold.  He had to be dragged from the trailer to avoid being trampled.  He woke up outside the trailer with a swollen face, a pounding headache, and a concussion.  The vet said he learned the hard way never to get inside a trailer to mess with a horse.

Just this week a client brought in a horse for a Coggins test.  The veterinary technician was sent out to draw the blood and I went along to help.  It was pouring down rain outside and the owner had not unloaded the horse.  The veterinarian's story ran through my head.  The owner said that since it was raining we could draw blood from inside the trailer.  We stepped into the back of the trailer to get out of the rain, but the veterinary technician suggested that it would be safer to work outside even though it was raining.  The owner insisted that we would be fine and proceeded to untie the horse, but just as he loosened the rope the horse spooked and ran backwards.  The vet tech and I scurried to get out of the way just as the horse slipped and toppled backwards out of the trailer.  The horse regained its footing and luckily wasn't hurt, but the vet tech and I got quite a scare.  I think it's safe to say I learned my lesson and will never again get in an unfamiliar horse trailer again.