Jack and Fiona update:
Jack is doing pretty good. He's obviously understandably sore on his head where he took the brunt of the burn, but he's a typical cowboy who is toughing it out and not complaining. He's got some follow-up appointments this week so we will have a better idea on his recovery.
Fiona is looking a little better today. She was so listless yesterday, I was pretty worried about her.
These pictures from this morning were before we cleaned her off and applied the ointment back on so she looks pretty dirty, but she's really not.
Her eyes are finally able to open and the swelling has gone down some. She's eating and drinking, we have been soaking her hay to help make it softer and to ease her irritated airway.
Her back doesn't have open blisters, (yet?), but the swelling from the intense heat is very prominent and I'm certain it is very sore and tender to touch.
We are doing our best to keep the SSD (silver) cream on her but she is starting to itch and rub so that is going to pose as a challenge. I'm very open to suggestions if y'all have any input for that! She's been SO GOOD to dr and treat!
The reality of this situation has set in. I spoke with a vet in Texas who has done research on trailer fires for over 30 years. She wanted to know what we did to save our horses....she said that in most cases, the horses nearly never make it out alive. By the time haulers realize what is going on, It's too late. They are gone. 😔
We have learned so much from this!
Things we could have\should have done differently:
If we could have done anything differently to prevent something like this, first, we would have a security system in the trailer. Thing is, we had one sitting at home, we just hadn't installed it yet. Sure doesn't do any of us any good sitting there....
I can promise you that the system will be installed before we ever haul again!
Check your load. Double, triple check!! Make sure whatever you are hauling is not in danger of catching on fire. Yes, accidents happen...just do your due diligence to help prevent something like this.
-Always have some type of plan in place for an emergency and everyone in the vehicle knows their roles.
Example: Designate who is calling 911, who is getting the horses out, who is going to unhook the truck and trailer, etc..
-Be more aware of your surroundings while driving. It's so easy to just hit the cruise control and haul away. In a situation like this, you only have seconds to react.
Things I believe we did right:
-I firmly believe that due to the full stud gate storing the "extras" on the opposite side, Fiona's life was saved. Had it not been there, it would have been a completely, horribly, different outcome for her.
-Never, ever tie them hard and fast in the trailer. That action also helped to save their lives.
-Our trailer is a 5 horse slant load and we almost always haul as an open stock with most of the partitions removed. We only had one horse (Fiona) in a partitioned stall. In the panic, had we had to open each partition for each horse, we would have lost precious, precious seconds to get them out.
-Always carry at least one commercial grade fire extinguisher! More is better. Not a cheap Walmart one, but at least a 4A60BC. We got ours from Lowe's if you need to go purchase one.
-Carry extra halters and a well stocked first aid kit. You never know if you will need them.
-Carry a sharp knife to cut them free from something if you have too. In our situation, we didn't need to, and quite honestly, it probably would have been dropped and lost in the panic and chaos, but it's good to have something like that easy to access.
-Unpopular opinion, but I'm going to say it whether you want to hear it or not: In an absolute worst case scenario situation where there are clearly NO other options, have the means and be prepared to dispatch an animal. That is always the last thing we would ever want to think about or do, but it's better that, than to let them suffer in agony while waiting for who knows how long for someone else to do it.
Accidents of any kind can happen in areas where it could be hours before help arrives. It's best to be as prepared as possible in such an emergency.
-Haul with a filled water tank. You never know if you will need it for more than drinking water.
-Insure your trailer! Most people don't realize this, but unless you have a loan on your trailer, it is only (automatically) covered for liability (hooked), not comprehensive. It costs nearly nothing to add it to a policy and can save some heartache down the road. (No pun intended 😅)
-Most importantly, TRAIN your horses!!!
Our horses are exposed to a lot. We travel all over the country and they have seen and experienced more than the average horse. As soon as they got out of the trailer, they STOOD LIKE STATUES. They weren't panicked and out of control in the chaos. A kind lady that stopped to help, who has never been around horses before, held all three lead ropes of the three horses that just nearly died, and they didn't move an inch. No joke.
I understand that you can't always train for an exact situation like this, but work with your horse and expose them to as much as you can so that when you get into that "Real Life" situation, they look to you for leadership, not panic.
Now I'm not saying what each person should or shouldn't do in an emergency (such as this). Because we all know that every situation is different. This was just our experience and if some of what we did right or wrong can help the next person prevent an even worse tragedy, I will gladly share and I hope you will too.
Don't ever assume that a scary emergency will only ever happen to "someone else".
I cannot stop thanking and praising God for His protection on us and our precious horses.
Statistically, they never should have made it out of the trailer alive. These animals are not just a way of life, but they are our family and mean the world to us. I have to believe that there is an unknown purpose in this tragic, terrifying accident.
God's never-ending mercy, Jack's heroic, quick actions and quick thinking and doing some things right helps give this story a "happy ending".
Thank you so much to everyone who has reached out, we are SO BLESSED!
Fiona still has a LONG road to recovery, but she is so resilient and will eventually be okay!
