Dying Horse Collapses in Stable. Just Before Being Put Down, Stable Mate Revives Her
You’ve heard of dogs rescuing their owners, their offspring, or even other animals’ offspring, but usually it’s from a fire or an impending medical emergency. Their sense of smell is just uncanny and can pick up on those subtle changes in health or such a minor gas leak that humans don’t notice.
But have you ever heard of a horse saving another horse from the brink of death? I sure haven’t.
That’s exactly what happened in Somerset, England, recently. A shire horse — a British species of draft horses that look like Clydesdales — named Beatrice had experienced something called equine colic, with its major symptom being extreme abdominal pain.
Beatrice, 16, had collapsed in her stable stall, and I know I learned at a young age that horses shouldn’t be off their feet for long — it’s somewhat common knowledge even among people who have no experience with the animals.
Her owners, Donald MacIntyre and wife Jane Lipington, along with four farm workers, did their best to get her on her feet for six long hours.
The longer she was grounded, “the more at risk she was of succumbing to fatal organ failure.”
They used everything they could, including creating a kind of pulley system with their tractor and massive straps. The one-ton horse was just too heavy, and if she wasn’t getting herself up, it seemed like no one was.
MacIntyre and Lipington had to eventually create a deadline for when they would have to put her down.
Her heart rate and blood pressure were rising to dangerous levels, and it would eventually have to come to that, unfortunately.
But with just 20 minutes left to the deadline, Lipington remembered she needed to let out Beatrice’s companion, Beau, 11, for a “walk about the yard.” When she opened his door, though, he went straight for Beatrice’s stall.
I can’t imagine it was hard to notice what was happening nearby, and Beau knew what he had to do.
He put his head over the divider and started nipping at Beatrice’s neck, grabbing and pulling her head up and encouraging her to move.
She rolled over and got up. Beau had done what six humans had been trying to do for hours on end.
Lipington said, “We all watched with amazement. He lifted her so that her chest and legs came up off the ground, with a little encouragement from us she got shakily to her feet and we quickly walked her out into the yard trying to stop her falling down.”
Beatrice has since made a full recovery and has a long life ahead of her with Beau by her side. They are “long time companions” and have been mates for four years.
Love knows no bounds, and sometimes animals can do what humans and their fancy machinery cannot.
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