Ivan – Horse Down in His Stall

On October 3, we received a call about a horse named Ivan who was down in his stall and unable to get back on his feet on his own.

Ivan was certainly trying. He made repeated attempts to stand and could get himself into a sitting position, but he couldn’t get his hind legs underneath him well enough to rise.

When we arrived, we began planning how to safely move Ivan out of the stall and into the nearby arena, where we had enough room to set up our large-animal rescue tripod.

But as Ivan continued trying to stand, his position kept changing—and so did our rescue plan. Eventually, he ended up flat against the stall wall, eliminating several of our usual options. We adapted again, carefully pivoting him away from the wall before rolling him onto a large rescue glide and securing him to the glide for the move out of the stall.

Moving a full-size horse is no small task. We used a mechanical advantage hauling system to help pull Ivan on the glide through the narrow stall doorway. Slip sheets helped reduce friction and allowed us to maneuver the glide around the tight turn. Ivan’s owner provided earplugs for him to help protect his ears from the noise of the glide moving across gravel and other surfaces.

Through it all, Ivan remained calm for the ride.

Once we had Ivan positioned beneath the tripod, we placed large-animal lifting straps around him and slowly raised him until his hooves reached the ground.

At first, Ivan could support a little weight on his front legs, but his hind legs weren’t cooperating. We worked to stimulate his hindquarters, improve circulation, and help position his feet correctly. After about 15 minutes, we lowered him back down to give him a chance to rest before trying again.

On the second lift, we started to see progress. Little by little, Ivan began putting weight on his hind legs until he was eventually able to support his own weight.

Once he was standing, we released him from the lift system and gave him a moment to stand on his own. With our team alongside him for support, we then began leading him forward a few steps at a time.

Ivan was still wobbly, so we stayed close and slowly increased the distance he walked. Before long, he was walking around the arena and making gentle turns largely on his own. His hind end was still unsteady, but he remained upright and continued walking without assistance.

By the time we took down the tripod, packed our gear, and finished our debrief, it was nearly 3 am.

Large-animal rescues don’t always go according to the original plan, and Ivan’s rescue was a good example. Animals move, conditions change, and sometimes you’re working in a pretty tight space. Our team had to keep reassessing the situation and adjusting the plan as we went, while working together to safely get Ivan back on his feet.

WASART is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization. There is never a charge for our rescues.

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