# Other Pets > Horses >  Photos of Bonnet's accident and surgies, VERY GRAPHIC!!!

## SlitherinSisters

I've mentioned things about her accident several times before, and I finally got around to scanning the pictures. I sent an email to the place that did her final surgery and they were really excited to hear from me and wanted to share my story and wedding pictures online/in the office. I think that's pretty cool  :Smile:  

Anyhow, here is a pretty picture to start with, this is what she used to look like, she was 16 years old in this picture


And here is a picture of her about 6 months later, this is a picture of her head, the flap of skin is where her eye was supposed to be. She completely broke off her brown bone, and shattered a lot more of it. I was 17 years old at the time, my sister and I went out to ride her and found her like this, my sister was 9 at the time. 


After the first surgery, she had a constant bloody nose for a week. It has been 8 years and she still will not eat carrots to this day. We used to feed her carrots during the surgeries to distract her. 


Her eyelid started dying, there was puss coming out of her eye and dripping from both nostrils, she had another surgery after this one. The infection was dangerously close to her brain at this point, she smelled like death, it was so bad. She was on antibiotics non stop. 


This is when we found out that she also fractured her skull, that place on her forehead that looks like a gun shot. I literally thought she got shot by a hunter, I did hot compresses on her face and put ointment on her every day and that happened in 24 hours. 


I called the vet out once again after I saw her like that, he did a 3rd surgery on her and told me she needed to go to a horse surgeon because there were so many bone fragments he couldn't get them all out, and the skull fracture had him worried. So...we drove a couple hours to a horse surgeon, she stayed there for two days in a padded horse stall after her 4th surgery, and she was fine after that! When I called the surgeon a few weeks later to tell him she was doing good he admitted that he didn't think she would make it, but said that if he told us that we wouldn't try as hard to keep her alive. He also didn't charge me hardly anything for what he did, he said he didn't want to leave me with a huge bill and a dead horse, I couldn't believe how awesome he was. He only charged me for the supplies, it ended up being $230 dollars for her surgery, x-rays, meds, and the padded stall, unbelievable! 


She has been through heck and back, but I'm so glad I gave her a loving forever home, she never had that before. I was her 6th owner when she was 16 years old. She is a very high strung horse so I'm not surprised at all that people didn't keep her. People just don't understand that pets are a commitment, not a car that can be bought and sold with disregard. When I found her she was by herself in mud up to her knees in a pen no bigger than a garage. The seller told me I didn't want that horse and pointed me towards several other "nicer horses", but she nickered at me so sweetly as I walked by I just had to have her. She was on our farm the very next day. 

This is a picture of her right after I got her, she was 200lbs underweight, even at 24 years old she doesn't look anything like this.

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## JLC

Oh my gosh!  Did you ever figure out how that happened?  Or at least have a guess?  Did the skull fracture come later?  Two different accidents?  That skull thing looks like someone hit her with a hammer.  :Tears: 

I'm SO glad she's all well now, and obviously a very content horse with a beautiful owner!

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SlitherinSisters (07-18-2012)

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## SlitherinSisters

> Oh my gosh!  Did you ever figure out how that happened?  Or at least have a guess?  Did the skull fracture come later?  Two different accidents?  That skull thing looks like someone hit her with a hammer. 
> 
> I'm SO glad she's all well now, and obviously a very content horse with a beautiful owner!


We still don't have a clue what happened to her. Our best guess is that she hit her head on a bolt that held the gate on the fence. She was staying at a friend's house that was helping me out with her since she was so spooky and I didn't know what to do with her. She lived right next to the interstate and truck drivers love to blare their horns and freak horses out. They do it all the time when we are out riding in hopes that they will get a show. We think something like that spooked her and she hit her head on the bolt, there was hair on it. She was in with other horses, but the vet said their was a no way a barefoot horse (no shoes) could do damage like that. She didn't have any other injuries, no cuts, scrapes, nothing. It was a freak accident that's for sure. 

The fractured skull was from the same injury, we just didn't know there was an issue up there since you couldn't see anything from the outside until the bone fragments floated up and out. When she went in for the last surgery they did x-rays and you could see all the chips and cracks. I don't know how she pulled through everything, but she did!

She's such an amazing horse now. She did not trust humans until that accident, so in a way it was a blessing. One of the ways bad people break horses is by breaking their spirits. You tie them up in a barn and beat the living daylights out of them until they submit. People still train like that around here, I saw someones horse after a "trainer" like that, they didn't do any research and just dropped the horse off. It came back with huge gaping wounds, holes, and scabs everywhere. Bonnet is still terrified of barns and anything that resembles a whip. It used to be so bad she would shake until sweat dripped off her belly just because you had her in a barn. I can do just about anything with her now, but she still prefers to never be in a barn, and I don't blame her. She's never been stalled since I've had her, other than when she was sedated in the surgery barn of course.

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## wolfy-hound

There's no telling how she did it. Horses are the most creative animals in injuring themselves ever.

My appaloosa mare once managed to cut her eyelid half off. As in, it was sliced from one edge to just past the center of it, so the upper eyelid was hanging down. The vet gave her sedation to make her sleepy and stitched it up, no harm no foul, healed up well. But despite searching for hours, I never found anything that could have cut her eye. 

Glad to know she did heal up.

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SlitherinSisters (07-19-2012)

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## DooLittle

That poor baby!  Is this the same horse that was in your wedding photos?  What a great story, (the part where she has a good owner, that fought for her and healed her) glad she is in a good home.  :Smile: 

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SlitherinSisters (07-19-2012)

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## SlitherinSisters

> There's no telling how she did it. Horses are the most creative animals in injuring themselves ever.
> 
> My appaloosa mare once managed to cut her eyelid half off. As in, it was sliced from one edge to just past the center of it, so the upper eyelid was hanging down. The vet gave her sedation to make her sleepy and stitched it up, no harm no foul, healed up well. But despite searching for hours, I never found anything that could have cut her eye. 
> 
> Glad to know she did heal up.


That's no kidding! We watched my sisters mare run right into the fence and tear a good chunk of her chest. There was no reason for it! Strange creatures for sure! 





> That poor baby!  Is this the same horse that was in your wedding photos?  What a great story, (the part where she has a good owner, that fought for her and healed her) glad she is in a good home. 
> 
> Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2


It sure is! That's one reason she is so important to me and why it was awesome to have her in the wedding. She definitely had a rough life before. 



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## Vasiliki

The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how well a horse show tell you what they can get injured on. I've never seen a more 'clumsy' kind of animal. 

She is very lucky to have had the kind of support you're describing here. You, the people working with her, the amazing surgeon... It's amazing how people can come together in times like this. 

It takes a certain kind of strength to see an injury like that and work towards problem solving it instead of dreading the outcome. So many people forget that positive thinking actually does affect more than we realize.

So glad to hear she is doing better! What a gorgeous girl!

I can totally hear you on the "You don't want that horse..." comment. Since I was young, I was always drawn to the horses that needed the most love. You know the kind. High spirited, flighty, anxious.... 'Dangerous' horses. Or horses 'not worth the time.'  If only people knew that those are the horses that are just GOLD when you get the chance to find a solutiion to their problems. I adopted an abused horse (he was blind on one side, but his previous owner didn't realize why he was shying when people were on that side. So he beat him on his blind side. To the point he had scars from whips... and cigarette burns....). It took months to get his trust enough to touch him on his blind side. But he reached a point one day where I was working with him, just touching and brushing and talking... And he heaved the biggest sigh, propped up a hind leg and just dropped his head. It was like the weight of the world came off of his shoulders. After that, I could do anything to him. I cried so hard when I had to give him up. There is nothing like the horses that choose you.

And sounds like your girl chose 100% right.

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SlitherinSisters (07-29-2012)

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## Navy

Poor baby.  :Sad: 
I love horses but just don't have the land.
Growing up my best friend had horses, one of which who had a very similar injury caused by a bolt, except it was on the side so it wasn't as severe. 
I'm glad she's alive and doing well, not every horse is that lucky.

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SlitherinSisters (07-29-2012)

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## SlitherinSisters

> The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how well a horse show tell you what they can get injured on. I've never seen a more 'clumsy' kind of animal. 
> 
> She is very lucky to have had the kind of support you're describing here. You, the people working with her, the amazing surgeon... It's amazing how people can come together in times like this. 
> 
> It takes a certain kind of strength to see an injury like that and work towards problem solving it instead of dreading the outcome. So many people forget that positive thinking actually does affect more than we realize.
> 
> So glad to hear she is doing better! What a gorgeous girl!
> 
> I can totally hear you on the "You don't want that horse..." comment. Since I was young, I was always drawn to the horses that needed the most love. You know the kind. High spirited, flighty, anxious.... 'Dangerous' horses. Or horses 'not worth the time.'  If only people knew that those are the horses that are just GOLD when you get the chance to find a solutiion to their problems. I adopted an abused horse (he was blind on one side, but his previous owner didn't realize why he was shying when people were on that side. So he beat him on his blind side. To the point he had scars from whips... and cigarette burns....). It took months to get his trust enough to touch him on his blind side. But he reached a point one day where I was working with him, just touching and brushing and talking... And he heaved the biggest sigh, propped up a hind leg and just dropped his head. It was like the weight of the world came off of his shoulders. After that, I could do anything to him. I cried so hard when I had to give him up. There is nothing like the horses that choose you.
> ...


I was so thankful for the surgeon and everyone that helped out with her. It took almost 5 months before she was done with everything and it was safe to say she was going to make it. I love that horse more than just about anything!

I just took her to a horse show last weekend and she made me proud like always! We did poles for fun, neither one of us had ever done poles and she's blind on one side-so she could only see half the poles, but we got 4th place! We were going against people that go to all the local shows they can to compete! She definitely trusts me to do about anything! 

I agree with you about horses that have had a rough time. Sometimes they make the best horses once you break through their defenses. I think they are really looking for a human to trust and love, but so many humans have let them down they make you work hard to earn their trust. That is so sad about the horse you adopted, that poor thing  :Sad:  I don't know how people can do that. 




> Poor baby. 
> I love horses but just don't have the land.
> Growing up my best friend had horses, one of which who had a very similar injury caused by a bolt, except it was on the side so it wasn't as severe. 
> I'm glad she's alive and doing well, not every horse is that lucky.


Bolts can definitely be dangerous and we think that's what did it to her, but of course we will never truly know. She's definitely lucky she nickered at me that day I went to buy a horse.  I can only imagine what kind of life she would have had if she didn't catch my attention that day. Now she's loved and has a forever home she can enjoy. My guess is that we are the first home that has given her that, and we are definitely the longest home she has ever had.

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## heathers*bps

She is a beautiful horse and I'm so glad that she pulled thru! What a touching story  :Smile:

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SlitherinSisters (08-05-2012)

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## SeeTheCityLights

Oh wow, poor girl!  :Tears:  I'm so glad she's doing all right now, though!

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SlitherinSisters (08-05-2012)

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## Mike41793

Awww poor thing.... Even though shes evil i still feel a little bit sorry for her. Or wait maybe thats just heartburn hehehehe...

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SlitherinSisters (08-05-2012)

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## SlitherinSisters

> She is a beautiful horse and I'm so glad that she pulled thru! What a touching story


Thank you very much! She's a champ that's for sure!




> Oh wow, poor girl!  I'm so glad she's doing all right now, though!


Thank you! She is doing great and I'm still showing, gaming, and trail riding her! She's an awesome partner for sure!




> Awww poor thing.... Even though shes evil i still feel a little bit sorry for her. Or wait maybe thats just heartburn hehehehe...


Lol, I'm glad you maybe feel bad  :Razz:

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_Mike41793_ (08-05-2012),SeeTheCityLights (08-14-2012)

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