MERS responds on the 32nd call for 2011 to Ballwin, Mo.

Updated at January 05, 2012 19:08

MERS received a call at 10:50am through a veterinarian for assistance with a horse down in a stall. MERS was able to have 12 members respond. The horse had been down for approximately 2 hours when we received the call. The horse was a Hanoverian, a little over 17 hands in height. It was not known why the horse was down, but for the veterinarian to do proper evaluations, MERS needed to get the horse upright. Upon our arrival we placed the MERS Head Protector on the horse. We then placed our specialized equipment under the downed horse, and were able to get the horse sternal. The horse was thrashing around but we stayed with it. This is part of the reason why it is so important that we have an OPERATIONS OFFICER and a SAFETY OFFICER on each and every call out. Using our equipment and with equal number of members on each side, we were able to quickly and safely lift the horse up into an upright and standing position. From the time that we arrived on the scene, we had the horse up and standing in less than 10 minutes.The veterinarian performed some evaluations and we then walked the horse out of the barn into a turn out area . We walked the horse for approximately 15 minutes. At that time, the veterinarian released us from our duty.

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