The Rome Sentinel reports on the passing of a horse in Westmoreland that had Gasport lineage:
A race horse might have at least a 10-1 shot at winning the Kentucky Derby.
But Westmoreland Fire Chief Tom Wilcox said it’s about a "million to one shot" for firefighters to find a horse known to suffer seizures pinned underneath a parked farm tractor.
That was the scenario Friday when he and about a dozen other firefighters responded to 6120 Bartlett Road at about 8:30 a.m.
"I’ve been involved in the fire department for 28 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it," Wilcox said. "You just never know what’s going to happen."
The chief said firefighters don’t go through special training to learn how to rescue animals. It just took the collaboration of some equine-friendly folks and muscle power from a few helpful neighbors.
Upon arrival, responding firefighters found Schatzie, who the owners said is the daughter of a world gold medal champion jumper, pinned underneath a John Deere tractor after suffering a seizure overnight. Afraid Schatzie may be frightened from the ordeal and kick or resist her rescuers, Wilcox said firefighters had to wait for a veterinarian to administer a tranquilizer to help relax the animal.
"We got there and I had the idea to call and get a wrecker from Clinton Collision," Wilcox said. "A neighbor," who also raises horses, "came to give the horse some medicine before the veterinarian got there to administer the tranquilizer."
The wrecker lifted the front of the tractor while firefighters and neighbors pulled at ropes tied around Schatzie.
"She tried getting up, but eventually we were able to pull her out," the chief said. The entire operation took just more than 45 minutes. No one seems to know how the animal became lodged beneath the tractor.
Unfortunately, while the rescue came to a successful conclusion, Schatzie’s owner, Bennett Chittum, said they had to put the horse down over the weekend because of the stress she had endured in the ordeal. Schatzie was the daughter of Abdullah, a stallion from Gasport, near Buffalo, who is known as the most successful showjumper in the history of Trakehner breeding, according to the website: www.sporthorse-breeder.com. Under his rider Conrad Homfeld, he won inter alia, team gold and individual silver medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He was the 1985 World Cup Winner in Berlin, best horse of the 1986 World Championships in Aix-La-Chapelle and multiple Prize of Nations winner in the American team.
Schatzie was one of about 500 of Abdullah’s offspring found around the world. She lived to be 29-30 years old, Chittum said, which is like a centenarian in horse years. Her seizures began about a month ago, the owner said.
"With the trauma from everything she went through, she injured her back end, and we had to put her down," Chittum said sadly. "She was with us for a long time."
A race horse might have at least a 10-1 shot at winning the Kentucky Derby.
But Westmoreland Fire Chief Tom Wilcox said it’s about a "million to one shot" for firefighters to find a horse known to suffer seizures pinned underneath a parked farm tractor.
That was the scenario Friday when he and about a dozen other firefighters responded to 6120 Bartlett Road at about 8:30 a.m.
"I’ve been involved in the fire department for 28 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it," Wilcox said. "You just never know what’s going to happen."
The chief said firefighters don’t go through special training to learn how to rescue animals. It just took the collaboration of some equine-friendly folks and muscle power from a few helpful neighbors.
Upon arrival, responding firefighters found Schatzie, who the owners said is the daughter of a world gold medal champion jumper, pinned underneath a John Deere tractor after suffering a seizure overnight. Afraid Schatzie may be frightened from the ordeal and kick or resist her rescuers, Wilcox said firefighters had to wait for a veterinarian to administer a tranquilizer to help relax the animal.
"We got there and I had the idea to call and get a wrecker from Clinton Collision," Wilcox said. "A neighbor," who also raises horses, "came to give the horse some medicine before the veterinarian got there to administer the tranquilizer."
The wrecker lifted the front of the tractor while firefighters and neighbors pulled at ropes tied around Schatzie.
"She tried getting up, but eventually we were able to pull her out," the chief said. The entire operation took just more than 45 minutes. No one seems to know how the animal became lodged beneath the tractor.
Unfortunately, while the rescue came to a successful conclusion, Schatzie’s owner, Bennett Chittum, said they had to put the horse down over the weekend because of the stress she had endured in the ordeal. Schatzie was the daughter of Abdullah, a stallion from Gasport, near Buffalo, who is known as the most successful showjumper in the history of Trakehner breeding, according to the website: www.sporthorse-breeder.com. Under his rider Conrad Homfeld, he won inter alia, team gold and individual silver medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He was the 1985 World Cup Winner in Berlin, best horse of the 1986 World Championships in Aix-La-Chapelle and multiple Prize of Nations winner in the American team.
Schatzie was one of about 500 of Abdullah’s offspring found around the world. She lived to be 29-30 years old, Chittum said, which is like a centenarian in horse years. Her seizures began about a month ago, the owner said.
"With the trauma from everything she went through, she injured her back end, and we had to put her down," Chittum said sadly. "She was with us for a long time."
Source: http://romesentinel.com/news?newsid=20111010-142241
