mr bean

Mr. Bean is a kind, proud and caring horse. He has always been so regal and elegant, yet so gentle with even the smallest of children. He had just turned 20 years old when tragedy struck him. It was unexpected and something you would only expect to read about, but never to have happen in real life. I had turned him out to pasture the night before and he was fine and happy. He drank some water and then walked off to graze. It was a normal night and I never expected anything to go wrong. Something horrible happened that night though. I didn't find out until the next morning. I went to bring Mr. Bean in and I found him standing with his head drooping. He didn't seem aware of me as i walked up to him. Normally he would walk up to me and be ready to come into his stall for the day and of course his breakfast. When I reached him I saw that his legs were cut open. Huge gashes in both of his front legs. Then I saw that his nose was bleeding lightly too. I put his halter on him and noticed a horrible smell coming out of his nose. It smelled like something dead. That smell scared me more than anything. Mr. Bean was unresponsive to me. He wouldn't walk forward and he seemed so weak. I tried to lead him and he kept drifting to the right and couldn't focus on walking. He did try his heart out for me, but he couldn't seem to walk. He then fell down coming out of the gate. It was terrifying. He stood up again on his own, but he just didn't seem able to balance. My vet arrived right away and she examined Mr. Bean and told me that he had fractured his skull. She gave him some DMSO and wrapped his legs. She felt his best chance was to get him into the Equine Hospital. I didn't feel confident to transport him there in my trailer so I had a professional shipping company come and take him into Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital. The driver was so good with Mr. Bean. He even stayed at the hospital to make sure that Mr. Bean was ok. Mr. Bean had a dedicated team of workers caring for him at Peterson and Smith. They cared for him around that clock that night keeping him from going into shock. The head surgeon seemed doubtful that he would even make it through that first night. I remember the fear I felt. I was awake all night long and dreading for the phone to ring. Luckily it didn't. Mr. Bean made it through the night! The next day they did x-rays and found that his skull was indeed fractured right by the brain. He had also lost the vision in his right eye. The head veterinarian told me that he only had about a 40% chance of survival. No one really knows just what happened to Mr. Bean to cause him to get so injured. It is speculated that he had a stroke and crashed into the fence. The vet told me we just may never know. Mr. Bean is an older and quiet gelding. I don't see how he could have gotten into such a bad situation. It doesn't make sense and a lot is just unanswered. He really is a good boy and he was in a safe pasture. Mr. Bean stayed in the hospital for 13 days. He continued to improve every day and only had one day of set backs. He finally came home and has continued to improve and is really a true miracle. He is now able to be turned out all day long in a smaller paddock. He is in his stall all night long. He still has the vision loss of his right eye. His legs have healed up nicely. He is very happy and alert. He is pretty much back to normal. I don't know if he could ever be ridden again, but that really doesn't matter. He is safe. He is happy and he is leading a normal life once more. He is very pampered and spoiled. Sincerely, Cathy