All Horses From Collapsed Barn are Stable and Doing Well

Veterinarian Stacey Golub is taking a well-earned day off today after spending last night helping rescue horses from the collapsed barn at Sun Gold Stable in Bethany. When the last horse was out, however, her work was far from over. The horses had been transported to various other barns in the area as soon as they were stabilized, and Dr. Golub made two more stops before she headed home - one to check on three horses at a barn in Bethany, and the another to stitch up a horse with a leg laceration in Prospect.

Only one horse was transported to an equine veterinary facility, and that one had lacerations that had to be sutured, an orbital fracture (a bone right above the eye) and corneal abrasions. The rest of the 14 rescued horses were all resting comfortably despite a lot of scrapes and abrasions.

"These horses all had guardian angels watching over them," Golub said. "To have a happy ending was absolutely a miracle."

Golub has been trained in Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue and carries specialized equipment in her truck for exactly this kind of crisis. She also was a firefighter for many years, training that came in handy last night.

Golub explained that the nature of a horse in an emergency situation such as the barn collapse is to panic and flee.

"The job is more than just about getting the horses out," Golub said. "It's getting them out without causing further injury to the horse and not allowing the horse to injure rescuers."

In order to do that the horses must be sedated.

The last horse trapped in the barn, Moon, was especially difficult, Golub said.

"I was in there holding his head and talking into his ears, telling him he's a good boy," Golub said, "while the rescuers were cutting boards near his legs with the Sawzall. He was literally tangled in the trusses, his front legs were through it and his neck was wedged against a metal panel so tightly I had trouble finding a vein to give him an injection."

And he needed a lot of sedation. At the tail end, that particular section of the structure was being taken apart piece by piece to avoid having any of it collapse on the horse.

"Thank God the firefighter who was in there with him was a horse person," she said. "When we handed in the halter, he knew how to put it on correctly, and he was watching out for the horse, making sure the debris wasn't hitting him."

In the end, no amount of sedation could stop Moon when he finally saw an opening and scrambled up into the open accompanied by a cheer from the onlookers.

Golub said all the workers on the scene all did an excellent job and she was thrilled with the happy conclusion.

Bethwood Patch will continue following up on the aftermath of the barn collapse. Stay tuned for more  . . .