Man’s Best Friend?
October 19, 2012
Or could your family dog become your barn’s worst nightmare?
Katie is lucky to be alive after an encounter with the family dogs, but the Hornbacks have taken steps to keep it from happening again. Photo courtesy of Lori Hornback.
By Jody Reynolds in The American Quarter Horse Journal
Editor’s Note: Sadly, I learned last month of A Smoking Miracle’s passing on September 19, 2012, due to a colic impaction. My thanks to the Hornback family for sharing “Katie’s” story with the Journal back in 2004. I enjoyed following Katie’s successes through the years.
Lori and Bert Hornback made a final stroll through their barn on May 10, 2002, checking their maiden mare, Miss Leo Tucker, before rounding up their three dogs and walking home for the night.
Owners of Runaway Creek Quarter Horses in Homeland, California, the Hornbacks couldn’t wait for their favorite mare, “Tanya,” to foal. Tanya was bred to their stallion, Dual Smoking, and they were looking forward to a stellar working cow horse prospect.
Maybe tomorrow would be the day, they thought as they secured the dogs – two Queensland Heelers and an Australian Shepherd – in their kennels and went to bed.
May 11 began suddenly and frighteningly at 6 a.m. The Hornbacks were jerked from their sleep by Debbie Mauss, who’d driven by the open-air, shed-row barn and noticed something wrong.
“There’s a baby in your barn aisle, and a pack of dogs has attacked it!” Debbie screamed.
Their panic soared as they reached the barn. Tanya had gone into labor near the stall door, and the three family dogs, sensing the excitement, escaped from their kennels under the fence. Working as a vicious team, the dogs pulled the foal from the mother and dragged it under the stall door into the barn aisle.
“When we got out there, the filly was standing up,” Lori remembered grimly. “She was standing there like nothing had ever happened. There was blood everywhere. The dogs were laying quietly nearby with blood all over their coats.”
Bert took the dogs back to the kennel while Lori assessed the deplorable state of the tiny chestnut filly and waited for the veterinarian to arrive.
Parts of her upper body were shredded or chewed away, and the right side of her neck was missing most of its skin. Her hooves, elbows, ears and face had been chewed.
“The scene was so overwhelming, but I knew we needed to focus on helping this filly, not what happened,” Lori said.
She remembered the importance of colostrum and that the filly needed to be united with Tanya quickly. “There were so many gaping wounds that we couldn’t figure out how to hold her so she could be moved into Tanya’s stall,” Lori said. “We just scooped her up in our arms and carried her to her mother.”
Tanya remained quiet and cooperative, but the filly’s neck muscles were so severely damaged that she couldn’t hold her head up to suckle.
Veterinarian Mark Secor arrived on the scene.
“From the look on his face, I knew saving this filly was going to be a big challenge,” Lori said. “He asked us what we wanted to do, and my response was, ‘If she fights, we fight.’ This filly had more heart than any horse I’d ever seen before, and we knew she deserved every possible chance.” They joined in her fight for life, even if the chance for survival seemed depressingly low.
They gave the filly colostrum and did their best to bandage and protect the wounds.
Alongside her mother, she survived the first night. They decided to call her “Katie,” and they began the long road ahead.
Many American Quarter Horses, including Katie, have Doc Bar in their pedigree. Find out more about this bloodline in the Doc Bar Bloodline report!
With help from family and friends, including veterinarian Christa Bruns, Lori took turns every two hours feeding, bandaging and treating wounds. They dressed Katie in turtlenecks and sweatshirts, and they kept her on fluids, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and everything else they could do to support her body.
“The first week was the worst,” Dr. Bruns said. “Katie didn’t have an immune system. Even though we could get the colostrum into her, her body was so stressed over all the infection and injuries that it was touch and go. We’d pull blood, and she’d have no white cells. Most animals would have just given up. I don’t think she ever knew that wasn’t what life was about. She’s one of the strongest personalities I’ve ever been around. She fought every day.”
Air inevitably crept under her skin through the bite wounds, causing subcutaneous emphysema.
“It would crackle when you pet her,” Dr. Bruns said. “We massaged it out every day. Subcutaneous emphysema is very painful, and there’s not a whole lot you can do except try to get the gas out of there. We tried to keep her up and moving around because that helped move things out of the skin. She acted like that was normal life to her.”
Despite Katie’s pain, within a few days she was running, playing and kicking like a healthy foal.
“She appeared sharp and happy – almost normal, except for the eye-catching outfits Dr. Bruns fashioned to protect her wounds,” Lori said. “She didn’t show any signs of suffering. Katie had never known anything else, and she thought everything happening to her was normal.”
After several long weeks, the Hornbacks knew Katie was out of the woods. Her wounds were healing, and she was nursing on her own.
“At three weeks, we finally took a deep breath and said, ‘My gosh, this shouldn’t have worked,’ ” Lori said. “We knew she was going to be fine.”
But they worried about her attachment to humans after being handled multiple times a day.
“She was quite small compared to her siblings, so we weaned her pretty late, at 5 months,” Lori said. “We kicked her out with all the other babies. We needed to kind of ignore her and let her be a horse. She went out and ruled the roost!”
Katie’s wounds healed, and she received therascope treatments to soften and break down the scar tissue and preserve range of motion.
“She’s never going to be as flexible as she would have been without the scars,” Dr. Bruns said, “but she can compensate for them for sure.”
Katie received an appropriate AQHA registered name – A Smoking Miracle – and she went in training with Jimmy Flores.
“She was always bred to be my first (National Reined Cow Horse Association) Snaffle Bit Futurity non-pro horse,” Lori said. “You need a horse that’s got a lot of heart.”
Why Do Dogs Turn Vicious?
Katie’s story has a happy ending, but dog attacks can occur at any barn with devastating effects.
“The dog is instinctively a predator,” said Dr. Paul DeMars, a canine and feline specialist and assistant adjunct professor at Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “In nature, this is exactly what they would have done. The Hornbacks’ dogs had the prime opportunity for predation and, most likely, that’s what they were acting on.”
Pack mentality was also involved, Dr. DeMars presumed.
“Any time there’s a group of animals with group involvement, there’s more likeliness for this type of activity. They had trigger after trigger.
“Even the best-behaved dog that you’d never think would do this, if nature calls, it’s going to answer,” he continued. “I’d never put it past any dog. They were large enough to realistically do it. They had the sense, smell and opportunity.”
Enjoy stories of Doc Bar horses who’ve become some of the world’s greatest American Quarter Horses today, winning big in numerous events, in the Doc Bar Bloodline report.
Stay out of the Dog House
“You’re not going to change a dog’s instinct,” Dr. Demars said.
So prevention is key in keeping your horses safe.
“Never fail to keep the dogs out of the barn, especially during foaling time and when young ones are around,” he suggested.
The Hornbacks moved to a new facility and built a better barn without gaps under the stalls in hopes that their horrific experience wouldn’t be repeated.
They took drastic measures concerning their three dogs.
“We felt that, once they’d done it, we could never trust them again around any small animal or small person,” Bert said. “It was a positive experience for them, and they didn’t get punished directly for it.
“It was a hard decision for everybody, but we had the vet put the dogs down for us. They went without any pain.”
Dr. DeMars agreed that euthanasia is the only 100 percent assurance that it won’t happen again, but it’s not necessarily the only choice for dog owners.
“The dogs successfully did something and got a reward, so it could happen again,” Dr. DeMars said. “But they didn’t do anything they considered wrong. They were responding instinctively. We humanize dog behavior and say, ‘They should have known not to do that. I can’t trust this dog to never do this again.’ It’s a cut-and-dry situation – predator
versus prey.”
He conceded that the dogs might never have caused trouble again, especially if kept in an escape-proof environment during foaling time and not given the opportunity for predatory behavior.
“The owners had to make a hard decision, and you can’t second guess a decision like that,” he said.
Read tips for preventing a dog attack on your own property from the Hornbacks and their veterinarian, Dr. Christa Bruns, here.
Comments
38 Comments on “Man’s Best Friend?”
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October 19th, 2012 at 8:01 am
That is an amazing story! We almost had something like this happen to us 3 years ago. We had a filly born in the middle of the day, thank goodness, and my husband was home. Thankfully, we didn’t have a barn yet and we just had the mare separated in a corral. At the time, I had a 3 year old beagle and we had just gotten an akita/german shepard puppy. As soon as the mare started giving birth, the dogs made a bee-line for the corral, barking. My husband wasn’t really paying any attention until he looked over and seen the foal on the ground and the mare trying to chase the dogs away. The mare, never having given birth before, sensed the danger of the dogs and got up almost as soon as the foal was out. This caused her a lot of internal bleeding. My husband went out there and chased the dogs away, locking up my beagle, and called the vet because of the abnormal amount of blood.
That was the only problem that we’ve encountered with foaling and dogs but even that was really scary. Now, every time we have a mare that is close to giving birth, we watch her very carefully. We have since given the beagle away but we kept the skita/german sheperd. Since there’s only one dog, there’s no pack mentality and she’s actually been helpful. She will just stand on the porch and bark when she senses the excitement of the birth.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:16 am
Wow amazing story but I am seriously pissed at the owners for putting those dogs down!! They could have easily been trained not to attack unless on command and the attack was probably brought on by a lack of discipline and good training. Australian Shepherds are some of the smartest dogs out there and can be easily trained to only attack cows and not foals. It is very sad that the filly died of Colic we lost our 23 year old quarter horse to colic a couple of years ago. But seriously Next time look for alternative solutions to euthanasia, those dogs only did what was instinctual to them they.
RIP A Smoking Miracle and the three dogs
October 19th, 2012 at 8:26 am
Amazing story, and I respect the owners for their decision – I most likely would have made the same one. Like the article said – they were not disciplined for the action that they took, and the risk of it happening again, especially at a facility with gaps under the stall door, was too high. Pack mentality and general instinct is not to be taken lightly; even the most well trained dog can turn if the conditions are right.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:31 am
what a story! sitting here with tears in my eyes.congrats to the owners and vet for a job well done! and of course to the filly for her big heart!!!
October 19th, 2012 at 8:35 am
Wonderful story! Sorry to hear she passed. Concerning the dogs I couldn’t have been happier with outcome…we will never have more than one dog at the farm EVER and the foaling always occurs in a place where dogs cannot reach. All the incidences of dogs are always with more than one…pack mentality. We just watched someone else’s dog for 4 days and had to return it the 3rd day because of it and our dog chasing the cats (which our dog has never chased cats on its own and is friendly with the cats) and starting to follow (very closely) the horses being moved from paddock to stall barn or riding arena to barn…dogs are never allowed in barn. People always want dogs around, but really have no clue as to their natural instincts. We had one horse who was chased as a yearling by dogs and was nipped a couple of times when I brought her in and put her in the arena waiting for farrier. (Before we were one dog people). After that if ever a dog or cat or child went into her field or paddock or even small she would take the offensive and try to kill it or chase it….she killed a cat in a field, a rat in her stall, and trampled a dog who got into the paddock and we had to really watch if any children came around and have to warn them strongly to STAY AWAY – my daughter who was 6 at the time of having her was chased one day and that was it – she had to stay completely away from the horse unless I was there. She would even chase dogs when riding her – a couple of dogs came out into the road when I was riding down to another arena and she just went into auto – and chased the dogs right back into a driveway-this had happened several times at a show and in the neighborhood.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:54 am
We had an incident with two of our beloved dogs attacking two older foals this year, a one month old and a 10month old pony colt. The one month old colt was severely injured in his haunch muscles and had to receive lots of hands on treatment for over a month to fully heal. We gave the dogs a second chance, but the first time they managed to escape they ran straight to the barn to terrorize the foals again. We chose to separate them and gave the bigger one away to a friend in the city. Worked like a charm! The second dog no longer chases the horses and the city dog is so happy! It was a hard decision to choose the animals’ safety and the dogs’ safety ( didnt want them shot if they got after the neighbor’s livestock) over my attachment to the dogs. It was worth it!
October 19th, 2012 at 8:57 am
I must say I agree with what the owners did to the dogs. I worked for animal control years ago and thought that all dogs were good unless they had been mistreated until I brought my filly home she was 6mo and not a very big filly I had two dogs a flat coated retriever and a pitt mix. My two dogs slept in my bed with me and had a doggie door that lead out to a fenced in yard for them which was across the driveway from the barn. One night my Pitt mix went outside crossed the fence and into the barn he climbed the stall door and got in with the filly and ate her worse than the filly in this article. I called my vet and he told me to bring her to him because her injuries were too severe to treat at the farm. after 4 hours in surgery 6 staple guns and 8 skilled stitching hands later she was lead to a recovery stall. we had to graft skin on her and amputate 3 vertibrae from her tail. The dog was shot on site I unloaded a 45 into him crule as it may seem that could have been me or my child…he also was laying between her legs covered in blood waiting for her to move again. I only regret getting the dog.
October 19th, 2012 at 9:27 am
Ihave to say, after not having dogs because of my horses for some years and observing the trouble even one dog can cause around horses and now having an Aust Shepard with a strong herding instinct and my horses, my final conclusion is that dogs and horses just don’t mix, as much as we would like for them to. My dog is always trying to help in any way possible and unfortunately there have been times when I came very close to getting hurt because of him. Had he not been there, there would have not been any altercation of any kind and things would have been fine. My dog likes to go on trail rides of course. But to entice me into going on one he circles, barks, and nips at the horses noses constantly. Not good. As much as I love him, I can planinly see that this is not a safe situation, where as if he was not there, there would be no annoyance at all. If someone comes to ride with me and their horses are not used to this behavior, it is very tedious and potentially dangerous. I was a small animal vet tech for 27 years and unfortunately learned very well that dogs will be dogs no matter what breed or how well schooled they are. My final conclusion is that, as much as I hate to admit it, dogs and horses are just not a good mix.
October 19th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Condolences to the owners on the mare’s death. She sounds like she was amazing in many ways. I think they made the hard judgement to put down the dogs. No amount of training can overcome instinct 100%. Rehomeing the dogs might have worked, but I’m sure in the hours after the attack the owners had all they could do with trying to save the filly, and the though that the dogs could possible attack any other animal or human was more than they could deal with. I know I would have made the same.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I gotta give the owner props for having them humanely put down. I had a 1 month out and his dam turn out in a pasture one night. They had need out many times before. The next morning i am heading to work and as I’m pulling out of the driveway I notice my colt just standing there shaking. So I go out to him and notice a small gash on his hip, after seeing that I look for more spots on him, the only place there was was under him in his groin area. After him having to get almost 100 stitches I wanted to know what caused him to get such an injury. Come to find out it was some stray dogs came up and was trying to get him away from his momma a kill him. My point in the dogs is I do not and will not put up with my dogs or anyone else’s dogs messing with my horses and I will not have them humanely put to sleep, it will be with my .270 rifle.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:13 am
I had the honor and privilege to meet Katie in June 2012 at the Hornbacks’ ranch. Katie was a beautiful mare, and after having read the story when it was originally published about the dog attack, I appreciated ever more being able to meet her in person. I was also able to meet RC Miraculous Catt (Katie’s ’08 colt- in training/showing in reined cow horse) when “Mac” was at Boyd Rice’s in Spearman, TX. Mac is surely a tough, gritty horse, too, following in Katie’s hoof prints. Lori and Bert Hornback are just special people who put all of their efforts and their own hearts into that gritty little filly, and Katie repaid them with love, smarts, heart, and athleticism that she put into each of her own offspring. I felt horrible when I saw the announcement about Katie’s passing. Katie gave us all all a lesson in how to fight when the going gets tough. My best wishes to Hornbacks always.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:14 am
I had the honor and privilege to meet Katie in June 2012 at the Hornbacks’ ranch. Katie was a beautiful mare, and after having read the story when it was originally published about the dog attack, I appreciated all the more being able to meet her in person. I was also able to meet RC Miraculous Catt (Katie’s ’08 colt- in training/showing in reined cow horse) when “Mac” was at Boyd Rice’s in Spearman, TX. Mac is surely a tough, gritty horse, too, following in Katie’s hoof prints. Lori and Bert Hornback are just special people who put all of their efforts and their own hearts into that gritty little filly, and Katie repaid them with love, smarts, heart, and athleticism that she put into each of her own offspring. I felt horrible when I saw the announcement about Katie’s passing. Katie gave us all all a lesson in how to fight when the going gets tough. My best wishes to Hornbacks always.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:15 am
To start off I have to say I love my dogs and horses. But have also had a couple of encounters where dogs and horses don’t mix. On two seprate occations when I had returned home from work one of my horses had his nose ripped open. I had to call the vet both times for stitches. I thought he was cutting it on a nail or something but could not find anything in his stall. Then one day I was out at the barn and my Gelding had his head sticking out over the barn door and my 8 mo. old Autralian Shepard jumped up and got his nose! Again another vet bill! Thank goodness I had a friend that did not have horses that was willing to give him a good home.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:25 am
T. Burris~
I had the same thing happen but to a couple of yearlings. I came home to two of my horses outside their pasture and fence down. Apparently, some loose dogs chased them through the fence (I found their tracks in the snow) and the filly was badly injured after trying to jump the fence and she ended up coming down on the post, as reflected by her injuries. It all falls on the responsibility of the dog owners. I am a dog lover and owner. If you don’t know how to keep and train a dog…DON’T! Animal Control came out to witness the aftermath and told me that I am allowed to shoot any dogs that are chasing livestock…and believe me, I will…although it’s the owners that should be shot!
October 19th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Sorry to hear of the mares untimely death. My daughters mare was attacked by a dog when we had them out on pasture a mile down the rode. The dog jumped at her and got her throat. Thank goodness she was able to shake him off. Our mustang who was in with the mare attacked the dog. The mare only suffered a small hole and scratches. It could of been worse. The owner of the dog had it put down, they even informed animal control. I own boxers and theur never allowed to run loose the horses, without someone being around.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:48 am
We knew when we shared Katie’s story that there would be mixed feelings about the decisions we made regarding our dogs. These were older rescue dogs and one of them had shown some agression to children but never the horses. Something just snapped with them that drove them to break out of a fortified kennel in the middle of the night actually injuring themselves to do so. After engaging in this brutal and horrific deed they remained focused on getting back to that filly to the end. Since this happened we stopped rescuing older dogs and we have only raised puppies trained with the mares and foals. But I will never look at any dog the same again and trust none of them when it comes to foals. That is the take away from Katie’s story that I sincerely hope we can all agree on. I am sorry to hear so many other stories that have happened to other responsible dog owners and that just reinforces my resolve to not put our dogs on a pedistal and trust they will never cross that line. They really cannot help it and it is up to us to understand that and treat them accordingly.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:50 am
First of all, my condolences to the owners on the loss of this special horse. I can only imagine the pain and terror the poor little baby went through. They’re better people than I, because I would have shot the dogs when I found them. At least they had the wisdom to have them euthanized so that would never happen again. I’m glad the poor little baby was able to recover and lead a normal and happy life. RIP sweet Katie.
October 19th, 2012 at 11:03 am
It’s always sad to hear about tragedies like this. In my humble opinion, it is NOT that horses & dogs don’t mix, period. That kind of generalization is the cause of things like breed specific legislation. It’s not that simple. From the stories I’ve read here & heard about, most cases of dog on stock/other pet/children attacks occur when the dogs lack training &/or are UNSUPERVISED. More often then not, farm dogs are allowed free rein on their farms which provides plenty of unsupervised time with stock. In situations like the one in this story, the smell of the blood, an animal in a vulnerable position & a group of unsupervised dogs, is just the perfect set up for the dogs to get into trouble. My cousin has had Rottweilers as family dogs for decades. The dogs are raised as family members, are well trained & socialized & taught that the horses & other pets are part of the family to be protected, not eaten. She trail rides with her dogs, they attend family events & horse camping trips, etc etc. She maintains total control at all times & everyone is happy. It’s a lot of work but the results are so impressive. She & her dogs are a model of what dog/horse stewardship can & should be.
October 19th, 2012 at 11:20 am
We raise sheep and have horses as well as Blue Heeler and an Australian Shepherd. These two also have had pups which we decided to keep. Our dogs are well trained and know their jobs when its time to work. However when a pack mentality kicks in, which has happened twice, only when they’re let out to use the restroom, our animals have suffered. Once it was our sheep. They the heeler and the pup really enjoyed being able to chase and hurt the lambs. We all have only let one dog out at a time and only all three are able to run and play when were home. Only one lamb survived out of the 4 they attacked.
Then when I brought a 6 month old colt home. The heeler and the pup again went after him. Slick survived had some of the same similar scars and sores as the other colts mentioned. Slick has heart and a understanding too. After his attack I was treating him and my Aussie was with me as well as the pup and Slick didn’t care. He isn’t afraid of dogs.(now) I want to shoot the heeler or have him put down, however, he is an asset to us too. He works cattle and sheep like no one better. He hunts pheasants and raccoons as well as other varmints and he’s good at this. Also he belongs to my husband. We have agreed that if he does anything like this again he will be put down. I know its a matter of time its instinct.
But my lesson was well learned and the lamb and colt have taught me that the strong and big hearted have some of Gods amazing will to survive and not be afraid of what attacked them…….
October 19th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
You CAN NOT change instinct. I was dog sitting and they got out while we were not home and we had a mare foal. The dogs chased the filly to death and I will never let the dogs back and I am very careful with my own dogs. Dogs can be very nasty no matter the amount of training .If the dogs would have been mine I would have had them put down.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
I have had horses, herding dogs(Cattle Dogs, Border Collies and Australian Shepherds), sheep and cattle. Never once did I have a problem – but they were all managed correctly.This was not a case of canine problems, it was a case of human mismanagement. It is a shame the foal was hurt and the dogs were destroyed because of their owners carelessness.
October 19th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Yes, I use to raise Australian shepherds, the male was Dingo/Austrailian Shepherd.
Had him when my Palomino filly was born, outside while I was at work. He didn’t bother
my horses. I also had her half sister that was death on dogs. She almost killed my
uncle’s Germarn shepherd. German sherpherds are the worst for predating, he wouldn’t
quit chasing her and she nailed him. When my Palomino was a baby, the neighbor’s dog
came over and started to chase her, well Cinder just about took care of that dog too, except
the dog made it back thru the fence. I told the neighbor to keep their dog home or it was
going to be dead. I was told that even a dog that kills chickens, once they do it, you might as well put them down. No human can train a dog not to do that, it is their instinct, especially if they see something moving or running.
I feel for that little filly an the people, I’m glad she recovered to do the work se was bred to do. I had my gelding boarded out at astable that dogs would go into the stall and bark and chase the horses around in their stall, I told the lady about, she wouldn’t do anything about it so I moved my gelding to another much nicer vicility, but now if he sees a dog any where near him, like in the arena he wants to go get it. Even when on the road riding a German shepherd would come out and try to attack my horse but I would turn her towards the dog and the dog would take off.
Thank you for the article and letting me comment.
October 19th, 2012 at 4:31 pm
@ Natasha, as an Australian Shepherd owner and Breeder for most of my 50+ years, I agree they are the smartest breed of dogs one could ever ask for. However, Aussies as any other breed, in a pack mentality situation will attack and kill another animal, all in a trance like attack. As Lori described how the filly and the dogs were all standing around like nothing had happened is exactly how animals react to savage attacks like that. the filly was in shock, the dogs were in a euphoric state due to endorphins released during the frenzied attack. probably because she was just born and not able to fight back, the dogs stopped attacking her sooner than if she had continued fighting back, which would keep their adrenaline rushing through their veins, encourageing their frenzy.
Lori and Bert did what had to be done, for the safety of any other foals being born there. You CANNOT train a dog to not attack with the strongest instinct they have, prey instinct. Not in a pack circumstance with no humans around to stop them or give them the command you think they’d listen too. If people would of been present yes, it would of had a different outcome, but they were not there and could not be there 24 /7 with the dogs and horses. I know these two people, they love their dogs and horses, it had to be extremely hard to do but it was the best decision they could make under the circumstances. Rarely will another person adopt a dog that has tried to kill another animal, especially a young foal. So that option wouldn’t fly either.
October 19th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
I had a mare and foal attackedand killed by a pack of chows owned by a neighbor in 2000. I killed every one of them in their own driveway.
I have a pit bull who laid outside the paddock gate when another one of my mares foaled. He stayed there without coming up to the house to eat until I went and got him and made him come to the back yard. You go figure. This pit bull was dropped off almost dead and he has been one of the best dogs I ever had.
October 20th, 2012 at 7:46 am
The Hornbacks had one brave filly and a truly great veterinarian!
They also had a tough,painful, decision to make about their dogs.The mean comments concerning this decision are appalling.
Older dogs from shelters have already lost once,and the Hornbacks gave theirs a good life by adopting them.
October 20th, 2012 at 8:24 am
The owners did the right thing in putting the dogs down. You could never trust them again, nor should you. I would have made the same decision.
October 20th, 2012 at 11:39 am
To the Hornbacks: My sincere condolences for the lose of your mare Katie. I know she will be missed. And thank you for sharing her story. It is always rewarding to find responsible horse and dog owners that are able to make the “hard decisions” regarding what is best for all. What a fine tribute to a little filly with a lot of “heart”.
October 20th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
A truly amazing story, never heard anything like it! but with sadness I feel over the loss of Katie, after all that she went through, bless her soul! you will surely miss her.
I’m sure all our wonderful animals have a heaven.
October 20th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
note to pam the dogs were confined to a kennel that the owners were sure they could not escape secondly ok not the dogs fault but once this has happened you cant let them around anything and it may only be a matter of time till your on the menu no one should judge these people they did everything right and no one can predict when its going to go wrong i will say this blue heelers and aust shepherds are bred to work over here in aust when the dog is not working it stays on a chain or in a cage that it cant dig under these dogs were also rescues who knows what happened to them in theyre previous life they were lucky these people gave them a chance well they blue it out of instinct we all live and learn so please pam learn not to be so judgemental no one can forsee the future RIP kate and condolences to her owners
October 21st, 2012 at 7:11 am
Dogs can be with other animals, but when something happens you need to take action. We have border collies and had our young goats attacked. It was at the end of the summer and we brought the weaned doelings home. The dogs were probably bored and herded them into a corner. 3 goats were injured from bites, but 6 were suffocated in a pile-up. We had 3 dogs at the time and decided to put down the older male who was deaf and we felt was the instigator. Coincidentally, after this time we no longer had bull calves with ripped ears. We thought they were catching them on feeders or the fence. We owned the other two for many years after, but never had any problems, but I would not hesitate to euthanize a problem dog if the circumstances warranted. Katie sounds like a great horse. Glad to see she has a legacy.
October 21st, 2012 at 7:55 pm
My family appreciates all of your kind words regarding the loss of our Katie. It was 10 years ago that she came into this world in the most horrific manner and was not expected to last that first night. She again fought hard to overcome a colic impaction but sadly as she passed the impaction she ruptured her intestine and there was nothing that could be done to save her. She really did touch everyone that had the priviledge to know her including Jody Reynolds who wrote this important story about her. We are so thankful for the time we had with her and for the 3 incredible foals she has given us that are carrying on in her memory. She will be missed beyond what words can describe and to make it additionally difficut, we lost her Sire, Dual Smoking this spring due to laminitis as a complication from his treatment for a shoulder injury.
October 21st, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Terrible story but I’m glad you are letting people know what can happen. All equine/livestock owners need to be reminded what dogs can bring. I am an animal lover (esp dogs) but reality is those dogs tasted blood and they will crave it like I crave sugar. Growing up my brother trained coon hounds and my mom trained beagle hounds for rabbit hunting. (I didn’t say I’m a fan) But I do know from childhood experiences they would have attached again and killed the next time. Only way to know would be to keep them caged for the rest of their lives and they would have been miserable. For what it’s worth, I agree with putting them down. It’s not fair to other animals.
October 22nd, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Very well put Gail..I see a lot of pet owners, who aren’t exactly educated.. They may know horse training but they don’t know dogs. I know of WOLVES and WOLF DOGS who have been raised on ranches and horses with no problem..because the owners were SMART. They trusted their animals but still weren’t stupid enough to leave them unsupervised, and untrained like some of these dogs I’m hearing about. Yes, you can teach a dog NOT to attack,how do you think that canines were domesticated? How do we teach horses, prey animals-not to run? Yes attacking is instinct, running is instinct, but you need to find an outlet and let them know there IS a time and a place for it. Very ridiculous. Clearly these dogs didn’t need put down but the OWNERS needed to have them put down, because they didn’t have the proper facilities or the time to supervise them at night.
October 22nd, 2012 at 8:57 pm
I feel like honestly this itself was a bad article..or good article terribley written/ The Hornbacks sound like GREAT people, they did what they considered best. Katie seems like an amazing horse, just my kind of horse. The first part of the store is sound, touching, compelling, and loving-tear jerking. The second part totally demonized dogs and seemed very cruel and turned this could-be empathetic loving story, into a horror story that caused argument and debate over dogs. I am just too confused about being angry with the over generalization of horses and dogs, or whether to be touched and sympathetic for the owners sake. RIP dogs and Katie. Ido feel for the owners but this was a very “pokethebear”type of article AQHA
October 24th, 2012 at 11:57 am
I am a rancher. The code of the west: any dog that chases or hurts livestock is shot. I almost lost a colt due to a single dog that attacked him. Even while I was tending to the colt, I turned my back to get some medicine and the dog tried it again. I shot him right then. My experience is that once a dog crosses the line to chase or hurt livestock, they never truly stop, regardless of their training. They just wait until until they can get loose and you are not around. The owners did the right thing, regarless of what “pokethebear” and others say. It is a protection for your animals and your neighbor’s as well.
October 25th, 2012 at 7:35 am
I have both horses and herding dogs. Realistically a person cannot supervise a dog 24/7. A dog can escape and no matter what the quality of training can revert to instinct, especially in a pack. How would you all feel if these same dogs had attacked and killed your child as their second incidence? It can happen in a heartbeat right in front of you. The owners had a tough decision , but made the correct one. They have my sympathy for such a call, and my support. And I am certain they are ever watchful to manage their new dogs and horses even more vigilantly as we all should.
December 29th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Poor dogs and poor Katie. They all suffered from our mistakes.
I really have a special thought for the dogs who died (and too often do) while they did nothing wrong, just because it was the most simple choice (i did not say easiest).
I am not judging, just inviting people to realize how we human can have critical impacts on the animals we take in charge.
Thanks for sharing this life and death true story. And again not judging, anyone has their conscience for themselves.
Jal
December 29th, 2012 at 9:36 pm
I agree 100% about the decision to put the dogs down, they could never be trusted again, and I would have used a less humane way to have put them down. Kudos to the owners for their humane responsible decision. Putting them down was the only option, there instincts wouldn’t have let this be a one time event. No amount of training can prevent these types of incidents from happening, and I appreciate this story being printed as I’m sure it is an eye opener for many folks. I encourage the owners to ignore negative comments regarding their decision to put the dogs down.You were not “careless” dog owners, so ignore those rude people. Comments saying the dogs didn’t do anything are incorrent, they did do something. You cannot blame the dogs for what there instincts have told them, but you can prevent future accidents from happening. It would have been criminal to have let them live, knowing what they are capable of, a child may not have been as lucky. So Sorry for the loss of your mare.