[Lisa Diamond]

Hello. I’m new to this forum. I actually live in NZ and saw some advice on a post about a similar incident. We had an incident on Sunday where a horse has kicked our lamb in the head. Oh it was awful! He was knocked unconscious for a good few minutes. Bled from the nose for quite some time. He was panting for a long time. Stood up by himself after about half an hour. He seemed very dizzy, unstable on his feet and kept wedging his poor little head between a tree and a fence. Yesterday he walked the boundary of the paddock, all morning, it was hard to watch! Today he’s walking around in circles. Oh my heart! I’ve contacted a vet friend of mine for advice, but wondering if anyone has had a similar experience? Was the lamb ok? Brain damaged? Have to be put down? Thanks for reading.

[shep53]

While i have only read about horses kicking other animals ,i have seen lambs ( especially hill breeds ) run head first into post and rail fences , the fall on their side with stiff legs and shake , bending their neck and rolling eyes  . Most die fairly quickly and if they get up then can die in the coming days or  are damaged permenantly . Sorry only time will tell the out come 

[tommytink]

I can’t offer any advice, but definitely sounds like some sort of neurological issue. Walking in circles etc would suggest this to me. I imagine a head injury on an animal brings the same results as on a human, and a kick from a horse is a hell of a hit to take. Sending best wishes for your little lamb. Let us know what happens with him.

[sabrina]

Having been head butted by a horse once while loading her into a trailer I would presume the wee lamb will have quite a bit of damage. Even if it is bruising would take a good few weeks to recover. Without a scan the damage is hard to tell so more like a wait and see how it does. I have one pony who started to attack my sheep with his teeth. No idea why but he now grazes in a wee paddock with an old mare.she lets him have a kick if he steps out of line. Do hope your wee lamb recovers.

[shep53]

Friend had a horse that started picking lambs up by the neck and throwing them, even tried it on the mothers ??

[SallyintNorth]

I saw my collie dog flipped through the air by a kick from one of my Fell ponies.  She landed flat on her side and never moved as I raced up to her.  I was sure she was dead.  When I got up to her I could see she was still alive but not moving, and her eyes were bulging.  My head started racing with who I could call to bring a car as we had to get her to the vet, and how were we going to immobilise her head and spine?  However, as I rang around folks here (and got lots of ansaphones ), she got up.  She was wobbly at first but five minutes after being kicked she was walking, and ten minutes after we were back at home.  (We were only on the far side of the nearest paddock.)  She slept a lot for the next 48 hours, and was a bit quiet for a few days, but to cut a long story short, she was 100% fine - and you can be sure that I never, ever have her loose when I am moving the ponies now.


Your lamb has clearly suffered more damage than Dot did, and it will either improve, get worse or stay the same.  (If it was your dog, you'd get a scan, but no-one would want to spend that much on a lamb.)

My rule of thumb is :

• It's my job to make sure that they don't suffer.
• I will work with any animal that is fighting to be alive, provided it has a chance and is not suffering

So if he's suffering, do the kindest thing, and if you are sure he isn't in pain and want to give him a chance, then give him a week or so.  But unless it improves over a reasonably short time and keeps improving, then it's probably kindest to put him down.

Or if you just want to be told that it's okay to have him put down - it's okay to have him put down.