Whitey vs The Truck

Grey gelding of unknown breeding & I no longer remember his age.

In Dec 1979, I went to North Carolina to visit with friends for the holidays. I arrived as the sun was coming up & the first place we went was to the stable where my friends kept their horses. Now how many people do you know who'd travel over 3000 miles to spend the day at the stable? While we were there we saw a grey gelding, Whitey, get out of his pasture & run down a dirt road. Judy & I took off in hot pursuit. Of course we were on foot so not nearly as fast as Whitey. Every corner we turned we could see him up in front of us. Sometimes he'd stop for a bite of grass & then off he'd go again. It's a good thing this happened 30 years ago when I was younger & in pretty good shape. We ran over 2 miles before we saw Whitey run out onto the highway. We were still 100 yards or so away, but just in time to see him get hit by a water truck. What a sickening feeling as we heard the impact & saw him go under the truck. Fortunately it was the corner of the truck & Whitey's hind quarters that collided. By the time we got there, Whitey was on his feet. He had blood covering his hindend & he had tire marks up over his hip & croup (look close & you can see the rubber mark behind the blanket). The truck driver was uninjured & his truck only suffered a badly dented bumper. A vet was called & it wasn't long before he got there. The vet determined there were no broken bones so he cleaned & doctors all the contusions & road rash, gave Whitey a lot of tranquilizer & pain killers, & told Judy & I to walk him home. That was the longest 2 miles I've ever covered. Judy was pulling & I was prodding with a stick to keep Whitey moving. He was a little shocky & in a lot of pain so didn't want to move. Finally we got him back to the stable as the sun was setting, just as his owner arrived. I have to say that I was glad the rest of my visit wasn't nearly so exciting. I hope I never see another horse get hit by a vehicle. Whitey was very lucky & made a full recovery. I'm not so sure about my nerves.