In fact, the picture and the story went viral on social media, most notably by “The Paulick Report,” a well-respected horse racing site. PJ, who is president of Al Khamsa, Inc., speculated that the colt may have been rearing and playing and managed to get his foreleg trapped. At some point, his hind end slipped, and he ended up basically suspended from the tree by his left front leg.

PJ’s vet, Dr.Paul Morris received a call — the only words spoken were, “It’s bad.”  PJ then called her  husband, Marwan Abusoud and told him wherever he was, to come home immediately.   All this time, PJ was standing with the colt, her knee wedged under his shoulder to provide some support and keeping him calm.  “I just stood there and stroked his forelock, PJ said, “he always loved that.”

With Marwan and Jamal’s help, PJ got a manure bucket padded with blankets wedged under his shoulder and neck to give him some relief from hanging upside down. While waiting for the veterinarian, they used padded dog beds and horse blankets to pad the bucket of their tractor, in anticipation of using  it to raise the colt and lift him off the tree.  At this point, the colt had not had any sedation. Naseem had a strong bond with PJ, as he had been hand raised for several months when his dam rejected him at birth. This bond kept him quiet while PJ stroked his forelock and waited for the vet.

When Dr. Morris arrived, he sedated the colt and they tried to lift him with the tractor. But the awkward angles of the colt, the tree and a nearby fence made it impossible to get the position they needed to lift him completely. However, they were able to use the tractor to raise his hind end so that he was in a more stable position for breathing and circulation.   Cutting off the offending branch was not an option, as it would have fallen directly on the colt and the nearby fence. The decision was made to get a chainsaw, “My husband is no lumberjack,” said PJ, “but he is an excellent equestrian and strong as well.” Marwan was able to carefully cut a wedge into the tree alongside the trapped leg without injuring Naseem in the process.  Veterinary assistant Mark Rushing then used a hammer and 2 x 4 to knock the wedge free. The leg was finally free, and they were able to remove Naseem from the tree. At this point the colt had been trapped for two hours.

Here is what Jamal saw on his way to school the morning of April 2.

Naseem with his head and shoulder supported. 

Once the leg was free Naseem was able to stand, but was knuckling over on his front fetlock, and held his shoulder out at an angle as he walked. But he was alive, he was standing, and he was walking. Naseem immediately walked over to some alfalfa and started eating. It seems extraordinary after seeing the pictures that this colt survived at all. But there were several things working in his favor. First, he had been seen 30 minutes prior to the incident, in his paddock, with no problems. So he had only been trapped a short while when Jamal saw him on the way to school. PJ’s special bond with the colt, likely helped him stay relatively calm and quiet while stabilizing him and waiting for the veterinarian. Dr. Morris was able to keep the colt sedated while he was extricated from the tree and was able to determine that there were no broken bones or significant injury. 

Since then, Naseem has been recovering well. He no longer knuckles over on his fetlock and walks normally. He is being kept in a small enclosure with no running for the short term to ensure that he is fully healed before exerting himself. In fact, before the incident Marwan and PJ had plans to put the colt in training as a race prospect. His sire who is from Bahrain, Kuehilaan Al Adiyat Hashal, was himself a great racehorse. In fact, Kuehilaan Al Adiyat Hashal has a very interesting back story, being the only purebred Arabian stallion from Bahrain in the U.S. and we will be telling his story in a future issue of The Swift Runner!

Naseem’s hind end is supported by the tractor bucket so that his body is in a better position for breathing and circulation, while Marwan uses a chainsaw to cut a notch next to Naseem’s trapped leg.