Cajun, a 9-year-old gelding, was impaled by airborne wooden debris from last week's tornado in Brimfield. Doctors at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University surgically removed the wood, and the horse is expected to recover.
The tornado ripped the tops off trees along Wales Road (Route 19) in Brimfield, leveling homes along the way -- including a farm on nearby Paige Hill Road, where one horse was killed and other animals were injured.BRIMFIELD -- It took less than a minute for last week's tornado to wipe out Hill Side Farm on Paige Hill Road in Brimfield, killing one horse and seriously injuring another.
The surviving horse -- a 9-year-old gelding named Cajun -- was impaled by wood debris from the storm and underwent emergency surgery at Tufts University’s Hospital for Large Animals in North Grafton, where doctors successfully removed the debris.
Although a risk of infection persists, doctors at the hospital said they are optimistic about Cajun's recovery.
Cajun is owned by Joann Kass and Steven Bush. Kass runs Hill Side Farm, located at 51 Paige Hill Road, just east of Wales Road (Route 19) in Brimfield. She could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cajun was one of four horses affected by the tornado, which leveled Kass' home and destroyed her barn. In addition to Cajun and the horse that died, two other horses were treated for cuts and abrasions by Spencer veterinarian Paula Orcutt.
Officials at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, which oversees the Large Animal Hospital in North Grafton, said Cajun was impaled by a finger-sized piece of wood that penetrated his right rear coffin joint -- the intersection of the lowest bones in the horse's leg -- and tendon sheath.
On Thursday, dozens of volunteers helped Kass, Bush, Orcutt and Kass's sister, Karen Walker of New Braintree, clear the farm's driveway of fallen trees so the Animal Rescue League of Boston could remove Cajun from his demolished stable and take him to North Grafton for treatment.
The nearly two-hour procedure went well, according to Carl A. Kirker-Head, associate professor of clinical sciences at Cummings and the surgeon who operated on Cajun. Kirker-Head said there is always a serious risk of infection when the coffin joint and tendon sheath are involved.
Doctors at the animal hospital said they are optimistic Cajun, an American Paint Horse, will make a full recovery. Paint Horses are known for their dark-and-light spotted coats.
Orcutt waived her fee for on-site care, and drug distributor JA Webster has committed to reimbursing her and Brimfield veterinarian Kevin Sherman for drugs used to care for Cajun.
Meanwhile, Walker is trying to help out her sister by raising money for Cajun's care. Donations may be made to Joann Kass and Steven Bush, care of Walker at 351 Bernard Whitney Road, New Braintree, MA 01531. Those wishing to help may also call the animal hospital directly at (508) 839-7926.
The horse that was killed in the tornado was struck in the head by a 4,000-pound trailer that became airborne in the storm, according to a friend of the Kass family.
THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location where last week's tornado killed a horse and seriously injured another at a farm on Paige Hill Road in Brimfield: