MURFREESBORO, TN - County Mayor Joe Carr is recovering from nine broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and a semi-collapsed lung. The injury happened on Veterans Day afternoon around 3:30 p.m. when he and his son, Joe Jr., were training horses at their farm in Lascassas. He recalls, "I went to the Veterans Day ceremony on the square, and then returned home to do some things with my son."
“This is the first time that I have spent the night in the hospital in 65 years,” Carr said--referring to the time when he was born. “I’m glad it was from doing something I love. RCEMS and the medical teams have been awesome.”
Carr told NewsRadio WGNS, “My son, Joe Jr. and I have eleven horses that we have bred, raised and trained for trail and pleasure riding. Training horses and trail riding is something Joe Jr. and I are quite good at and thoroughly enjoy. So, on the afternoon of Tuesday November 11th Joe Jr. decided to take a couple of the younger horses out for a desensitization ride".
He continued, "This type of ride is specifically designed to introduce the horse to obstacles and an environment they might encounter on the trail, to train the horse to be a calm and settled trail horse when on an unfamiliar trail. We do this all the time. It is all part of the training. On this ride I decided to take the horses down into a creek and then climb up the other side of a bank. We climbed out of the creek back into a field. Everything was fine until for whatever reason my horse got spooked, it is no big deal--it happens and you are prepared for it. Indeed, this is the training part. However, this time I failed to cinch up the girth strap adequately, that keeps the saddle on the horse. The saddle slipped off her back down her right side spooking the horse, she bolted into a run, and I was bucked off landing on my right side. I heard two loud cracks and knew immediately I had broken ribs. Additionally, because of the partially collapsed lung I was unable to breathe for a short period of time."
Joe noted, "Let me say I have been thrown numerous times, it happens when training young horses, it's part of it. In all the times I have been thrown, this is the first time I have ever been injured. By this time, Joe Jr. had come to my assistance and called Ginny (my wife) to bring the car down (we were toward the front of the property along our driveway), because we need to go to the hospital. I climbed into the backseat of the car, and we drove to the parking lot of Sharpsville Church of Christ on Halls Hill Pike where the Rutherford County EMS and Fire/Rescue were waiting and transported me to St. Thomas Ascension for evaluation. From there it was determined that because of the nature of the injury, I should be transported to Vanderbilt Trauma Unit."
Carr explained that he was not exactly bouncing back. He said, “The injuries are substantial and the pain is to the point of passing out sometimes. But, I can do this in the hospital or at home. According to the doctors, it is all the same—pain management”.
He told WGNS that he plans to get back this week on a limited basis.
Mayor Carr continued, "It is imperative that the machinery that runs the fourth largest county in the state keep grinding forward. So my attention and attendance are required. Having said that, the county is more than prepared for this moment, as I have been training my staff and directors to be ready to step forward in the event something like this were to occur."
With a sparkle in his eye, the mayor concluded, "Right now it is my hope and intention to emcee the Christmas Lighting Ceremony." That is set for 5:00 o'clock Friday night, Dec. 5, on the east side of the historic Rutherford County Courthouse on the Murfreesboro square.
