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Man self-splints broken arm after being thrown from horse in Zirkels

A window through turning Aspens to the south viewing Lost Ranger Peak in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.
Tyler Arroyo

ROUTT COUNTY — A 35-year-old Routt County man straightened and self-splinted his broken arm and walked out to meet an ambulance after being thrown from a horse in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area, according to the North Routt Fire Protection District.

North Routt firefighters and EMS were called to a reported trauma at 12:22 p.m. on Sunday.

The man was horseback riding a couple miles in on a trail near the Seedhouse Campground and the South Fork of the Elk River, said North Routt Fire Protection District fire captain Linas Vaitkus. He was thrown from the horse and fell on his arm, breaking it, according to scanner traffic.

He splinted the arm and then walked out of the Wilderness Area to meet an ambulance on a U.S. Forest Service Road.

The horse was also injured, Vaitkus said. It had a gash on its leg and a possible injury to tendons. The horse stayed behind.

Vaitkus said the man was transported to UC Health Yampa Valley Medical Center for treatment for the arm.

To reach Eleanor Hasenbeck, call 970-871-4210, email ehasenbeck@steamboattoday.com or follow her on Twitter, @elHasenbeck.


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