I just got back from the barn where our horse is stabled. 10 horses died as two of the barns on the property caught fire. Our girl, Bonnie (our horse that is), was in a neighboring barn that suffered minor fire damage. According to the fire marshall her barn was at most 5 minutes from catching fire, too, and one of her walls had sections burned out.
Bonnie’s window looked out on the two barns that burned, and the most horrifying thing to me is she got to watch her best friend, Cabbie a 30 year old gelding, burn to death while they called to each other. The barn owner received some nasty burns while saving 24 horses, and we owe him and a passing stranger who hopped out of his car to help a lot.
Just thought I’d pass on this news as I’ve posted of Bonnie quite a few times in the past. It’s amazing how close we all are to not being here…
Oh my G_D… That is such a tragedy. My heart goes out to all involved. Poor girl… horses are loyal friends. It will take some recovery. People and animals mourn.
Oh, that’s awful… all those beautiful animals. I’m glad to hear that Bonnie is physically okay, and I hope that she will heal well from the emotional aspects of it all. Poor thing.
Thank goodness for caring people like that passing stranger and the barn owner!!
Thanks everyone for your kind words. The passing stranger came back later in the day (he had left without being thanked). He said a few years back his grandfather, a who kept a flock of sheep on his farm, had a fire. The grandfather’s house was right off a highway, and while his grandfather was pulling animals out nobody stopped to help…and he lost a significant number of sheep. So, this kind soul said when he saw the flames he had to stop because he couldn’t let that happen again to any animals. The guy had never handled horses before, but supposedly was great with them.
Another odd thing - you always read how horses often have to be blindfolded to be led from a burning building. Well, all 24 horses, even 3 with some pretty decent burns, left calmly.
I would not worry too much about emotional stress. Horses get over traumas much better than humans do. My family used to keep horses when I was a kid, and they would be jittery for a couple of days after something such as losing a foal, but they were soon back to normal.
I always found cows and pigs were more affected by stress.
There are big differences in attitudes towards horses around the world.
Some Japanese people I was out with tonight were tucking into raw horsemeat. The French also eat horse, but in the UK and Ireland, it verges on a sin.
