Today’s guest blog is by Pat Raia
First appeared on the excellent TheHorse.com.
A dozen horses were killed and several others injured when a tornado swept through a Lee County, N.C., farm and training facility on April 16.
Trainer Dany Pelletier said 44 horses were residing at the 200-acre Misty Creek Ranch in Sanford, N.C. when the tornado passed through the area demolishing barns, a workshop, and the residence that Pelletier shared with his wife, Tania, and their children. The home of farm owners Tom and Marian Brinley was also severely damaged by the storm, Pelletier said.
Two horses residing in a barn were injured during the storm and two that were housed in a covered pen at the time of the storm were crushed to death, Pelletier said.
“The horses that were in the pasture were the hardest hit,” he said.
Sally Vivrette, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, who attended to the horses at the scene, said several animals residing in the pasture sustained severe injuries including joint punctures, tendon lacerations, and tendon ruptures. Six of the pastured horses were euthanized at the scene due to the severity of their injuries. Others were transported to nearby veterinary hospitals where four more were later euthanized due to their injuries, Vivrette said. Other horses sustained eye injuries due to blowing sand and debris, she added.
“It looked as though they were picked up and thrown to the ground,” Vivrette said.
The surviving horses have either returned to their owners or are residing at neighboring farms, Pelletier said.
Though it is impossible to predict a tornado’s path, Vivrette says there are safety precautions owners can take when such storms are predicted.
“In a hurricane we sometimes advise people that horses should be kept outside, but during a tornado horses should be okay if they are kept in a reasonably well constructed barn,” Vivrette said.
Horses located in a pasture during a tornado should wear fly masks to avoid eye injury, she said. She also advises owners to paint their phone numbers on their horses’ bodies or braid a note containing their contact information into their horses’ manes if a tornadic storm is predicted.
“That way people will know who to call (if the storm drives the animal from its pasture), she said.
A fund has been established to assist the Pelletiers and the Brinleys recover from the incident. For details or to contribute online click HERE.