# Keeping horses safe from lightning.



## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I haven't really heard of a tree falling on a horse although that has always been one of my fears as well. I'm not sure what the actual percentage rate on horses being struck by lightening is. Pistol, my 26 year old spent years and years living the pasture life and weathered many storms without isssues. 

A friend of mine had a really pretty paint that was out in the pasture during a bad storm. I remember my husband and I arguing because I raced down to the barn to bring everyone in. The next day she called to tell me Chief was dead. He was laying beneath a tree. He'd been struck. The funny thing is, he had a really nice shelter in the pasture, he just chose not to lay under... ? i wonder why....


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Yeah, I'm fairly positive my horses would move away from a falling tree, lots of trees have fallen across the fences in the past. There's just a tree that lost it's top during the last wind storm, and it's now held up by some big branches and the tip is on the ground. I worry they may have been underneath it and it fell. Silly, yes. Unlikely, yes. But I always worry that the wind will knock a sign down and send it hurtling towards my neck to be-head me.  Crazy, right? Haha.

I don't know the percentage of horses hit by lightning either. And it's not like they are going to stay outside in the middle of pasture all vulnerable. Like I said, Ricci hates rain. And Gracie wouldn't go outside without her. So they're in the barn. I just wonder how safe the barn is as far as lightning goes.

Really sad about your friends horse though. =[


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## squeak351 (May 20, 2010)

The BO where I board my mares is terrified of horses being struck by lightning. She had a friend that lost two horses by getting struck. They didn't have any shelter in their pasture, it may have not made a difference. Every time it even thunders or it is forcasted as thunderstorms she wants the horses up. The mares have other ideas! lol There are other horses on the property that aren't stalled when it's nasty out. Their owners doesn't come put them up ever, so the mares call back and forth to them. In fact the owners never come out to check on them at all. Their stalls haven't been mucked in over a year, flies all over the poor things... ughh... guess that's another story all together.


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## princess warrior (Dec 28, 2009)

My friends horse died from lightening, there was a herd of them and he was her best one, standing by the water trough in the night, sh is still not over it ...... My horses have to be in even if there is a hint of a storm coming, it is one of my fears too.


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## Juniper (May 4, 2007)

Oh no! Another horse thing to worry about. I never thought about lightening but I will now!


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

A friend of mine lost two of hers in the same night to lightning a year ago.

You can put them up, but if lightning strikes the barn they can still die. I knew someone years ago who lost a horse to a lightning strike, because it ran down the metal roof and into the metal bars on the animal's stall.

There's really no way to make an animal completely safe from lightning. Heck, we can't even guarantee that we're safe, even in the house! 

You can minimize the danger, but never completely get rid of it.


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## princess warrior (Dec 28, 2009)

Ohhhh mannn!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Speed Racer said:


> A friend of mine lost two of hers in the same night to lightning a year ago.
> 
> You can put them up, but if lightning strikes the barn they can still die. I knew someone years ago who lost a horse to a lightning strike, because it ran down the metal roof and into the metal bars on the animal's stall.
> 
> ...


But HOW can you minimize the danger? I have no idea what attracts it, makes it go away, passes it on, nothing, lol.


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## Juniper (May 4, 2007)

Our phone blew up from lightening. The cord and everything was fried. I have surge protectors on everything now but I still don't think that is a guarantee. I make everyone stay off the phone, away from windows, no showering during lightening storms at home. so not sure how you can do all the protecting for a horse.


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## tarebear (May 28, 2010)

I can't believe so many people know one or more horses that have gotten struck. I knew one person whose horse got struck, but I didn't think it was so common.

Not sure about how to minimize it, but I think the only thing you really can do is not turn your horse out in a halter if possible. I don't even know if the metal pieces would make a difference, but it just seems to make sense to me. 

Having shelters with few metal pieces I'm sure would help, but if that's what you've got, then I don't know =[ Our horses always stay in the barn when it's storming, though. Even though we have a metal roof, most everything else is wood besides the stuff holding it together. So I'm not sure if they'd get hurt if the roof got struck...but with my luck, they would...But we also have a few tall trees right next to the barn, so they may be more likely to get hit first.


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## Cowgirl140ty (Jan 7, 2010)

Well I live in Florida. And unfortunatley for me... its the lightning capital of the world. I have horses that are in when it storms and others who are in pastures all the time. 
That being said... We had a mare that was hit while in the barn. The vet who put her down did an autopsy and told us that one of the trees in the area must have been hit and the electricty traveled the roots and got her. It was low enough that it didnt kill her right away. But bad enough it fried her systems... We thought we were dealing with colic... even the vet himself. Stayed up in shifts 24/7 walking her for a week. When she didnt progress we had her put down and thats when we found out.
So.... really there is no way. IMO... if they can come in and out if they please is the best route... let their insticts look out for them.


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

there was a storm last week and i got my boy in, he was pretty happy to come in! there was no lightening, it never came that close anyway. i think that horses should come in during a thunder storm, if you can get them in. its really unlucky when it does happen though, like the saying goes, lightning never strikes twice...


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## face (Jun 26, 2008)

A very close friend of mine lost three 2 year olds last night in a lightening strike. We are in SC.

A tree was struck and it traveled down the tree and hit the horses.


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## squeak351 (May 20, 2010)

Very sad story this week. 13 mini horses were killed by lightning. A family had a herd of 25. A storm came up, not a terrible storm either. In the paper the lady is quoted as saying that she heard a noise but didn't think anything of it. After the storm cleared her and her grandchildren went outside and saw several horses with their feet up in the air. It killed 13. I couldn't imagine how terrible that must of been to see your babies like that.


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

This is when I thank the heavens that I live in a place where we're lucky to hear a faint attempt at thunder every two or three years.

All these scary stories are making me skittish!


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## Juniper (May 4, 2007)

13 minis, how devastating. Do they have any idea how the lightening hit them? Does it hit straight on from the sky or hit the ground and then go into the horses? It seems strange to me that it could kill so many. When we lived in Colorado and hiked often, we were told that it was pretty safe to be laying flat on the ground when there was lightening. That it hits the tallest object, usually once in an area and that's it. Now, it seems that is not so. We had lightening come though the phone outlet and fried the phone so I am much more conscious of the realities of lightening now.


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## specialdelivery (Jan 12, 2010)

I would think a lightning rod that is grounded would be the best way to protect them. This year has been insane for storms and many of the buildings in the city(20 mins away) have been saved due to thier lightning rods. Even in a house you are not completely safe. A woman i used to work with has been struck 3 times and the second time she was hit was while she was opening the dryer in her basement. The voltage hit the house ran through the wiring and conducted her while touching the metal on the dryer, shot her clear across the basement, and cracked the drywall where she hit. Shes petrified of storms and has her own rubber mat she sits on while there is a storm, after 3 hits shes petrified and rightfully so. I never used to be scared during storms but now that i have a horse out there i get sick to my stomach, but if something that horrible is going to happen its going to no matter how much you do to prevent it.


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