Arson attack kills more than 20 racehorses.

[Maddie Moo]

Awful news from Tioga Downs in New York. More than 24 Standardbred racehorses have been killed in an arson attack on one of the barns.

The suspect has already been caught and charged with four offences. The people whose barn it was have lost everything, their horses and all their equipment. It appears that more than one trainer was resident in the barn.

Another news report has also said that one person has suffered second degree burn injuries trying to rescue the horses.

LINK

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Oh no, that's horrible. Bad enough when it's an accident, but deliberately , poor horses, and their poor humans.
I suppose all one can hope for is that the smoke got to the horses first.

 

[Maddie Moo]

It has now been announced that 31 horses died as a result of the fire.

LINK There is a lovely tribute here from the trainers

R.I.P to the horses

Always Smooth
Better Call Saul
Birdie Three
Blazin Mooss
Buzzards R Flying
Da Boogie Man
Danzon Hanover
Diamond Express
Fireside Tail
Grant Me This
Hall It Off
Hot Shot Joe
Hunts Point
Ideal Chance
Its Rigged
Karpathos
Lone Wolf American
Market Mayhem
Mc Mach
My Delight
Payara
Pineapple Sundae
Pocket Watch N
Prairie Dutchess
Ruff Montana Lane
Sd Watch Me Now
Silverhill Misty
Slave Labour
Violence
Unnamed Yearling

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I don't understand how anyone can take out their anger on the animals. They are innocent bystanders in this.

 

[reynold]

Having had this happen to me 27 years ago when I lost a horse along with 6 others this has me in tears. It was arson by a teenager but the Police didn't have enough proof to proceed to prosecution so he got away with it.

My vet at the time did console me that my horse would have died from suffocation before being burnt, but that was in conventional stables. I just hope that the horses inside the american barn were dead before the barn collapsed.

I notice that the charges are only category C and D. I hope that even as they aren't category A the person who did this gets a significant prison sentence.

As above - I just don't understand how someone - who you presume worked around the barn with the horses - could actually do this to innocent animals. No grudge is worth this. I hope that he has a hard time in prison, but no prison time will ever bring back the horses that were lost.

I also feel for the people who may well have turned up to work and seen the bodies. It is a sight I have never forgotten and I doubt they will either.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

OMG. How awful. Those poor horses and anyone else connected with this basically.

Just unforgiveable. There are just no words.....

 

[Laurac13]

Horrendous those poor horses rip

 

[PurBee]

Having had this happen to me 27 years ago when I lost a horse along with 6 others this has me in tears. It was arson by a teenager but the Police didn't have enough proof to proceed to prosecution so he got away with it.

My vet at the time did console me that my horse would have died from suffocation before being burnt, but that was in conventional stables. I just hope that the horses inside the american barn were dead before the barn collapsed.

I notice that the charges are only category C and D. I hope that even as they aren't category A the person who did this gets a significant prison sentence.

As above - I just don't understand how someone - who you presume worked around the barn with the horses - could actually do this to innocent animals. No grudge is worth this. I hope that he has a hard time in prison, but no prison time will ever bring back the horses that were lost.

I also feel for the people who may well have turned up to work and seen the bodies. It is a sight I have never forgotten and I doubt they will either.

Im sorry you went through that reynold, and that the person responsible got away with it. The justice system is often useless when animals are the victims.

I too was surprised at the cat. C and D charges. How was the perpetrator to know there wasnt a human being in the barn aswell, looking after the animals at the time they set it on fire? There‘s 31 animal deaths and could have easily included human deaths.
Their intent was to certainly kill trapped animals, the law should treat that far more seriously.
Its a brutal mind to do that to an animal, the type of mind to also cause harm to humans if provoked.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

It has now been announced that 31 horses died as a result of the fire.

LINK There is a lovely tribute here from the trainers

R.I.P to the horses

Always Smooth
Better Call Saul
Birdie Three
Blazin Mooss
Buzzards R Flying
Da Boogie Man
Danzon Hanover
Diamond Express
Fireside Tail
Grant Me This
Hall It Off
Hot Shot Joe
Hunts Point
Ideal Chance
Its Rigged
Karpathos
Lone Wolf American
Market Mayhem
Mc Mach
My Delight
Payara
Pineapple Sundae
Pocket Watch N
Prairie Dutchess
Ruff Montana Lane
Sd Watch Me Now
Silverhill Misty
Slave Labour
Violence
Unnamed Yearling

It so sad to read that list of names.

Really lovely to read that tribute article, for those can't decide whether to click the link or not, it talks about both what happened, and all the help that people are trying to give, through money donated to GoFundMe, and the various horse equipment that are getting donated from close and afar. At the end of the page there's a sort of list with a little bit personal info about all the horse, and sometimes their owners.
E.g. 12 of the horses was trained, and sometimes also owned or co-owned, by a married couple Lee and Kayla Morris, originally from England. One of their horses was Better Call Saul, 11-year-old, cheeky, funny, and always hungry.

Another trainer had 6 horses in the barn, one of them, Ideal Chance, was a 6-year-old who had just arrived from another trainer only 2 days before.

The unnamed yearling was homebred by his owner, who also had his brother, Buzzards R Flying (who "really enjoyed napping 22 hours of the day"), and 2 more horses in that barn.
Fireside Tail was a yearling just bought, and brought home from the Harrisburg Sale the night before.

Karpathos was a 22-year-old retiree who loved banana-granola bars and grapes.

 

[windswoo]

Very sad - maybe they should lock the perpetrator in a wooden box where they can't get out and set them on fire.
Think that might be a suitable punishment.
Not that it matters, but what would the lost monetary value be? - I hope at least the owners are all insured, so get something out of it and not be financially out of pocket as well as losing their beautiful animals.