CBFan
Well-Known Member
Was driving home from a quiet night out with my mate about midnight last night when I noticed a police car with his blues going, blocking the bottom of a lane off my road which leads up to the yard where my mate keeps her horse. My imediate thought was that their had been a car accident up there but then I saw a feint orange glow in the sky and I started fearing the worst. At this point I was going too fast to stop safely so I slowed down for the next gap in the hedge and there on the horizon was a huge ball of flames :shocked:
as I neared home I decided to go back and ask the policeman what was happening and he confirmed my fears... it WAS my mates yard and he then said that he thought that all the horses were out.
I got home not knowing hat to do. Do I call my mate or don't I? I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep so I called her and tryting not to panic her I asked her if he horse was in the field or not, she said he was out (phew!) and then I told her about the fire and before I could say any more she said 'right! I'm going up there!' So off we set at about 1am up to check on her horse. Thnkfully the landowner had got all the horses that were in, out safely and it was (just) the hay barn alight - with only 20 bales inside. That is the bit that is unbelievable because the size of the fire sugested far more bales were in there.
So... lessons learnt:
1) make sure hay barns are away from the stables (this one was within about 20 metres and only JUST safe with 20 bales in) and away from the road. (pretty sure it was arson)
2) make sure you have an evacuation procedure in place and you know where to put all horses in the event of fire.
3) keep all walkways clear of clutter because if you're moving frightened horses around in the pitch black with a roaring fire in close proximity the last thing you want is forks, rugs, grooming kit ertc etc to negotiate too.
Very Scary. My Mates horse was fine and I think wondering what all the fuss was about! seemed to enjoy his 2am visit though...
as I neared home I decided to go back and ask the policeman what was happening and he confirmed my fears... it WAS my mates yard and he then said that he thought that all the horses were out.
I got home not knowing hat to do. Do I call my mate or don't I? I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep so I called her and tryting not to panic her I asked her if he horse was in the field or not, she said he was out (phew!) and then I told her about the fire and before I could say any more she said 'right! I'm going up there!' So off we set at about 1am up to check on her horse. Thnkfully the landowner had got all the horses that were in, out safely and it was (just) the hay barn alight - with only 20 bales inside. That is the bit that is unbelievable because the size of the fire sugested far more bales were in there.
So... lessons learnt:
1) make sure hay barns are away from the stables (this one was within about 20 metres and only JUST safe with 20 bales in) and away from the road. (pretty sure it was arson)
2) make sure you have an evacuation procedure in place and you know where to put all horses in the event of fire.
3) keep all walkways clear of clutter because if you're moving frightened horses around in the pitch black with a roaring fire in close proximity the last thing you want is forks, rugs, grooming kit ertc etc to negotiate too.
Very Scary. My Mates horse was fine and I think wondering what all the fuss was about! seemed to enjoy his 2am visit though...
