Posted on 07/04/2010 8:14:57 PM PDT by AKchief67
BELLEVUE, Iowa — Police confirm a 60-year-old woman has died from her injuries and 23 others were injured after two horses broke loose at a Fourth of July “Heritage Day Parade” in Bellevue and charged down the street for six blocks.
Police in Bellevue say that a 60-year-old woman has died of injuries she sustained in the accident. Her name is not available at this time. Twenty-three people were injured, including at least two children who were in critical condition, police and hospital officials said.
The horses took off after one rubbed its head against the other, removing that horse’s bridle, police said. The horses, with a wagon in tow, galloped for several blocks, running over children and adults who sat and stood along the streets watching the parade in Bellevue. At one point, the wagon flipped, ejecting two people in it, police said.
(Excerpt) Read more at kcrg.com ...
So very sad. My prayers are with the families of the deceased. And with those injured.
“Wild Horses...” By and large, we’ve forgotten how dangerous they can be, because most of us don’t spend much time around them.
Back in the 19th century, horse accidents were like car accidents nowadays. Horses in hitches spooked and overturned their wagons or carriages, riding horses shied and threw their riders. IIRC, Lincoln’s young son was killed when his pony bolted.
Lincoln’s son was riding in bad winter weather then came down with the disease that killed him.
Same with trains (MUCH bigger than any truck).
Whenever I argue about the need/constitutionality of driver’s licenses, I bring up how no one had licenses to drive/ride horses even though they caused countless accidents.
Amazingly it’s because I spend so danged much time around them that I don’t think of them as dangerous at all. I do respect their size, and when working them do wear my steel toe’d boots as I’ve been crunched a couple of times in the foot, but other than that horses, at least our horses are like laid back good buds.
“...most of us don’t spend much time around them.”
We have four horses, though I am not what one might consider a ‘horse person’. I like them. Three of the four were born here. They are all related. We have had others. And yes, they can do unexpected things. I do not consider our horses ‘dangerous’ but we respect them, and are careful to let them know we are there if we have to go behind them. Ours are generally gentle and friendly.
Well it’s time to ban horses from 4th of July events. Just like fireworks - too dangerous.
I used to have 5 horses. We did quite a bit of trail riding. Any horse no matter how gentle can spook and do ignorant things. Wagons and buggy's are more dangerous than riding in the saddle.
One of my granddaughters used to ride in front of the saddle with her mom or dad before she was even a year old. They rode a 2 1/2 yr old stallion who always seemed gentle at that time. It always made me nervous.
When it got a little older, I started calling in Poco Loco, cause you never knew if it was going to be gentle or stupid. My son-in-law really should have sold it to someone who could have used a good cutting horse, and would ride the orneriness out of it daily.
I was thinking that the bridle wasn’t on correctly also. I am also wondering if the person driving the horses was in the wagon, or if he knew how to stop them. I had a horse take off with me when I was in my teens & it scared me to death. I never really liked white horses after that. I usually am not afraid of horses but we’ve had a few that I was glad to see other rescues come & get. Some of the drafts I won’t even deal with. I am just too small for them.
Very sad.
Prayers for the them.
Wow. Several things.
One, this is very sad.
Two, how on earth would someone stop them? I mean you could shoot them, but it’s not exactly a good idea to shoot a moving target on a crowded street, especially when it might take several shots to take them down. But would there really have been any other options? And to me two dead horses is always going to be better than one dead person.
Three, how long will it be before the PETA people start running their mouths about captivity and rebellion and yadda yadda yadda...
Yeh, I was wondering if the person driving really knew how to stop them. Lots of people ride horses, but have never really received instructions on what to do when something unexpected happens, and it can scare the bejeses out of you if your horse takes off running like crazy.
This happened all the time when man used horses as the main mode of transportation...what a horrible event. Horses, regardless how gentle they seem, are unpredictable. Any animal pretty much is. My prayers for the families.
I went through all 28 pictures & under some it say one horse got loose, under others it says 2. I wish there was more info. I saw the carriage & it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I was thinking more like a wagon like they use in hay rides. I see horses used for hay ride & parades & there is never a problem. They are bomb proof horses & the drivers can control them. Very sorry this happened. Right now our horses are in trouble. People can’t afford them & the BLM is rounding them up on land that is supposed to be set aside for the wild horses. I deal with horses in slaughter pens each Wed night. I really don’t understand why the French want to eat horse meat.
Yeh, I guess I could do it if I was stuck in a Blizzard in a mountain pass,and there was nothing else to eat, but the thought of eating a horse, just seems wrong.
If we banned something every time some one got killed we would never leave our homes
Pierre Curie, the great scientist, was killed under a lorry team.
“One of my mares can open locked gates & her stall when she wants to.”
We had a little Burro that did that too. He was a character. West Niles took him real fast.
“Praying for the injured & the victim & her family.”
Yes.
Thanks for your response.
I was given the largest horse to ride. This horse was so big, we didn't have a saddle to fit him. He was once used as a draft horse pulling wagons from what I was told.
I only had a bridle and a small pad with stirrups to ride on.
This was a very gentle horse and he was an extremely fast and smooth runner.
My job on the trail was to stay a ways back at the rear of the pack and stop any runaway horses. I was to put my horse and self in the path of any runawaya and stop them.
Our paths wound through some Wayerhouser forrest lands and had many twists and turns to them. One day, the front of the ride disappeared around a bend and my horse spooked and took off running around the bend.
He pulled me right into a tree which knocked me off. I hit so hard, my glasses went flying and I was sccrapped off onto the ground. After awhile the rest of the ride returned to see what happened to me after my riderless horse had caught up with them.
I'm was still on the ground crawling around looking for my glasses so I told them to go ahead back to the tack house and I would catch up later.
After searching for my glasses awhile and not finding them, I figured that I would go back to the tack house and get my contact lenses and then come back and look further.
Once I got back on my horse, he decided that he was very anxious to return to the stable and he bolted again.
Since he had worked so long pulling various carts he had developed what would be called a ‘hard mouth’ and was pretty insensitive to the bit in his mouth. He simply wouldn't slow down and there was nothing I could do except to hold on and ry to not get thrown again.
We were flying through the forest with everything being nothing but a blur when we exploded onto and across the baseball field. I remember people on the field yelling for me to stop and replying’ I can't stop now’.
That horse had a mind of it's own and simply didn't want to stop until after it found ti's way back ‘home’ to the rest of the horses.
I couldn't even begin to count the number of times I was thrown that summer. I remember one time I was racing with another friend through the woods and my horse spooked again. This time he simply parked his rear end and skidded to a halt launching me over his head.
I landed on my shoulder and rolled over thankful that I had taken a few Judo lessons earlier and knew hot to fall and reduce the force of the impact by rolling.
I was 9 years old the first time I rode a horse and even then I was riding him bareback without either a saddle, a pad or even a bridle to hold on to. The horse at this time was still very young colt and he and his mother would be taken out by the owner for various trips.
The owner would let kids ride the horse because it was tame and would meekly follow it's mother where ever she went. The owner would ride the mare slowly and the colt would simply follow behind.
Unfortunately, the colt fell a little behind and then bolted to catch up quickly sending me flying and landing on the black top road we were riding on. I was able at that time to land on my hands and simply roll over without giving much thought to it.
Previously while living in Chicago, my young friends and I used to lean over a porch railing and then simply roll over it and land on our feet by holding on to the rail. I guess my earlier experience in getting down fom the porch helped me land safely.
I think of the Superman actor who became a paraplegic after being thrown from a horse and then years later died from complications from his injuries. And then I thank God for the many times He kept me safe during my various adventures.
Gosh, this is sad. The driver probably had no place to go with people lining both sides of the street, and the victims might not have had any room to maneuver either.
Since horses’ main defense is to RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! when something scares them I can see how accidents happen. Sometimes I think we overestimate our horses’ ability to cope.
The problem with that horse was really very simple.
You should have been kept as far away from him as possible, and I might add far away from any other horses.
For you were and still are completely void of any knowledge of horsemanship.
Devoid.
RIP.
Maybe it tastes good?
Thank you for your kind thoughts, Dan
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