Scene of terror when horses spooked

It is in a horse's nature to spook easily, and a recent tragedy in the UK reminds that the consequences are often horrible. Two horses died in this tragic accident, and the 65-year-old carriage driver is reported to have serious injuries: two broken legs and likely spinal injuries. Police have said something spooked the horses, who then jumped a wall and plunged 20 feet before becoming getting entangled in trees and left dangling there, thrashing wildly. One horse was crushed in midair, and the other was injured and later euthanized. A passenger escaped this horrible crash with minor injuries.

Yet another somber reminder of the consequences of spooking, and more evidence that horses will spook in various settings and circumstances.

This is one of the latest in a long and ongoing string of spooking accidents that have been reported. Others include: an equestrian spook; a carriage spooking in Vancouver; a mother and daughter who were trampled by a spooked horse outside a Florida eatery; and 5 spooked Napa Valley horses who died after being struck by a car, in a crash that also claimed the driver's life.

Horses spook: another close call!

Update: Carriage driver hospitalized
When are people going to get it? Horses spook. And parades should be delightful, not dangerous. Still, it's parade season and that means horses will be spooking.

The 2009 Memorial Day Parade in Morris Plains, New Jersey, took a terrifying turn on Saturday when a pair of carriage horses spooked. The 62-year-old carriage driver was "badly bloodied" and two children narrowly escaped serious injury in this accident involving a pair of 1,800-pound Clydesdales, Sunny and Cinder.

The carriage apparently flipped during a U-turn, spooking the horses, who bolted. The driver was pinned and run over, the young passengers were eventually snatched to safety, and cars were smashed and dented before this ordeal was over. The driver was hospitalized for treatment of head wounds, broken ribs, and severe cuts and bruises. One of the horses suffered a cut to a hind leg.

Scary stuff, and dangerous. But perfectly normal horse behavior. Horses are easily spooked, and a frightened horse is a dangerous thing.

The spooking was "pretty upsetting," said Mayor Frank Druetzler. Before the next parade he should inform himself about the nature of horses and their tendency to spook.
(Photos by George!/Morristown Green)
UPI: Horse spooks, driver hospitalized

San Francisco Carriage Horse Spooks & Rampages Through Streets

In another crystal clear example of why Horse-Drawn carriages are a menace to urban society as well as an exploitative form of enslavement for horses, a carriage horse in San Francisco went on a rampage through the streets after getting.....you guessed it, spooked! The horse apparently trampled its hander, who is in serious condition and has been hospitalized, and also knocked over at least two bike riders. This horse managed to run free through two neighborhoods before two people managed to catch the horse and corral it. No word on the condition of the horse, who was reportedly taken to a vet. Can you just imagine the other tragedies that could have easily happened had these two individuals not managed to catch the horse? I haven't been able to find any follow up stories yet that report on the condition of the horse handler, but I'll keep looking.

Here's the San Francisco Examiner's coverage of the story:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Horse-runs-buck-wild-through-SF-47272302.html


The SFist blog also covered the story, and included a quote from blogger Brittney Gilbert, who stated, "Maybe horses don't want to pull buggies in urban areas." Good point, Brittney!

I would extend Brittney's point even further by saying that it's simply wrong for humans to force horses to pull buggies in urban areas. This kind of animal domination and exploitation for profit and amusement has no place in our society any longer. I only hope that more people come to the same conclusion that Brittney has, and that it doesn't take another tragedy to do so.