Ridecamp: [RC] tornados hit horse barn

I feel so oblivious! I just got off the phone with a fellow horse owner
whose name I keep in my daytimer as a good contact for anything related to
horses. I called her yesterday on an unrelated topic and she returned my
call today, rather shaken. One of the tornados that swept through Union
County, Ohio on Sunday hit the barn where she keeps her horse. I saw the
devastation shot from a helicoptor on the local news and didn't make the
connection. The place was flattened. I could see the foundation of the house
and the barn and then just parts and pieces of barn, equipment, cars, etc.
etc. There was a bunch of hay scattered and somone had managed to pile a
bunch together and clear a safe open spot -- lots of sharp and spintered
debris lying around the cleared spot. 5 horses stood stock still around the
pile munching with a horse killed by the tornado lying on the ground about
20 feet away. No fences in sight and one lonely figure despondently sorting
through the wreck. Another horse was under the wreckage, crushed.

My acquaintance was in the barn when it exploded around them. I know her
because she called me about 2 months ago to find out about dog therapy which
is something I'm involved with. The barn owner is a child development
specialist by profession and uses the horses for therapy for children with
autism and ADD. They were working with some clients and the horses when the
tornado hit. No humans were seriously injured.

As you can imagine someone who has just gone through that two days ago might
be, she was still pretty shaken and in shock. Everything is gone. They have
found a place for the horses, but that's about it. She told me how one of
the most staid horses balked at being loaded into the stock trailer because,
with the other horses in it and rattling around a bit, it sounded exactly
like the barn before it exploded. The horse turned and bolted away from the
trailer.

The farm property is insured, but it's that ol' "act of God" thing. The
owners lack health insurance and are already facing bills from unrelated
health care issues. The vet bills, of course, aren't covered. But besides
that, everything is gone. Tack, feed, basic horse care items.

Any ideas on how to help these people get back on their feet? Like I said,
the woman I talked to is pretty shaken up -- she was headed out to the site
again and hopefully will have more info later. Anyone who lived through fire
or floods out there who can offer some advice on how to help or how they
should deal with this?

Thanks for reading.

Deanna (Ohio)





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