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That is a horrible experience! I am not a big fan of electric corrals. I know there will always be some that say that their horse is fine in a portable electric corral, but even your horse is perfectly well mannered, your own corral can easily be taken down by loose horses.

I have not been competing for very long, but at almost every ride I have ridden or volunteered at, there have been loose horses in the night that have gotten out of there electric corrals, and often ran through other corrals in the process.

I always worry about my own horse - a little less when she is in the portable corral that I have with steel panels, but a few times when she has been tied to the trailer, the loose horses have gone charging just behind her.

 

Lysane 

 

Raven <iceponygoddess@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I spent the past four days at Hay Creek State Forest, in Red Wing, MN.
> What should have been a wonderful weekend for all campers, ended up
> being a horrible nightmare for one family, and left the rest of us,
> numb.
>
> A woman and her three teenage girls set up a portable electric corral
> next to our campsites. The corral was small and only one (1) single
> strand of thin rope fencing.
>
> She placed her five (5) horses in this corral, the corral was very
> small, IMHO, not big enough for two horses, let alone five.
>
> My friend and I suggested to this woman, that she make the corral
> bigger. She decided against this.
>
> During the next few hours, I watched the five horses...squabble and
> push each other around. I mentioned to the woman that I felt the
> horses may go through the fence.
>
> I mentioned to my friends several times, that I had a bad feeling,
> that I was afraid the horses would go through the
>  fence during the
> nite.
>
> About 8 PM or so, while we were in my friend's RV, we heard a thunder
> of horses running outside. I jumped up, grabbed my boots to make sure
> that the loose horses were not mine.
>
> I stepped outside, it was so dark...I only saw people running with
> flashlights, and trying to catch the loose horses. I ran to my
> trailer, to grab some lead lines and bucket of grain.
>
> I could hear the horses making their way towards the highway, I ask
> one of my friends if she had her cell phone, I asked her to call 911,
> and inform the sheriff department that four horses were running
> towards the highway about 1/2 mile down.
>
> As I was asking her to do this, I hear the most awful thing; I hear a
> semi hit a horse. I have never in my life heard such an awful sound,
> nor felt so damm helpless, my heart was just ripped out.
>
> I quickly ran to my camper, grabbed my cell phone and also called 911
> to report the accident. A
>  few minutes later, I heard one gun shot.
> Then..I just sort of lost it.
>
> It was later in the nite, that I found out that two of the four horses
> had been hit by the semi. Thank the goddess that the driver was
> physically hurt.
>
> I am sharing this information with you for one simple reason. Should
> you decide to use a portable electric corral, please set it up to
> ensure the safety of your horses and others in camp.
>
> Make the corral large enough for all horses that it will contain, use
> at least two (2) strands of wide visible tape. And most of all...make
> sure all the horses GET ALONG!!!
>
> Please know that I am NOT second guessing the owners of these horses,
> lord knows my heart goes out to them. We have all made mistakes when
> it comes to our horses, please use this story to learn, to stay safe
> and most of all...to keep your horses alive.
>
> IHMO...I believe that there are better ways to contain a horse while
> camping. I
>  myself use to use a portable electric corral, until my new
> mini mare got out. After that, I starting using a picket line. Yes,
> you are right, there is NO safe 100% way to keep a horse secured over
> nite, they all have their pros & cons, but IMO, tying a horse to a
> picket line, Hi-Tie or trailer is safer than a portable corral.
>
> A horse(s) running through camp, scared to death, dragging a fence is
> a horrible thing to happen.
>
> The very next morning we woke up to find another (different) camper
> with her electric corral down, and two of her three horses loose,
> working their way towards that highway. We grabbed some grain and
> caught her horses, tied them to her trailer.
>
> Yes...our weekend was difficult, but we came home with our horses.
>
> That poor family went home with only three horses and two young
> daughters who lost their beloved horses on that highway. Please keep
> these young girls in your thoughts. Give your horses a
>  hug & kiss.
> Please...please keep your horses safe. Raven
>
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