A yard in Alabama was hit by a severe tornado last month, but remarkably all 35 horses kept there survived the devastation it wrought.
An F3 tornado, one classified as causing severe damage, passed through Flint Ridge Farm located just outside of Huntsville overnight on 30 November.
The farm, owned by Diana Rose, has been there for almost 40 years.
“Never has it been hit by a storm like this,” said Monica Yother, who keeps her horse at the yard.
“Tornado sirens did not go off that night due to an error and it was not until the light of day that the damage was discovered.
“A text was sent out to the liveries to let us know that the farm had been hit but the horses seemed to be ok.”
Ms Yother lives a few minutes from the farm so was able to get there quickly.
“Even before I turned off the road to go down the driveway, I could see huge pieces of metal from the barns scattered on the side of the road,” she told H&H.
“Trees were down, metal, wood and insulation were strewn all over the place.
“When I reached the actual farm, I was shocked by the sight. The huge trees that lined the bottom pastures were snapped off at about half their normal height.
“The indoor arena was completely gone — nothing was standing. The roofs were gone from the two main barns and there was nothing left of the sawdust shed.
“A smaller barn not only had no roof, but the sides were also missing. Unfortunately, this is where the hay was kept and the delivery we had received just the day before the storm was ruined, not just with water, but with small bits of glass and metal.”
The 25 horses kept in the main barn were found still in their stables and most of those in the smaller barn were also still inside.
“Our mare stays out in the pasture connected to the green barn, and I found her wandering around the debris close to that area,” said Ms Yother.
“She came up to me right away, and actually seemed really calm. She was more interested in finding a treat than the chaos around us.”
North Alabama Equine Hospital came to the yard to check out all the horses and treat the injured.
Ms Yother’s mare had a wound on her hind quarters and two ponies were also injured with cuts that required stitches. All the others horses escaped unscathed.
The ponies and Ms Yother’s mare are now recovering and repairs are now being carried out at the farm.
