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Can you link to the FB post, please? TIA.
I hope everyone gets to see this.
Sorry, but this sounds like a case of Equine Rampage, especially the stall door ripped off the hinges.
Who determined otherwise? That it was “not the result of a grumpy horse”.
1000#+ of determined/panicked horseflesh can do a helluva lot of damage.
I’ve seen wounds like that on a horse from merely being led into a stall where the stall door latch had not been drawn all the way back.
And the havoc in the aisle sounds a lot like what I came home to after absent-mindedly leaving a stall door leading to the aisle unlatched.
Including a 30gal galvanized bucket of oats (thankfully near-empty) that had been moved from the pallet it sat on, lid taken off, tipped over, then placed upright in the aisle, in a puddle of uneaten oats.
I’ve also seen a door ripped off the hinges by horses, resulted in a HUGE mess as it allowed access to the barn. Big solid oak door as well.
Yep, not buying it. You would need a pickup truck to pull the hardware off with the door. Glad the horses weren’t injured more seriously when they busted out.
Do you have Bear in the area?
Or any other large predator?
Did you look for tracks/scat?
Edit To Add … According to the Facebook this happened in Pa. so yes Bear are in the area, but should be hibernating… But, Pen State Extension has info on bears that says they do come out of dormancy to forage in the winter.
Also, Coyotes and Coywolf hybrids are in the area. Wasn’t there a thread on mountain lion seen on the east coast?
My hunch is that a predator came into the barn and the terrified horses broke out of the stalls.
Heck, I’ve known horses to ‘loose it’ when a family of grump, cold, raccoons came into the barn to hunt mice (and cat food).
I would install a camera with night vision.
Is there no-one living there?
I seem to be unable to identify the location of that wound in the photo. Is it the base of the neck/chest/foreleg??
