Lightning and horses: Stop and dismount during storms

A pasture puddle may be welcome on a hot day, but never in a storm.

Summer storm season is here, at least in Milwaukee and surrounding areas. What safety precautions ought equestrians to take, particularly in electrical storms?

First, contrary to popular lore, horses do not attract lightning. However, grazing horses may be the tallest objects in a wide open area. As such, they may indeed become electrical targets.

Equestrians might consider how this danger may be increased by the addition of a rider atop the horse during a lightning strike.

Lightning is dangerous.

A direct lightning strike may be perilous to both horses and humans. Physical effects may include respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, nervous system failure, intercranial bleeding, skin lesions and other serious conditions.

In the very least, a lightning strike, even nearby, may cause a horse to fall or a rider to tumble from the equine’s back.

Lightning can kill horses.

Although a small percentage of humans may survive direct lightning strikes, most horses do not. It is nearly impossible to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on an equine.

Just this week, a horse owner and his boarders in Enfield, New York, lost five horses in a lightning strike. These included an Arabian, an American Quarter Horse, two Shires and a Thoroughbred-Shire cross. (CTRL-click here to read the news story on this tragic event.)

A few years ago, a well-known equestrian trainer in Wadsworth, Illinois, mourned the loss of several of her top-notch competition horses, after lightning struck a pasture puddle in which the equines were standing on her farm. A single bolt tragically decimated her herd.

How can equestrians minimize lightning hazards?

Outdoor equestrians should dismount at the first sign of lightning and seek shelter with their horses. Lightning brings the threat of electrical hazards, which may be accompanied by flash flooding and flying branches or other debris in high winds.

Horses should not be allowed to stand in bodies of water in the pasture. Proper pasture drainage can greatly reduce the dangers of equine electrocution in a summer storm.

In horse trailers and stable stalls, rubber floor mats can help to improve safety in electrical storms, while also adding to horses’ traction and preventing slippages. If possible, a horse hauler should pull the rig over in a safe spot to wait out a storm with thunder and lightning.

Photo copyrighted by Nickers and Ink.