'Is it worth it?': Horse owner shares tragic photos amid plea to drivers
A heartbroken animal-lover has pleaded with drivers to be more cautious when overtaking after a prized competition horse was killed in a horrific 50 vehicle crash that sent 12 people to hospital.
Whitney Spicher and her one-year-old son were towing three horses in a trailer on their way to a competition in California when it was rear-ended in a mass pile-up on a major interstate road north of Los Angeles.
Water Cube, a champion horse, previously owned by Olympic legend Michael Phelps, was killed in the crash while the two others were seriously injured.
Horrific photos provided by the devastated Washington mother show one of the surviving horses, Ballon, trapped on the floor of the mangled trailer.
One person was taken to hospital in a critical condition, while eleven others including a 21-month-old baby suffered further injuries.
Fellow horse owner Kelsey Bault called out reckless drivers for not exercising enough caution when trying to overtake horse trailers carrying who she describes as “the loves of our lives”.
“These animals are the loves of our lives. 1000+ pound creatures that trust us enough to climb into a metal box on wheels and wait patiently while we drive them to our destination,” she wrote in an emotional Facebook post.
“We haul our babies in those trailers… that’s something completely against the nature of a flight animal but they do it anyways because we ask.
“We leave large following distances, we slow down extra for corners, we coast up to traffic lights so we won’t throw them around if it changes at the last minute.
“We can’t avoid the a**hats that are in too much of a hurry to pull out behind us. We can’t avoid the people who cut into our following distance on the freeway. We leave those spaces and travel the way we do for a reason.
“I ask from the bottom of my heart that everyone would be more aware of horse trailers on the road. Respect the load we’re carrying. Respect our need for stopping and following distances. Don’t tailgate us.”
The horse featured in the distressing Facebook post, Ballon, is making steady progress in his recovery, according to Ms Spicher who shared an image of the horse grazing in a field following the accident.
More than $45,000 has since been raised through a GoFundMe page to help the Spicher family with their vet bills.
Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
