The experience of a stable fire will never go away..
She survived both the surgery and rehab. Eventually she got back into shape again, now with an additional bump on the inside of the left front leg. In all she was a true miracle pony with nine lives ❤️
When I was 8 years old our stable burnt down.
The main reason no horses died was because it was summer. Which meant all, but two, were out on the fields. One horse got seriously injured. This horse happened to be our very own D-pony.
She was a younger pony that the previous year was rescued by our then riding instructor when she, for no apparent reason, was destined for the slaughter house. Our riding instructor who saw her potential decided to buy her.
After training her a bit she sold her on to my family.
But the following summer her life was close to ending for being inside that stable when the fire broke out. It was a miracle she made it out alive, and of the two of them that had been stabled inside, she was the second and last to get rescued.
But since the fire had been raging for quite some time the structure of the building had started to give in. So on her way out, the building collapsed, and she ended up with a burning wooden beam landing on her back. Just behind the withers.
This burning piece of hard wood also set her on fire.
The smell, the ruins, the ashes
Our pony made a slow recovery from this ordeal. But she did get well. However, the physical scars would stay with her forever.
But no one who didn't knew could really tell something truly awful happened to her on that summer's night. Her mane turned grey, and she always had a bump on her back where the beam have landed.
Two year's after the fire she and her field buddies came loose, with her ending up in some kind of a green house construction. With the green house breaking into pieces it turned into some kind of death trap. That is where she cut off a tendon in her lower front leg.
But just like a miracle she survived both the surgery and rehab. Eventually she got back into shape again, now with an additional bump on the inside of the left front leg. In all she was a true miracle pony with nine lives ❤️
Me on the other hand, To this day I can still remember the smell, the ruins, and the ashes of what used to be a stable, like it was yesterday.
So in a way I can imagine the horror scenario that recently played out in my region where at least 17 horses died in a horror fire. Cause truth of the matter any kind of fire is like a 100% pure horror situation.
What I don't understand, which really doesn't have anything to do with the latest fire, is why we don't talk about these things.
For sure there's a lot of talk after things like these happen. Before it does, not so much.
Years ago, when I worked at a riding school we invited the fire department, or they invited themselves, to train fire evacuation of horses.
In the process they geared me up like a true fire man to let me try to get my own horse out of the stable. Let's say is was a freakishly hard assignment to fullfil when basically wearing a full set of fire man's gear with the oxygen tank, mask and all.
In all it can be filed as one of the most dangerous stunts I ever pulled around horses..
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Building permits
The other year, when we applied for a permit for our B&B, we found out that if you host more than 10 guests at the time, which to us sounds more like running a small hotel than a B&B, you would need an additional permit from the fire department.
A permit that shows fire escapes, fire plans etc. To get hold of this permit the local "fire inspector" actually come by to visit and measure your property up.
Our B&B will never host 10 official guests, so that was never going to be a problem nor an issue for us.
The expected pack of unofficial ones, friends and family, we will have glamping and camping in our garden during the World Games in Aachen, Germany in 2026 is a complete other story.
But talking to people that recently built, or have been in the process of rebuilding old stables, it seem the fire department and permits are signed off just by looking at the drawings.
In many countries an actual inspection of the property doesn't even seem to be necessary. Quite bizarre now isn't it?
Cause with all the rules that the EU [where we're based] force upon us. Fire safety for horses and other critters doesn't seem to be one them.
