Three thoroughbred mares with foals by their sides perished when the trailer in which they were transported caught fire on a Pennsylvania highway in July. A fourth mare was freed by a firefighter and survived.
The fire broke out in the gooseneck trailer in the early morning of July 17 on I-80 near Kylertown in north central Pennsylvania while traveling from Kentucky to New York.
Crews from three local fire companies responded to the call to fight the blaze.
“Unfortunately six horses inside of the trailer did not survive despite the best efforts of firefighters and other individuals who were in the backlog,” according to a post on the Morris Township Fire Company Facebook page.
One of the truck drivers was injured as he pulled the surviving mare from the fire. She then broke free and was hit by a truck on the highway. Clearfield County Animal Rescue Team (CART) responded to a call to treat and transport the horse to a local farm for emergency care. She is recovering from her injuries at Sequel Stallions farm in Hudson, New York.
All four mares were pregnant at the time of the tragedy.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The deceased mares, two of which had successful racing careers, were owned by Sequel Stallions, one of the top thoroughbred breeding farms in New York, and two clients.
The horses who died in the fire were Red Diamond Stables' La Java and her colt by Constitution; Starship Stables' Starship Voodoo and her colt by Macho Uno; and Sequel Thoroughbreds' Southern Sunshine and her filly, according to Sequel Stallions. The mare who survived is Sequel's Alys.
“These were not just any mares as they were foremost in our hearts. We send our condolences to all the connections that are sharing in this loss and hope to provide some comfort to them by memorializing these beautiful animals here for us to remember.”
In an email the farm said: “The fire has been a very painful issue for all of us as horse owners and particularly for us that had connections to the horses that died in the fire. We have conferred with all the owners and out of respect to all of us we are respectfully declining any more interviews on the tragedy. “
Cattle farmer Dennis Modzel, of Winborne, a member of the Clearfield CART, got the call from a 911 operator about the fire. Modzel has responded to a number of accidents on a treacherous section of I-80 over the years involving horses and other livestock.
He brought Alys to his farm where a veterinarian quickly arrived to assess the mare. “He checked her vitals and gave her fluids and pain meds,” said Modzel, who owned quarter horses as a teenager. She was transported to New York later that morning.
Now Modzel says he talks to Alys’s owner, Becky Thomas, to get progress reports about once a week. In a Facebook post on Sequel Stallions page Modzel wrote he was glad to hear the news of her recovery. “I’m really glad she’s doing well! Almost a day goes by that I don’t think of her.”
Modzel was among the many well-wishers posting to the Sequel Stallions Facebook page. The farm responded: “All of us at Sequel would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for the tremendous amount of support, prayers and kind words during a very difficult time. We will keep moving forward knowing that time will heal.”