Buddy the horse in 'miracle' escape
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THE survival of a horse whose stable was completely destroyed in winds of over 85 mph has been described as “nothing short of a miracle”.
Jane Paige has spoken of the horror moment she saw the stable had been ripped from its foundations and blown away with Buddy still inside last Thursday.
The wooden building at Caisteil an Tulach, near Halkirk, which was reinforced with concrete blocks, was torn away from the ground and driven 30 feet into another field, with the horse dragged along with it.
Twenty-eight-year-old Buddy also withstood the building, which contained his saddle and other equine equipment, flipping on to its roof.
Speaking to the Caithness Courier, Ms Paige said her heart sank when she saw her entire stable had disappeared.
She said her first thought was for her beloved horse and was convinced Buddy had not survived.
“It is like a scene from a news programme where a tornado just picked up the building and plopped it somewhere else,” she explained.
“My father and I were in the house during the evening when we heard a crashing noise from outside and the power went off at the same time. I looked outside the window and the whole stable had gone. My first thought was for Buddy and I rushed outside to see if he was alright, but I feared the worst that he had been killed.
“As soon as I rushed to the area where the stable had been blown from, Buddy was running back to the house to my relief.”
After taking Buddy away from the carnage into an open paddock, she examined him and was relieved to find he had only minor injuries to his legs, but he was suffering from trauma and has been restless since.
With no other accommodation available for the horse, Ms Paige put several extra coats over his body as he was forced to sleep outside before being moved, temporarily, to a neighbouring stable.
Ms Paige has owned Buddy, an American Quarter Horse, for 16 years since purchasing him from the US in 1995 when he was retired from competition. He is one of two horses she owns. Nineteen-year old Shetland pony Sunny stays in a smaller stable and was unaffected by the adverse weather.
Ms Paige said it is the first time she has suffered damage to her property to such a severe extent but added as long as Buddy is fine, that is all she cares about.
“I thought the building would be able to withstand the strong winds, as it was a large wooden stable reinforced with concrete at the floor,” she said.
“The whole thing is now lying upside down and I will have to think about building a new stable from scratch, along with replacing some of the equipment which was destroyed. But the main thing is Buddy is still alive. I still can’t understand how he was able to survive the whole thing – it is nothing short of a miracle.”
