22 Horses dead in giant barn fire

Twenty-two show horses have perished after a fire ravaged the barn in which they were staying, in New Jersey. 

 

The horses, which were each worth tens of thousands of pounds, were all show horses and all died when the barn burnt down in a matter of minutes, according to the Daily Mail. 

 

The blaze occurred in the early hours of the morning in Lafayette, New Jersey on Saturday (21 January).

 

They were all housed in a large barn at Heritage Acres, which  is a family-owned 40-acre farm which attracts riders from across the U.S.A. 

 

Once the fire was spotted, firefighters were quick to the scene, however, almost as soon as they arrived the structure collapsed. 

 

The owner of the barn Art Hahn, 77 and his wife Bety 73, have raised horses fr more than half of their lives. They established the farm in 1979, however, on Saturday morning all that remained of the barn, which was originally the size of a football pitch, was a few wooden beams and horse remains were scattered amongst the debris and the snow.

 

Hahn spoke to the L.A Times about the disaster saying: “It burned right down to the ground. Put me right out of business. I’m still in shock. This is just devastating.”

 

His wife Betty told the New Jersey Star-Ledger they did not have insurance on the barn, she said: “I guess anything can happen and it did. We’re just going to sell our property. It was our business and we’re too old to start over.”

 

She added: “I’m so numb and so hurt that I can’t cry. It would probably feel better if I could.”

 

The horses, valued between $10,000 and $60,000 each, had won in shows on the East Coast, competing in dressage and jumping.

 

But Marion Georgiev, a trainer responsible for four horses at the farm, told the Star-Ledger: “I don’t know if everyone understands the bond between horse people and a horse. There are so many things you learn from them. 

 

“They only care about how you treat them, and if you make a mistake they forgive you. And when you ride a horse, that bond grows even more because they allow you do something you can’t do yourself.”

 

Four other horses, which were kept in a separate barn escaped unscathed and investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

Picture: Goingslo