MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — A frantic stable owner reached out on social media begging for help with her horses after a tornado ripped through Maury County.
From plumbers to equestrians volunteers jumped into action to help out at Spirit Horse Stables. “We had two goats and then Khaleesi, one of our mares, and her baby, they were both trapped, and we had a few guys holding up the boards, so it didn’t fall on her, and God willing it didn’t, and we got it open,” Rider Alexus Tallman said.
Alexus Tallman calls this stable home. She said nearly two dozen horses were out in the field during the storm and some were hit by debris. “They just got picked up and tossed around like beanie babies,” Tallman said.
Volunteers trudged through mud with hay bales to get food to the corralled horses because the driveway was blocked by downed trees.
Operation help save some horses underway! Hiking to them now with volunteers in Maury County @nc5 pic.twitter.com/drVAIkjc2T
— Alexandra Koehn (@NC5_AKoehn) May 9, 2024
“The fact that we’re not finding any deceased horses here on site is I think just a testimony to the horses themselves, horses are very smart animals," Horse Plus Humane Society's Tawnee Preisner said.
Preisner helped get some of the horses to a trailer on Joe Brown Road. "Horses are herd animals so keeping them in groups together is the best way to move them," Preisner said.
Some were loaded up to go see a veterinarian, while others were going to other barns nearby.
Alexus said they're overwhelmed by all the support. "It’s amazing," Tallman said, "So appreciative."
She hopes one day this stable will be able to rebuild. “I’ve been here since I was a kid and I watched them build this 20-something years ago from nothing but dirt so now this is insane it’s basically taking it back to the roots ya know when they put in so much work,” Tallman said.
The stable owner and her husband were in their storm shelter with her dogs when it hit. She said she’s still in shock. If you'd like to help them during this time, here’s their GoFundMe page.
To donate to Horse Plus Humane Society go here.
Another group that is helping is accepting supplies:
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
