Posted by Kat on 8/29/2004, 2:52 pm Hidden Acres: Simultaneously, the fire blazed at full speed towards your acreage. The majority of your horses were still in the barn when the blaze hit, and you were in bed, asleep, after staying up most of the night tending a colicky horse. Instead, you awoke to the sound of whinnying horses and the sight of a fire burning merrily through the grass. With a bathrobe on over your pajamas and feet hastily thrust into boots, you ran out the door as fast as you could to throw open stall doors no time to pasture everyone, only lead them outside. For the most part, theyre calm, but when Moon Dancer rears in a panic and bolts, several other horses take off with her Nowyouseemenowyoudont, Hot Roddin Babe, Noble Pride, Pasoki Surprise, Lily, Shesa Classy Zipper, Zips Hot Chocolate, Miss Strawberry Lena and Red. Though they cross the road, there are fortunately no cars in the vicinity but now the horses are out of sight. Your stallion barn goes up in flames with Into the Red still inside, and the mare barn, though empty, is also virtually gone. The remains of the latter will have to be torn down, and both will have to be completely rebuilt. Then, as you realize how many horses have taken off already, you leap onto your most trustworthy herding horse (*insert name here*) and bunch them into a herd, driving them some distance from the burning buildings. Fortunately, you manage to keep the rest of them together long enough for the fire department to arrive. They manage to stop the spread of the flames, but approximately 50% of your grazing land is burnt to ash. Although your feed has been spared, you may have to buy a little extra to replace the lost grass. And you still have half a dozen horses missing
(see next post for continuation)
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Clear Brook Farms: Dream_painter, you are out for an early morning trail ride on Odin, enjoying the peace and stillness of the woods. Unfortunately, Odin begins to jig and prance uneasily, spooking at every little thing. Gathering the reins up short, you try to soothe him, but he refuses to be calmed. After a few minutes, as he becomes more and more unruly, half-rearing, youre about to give up and turn around when you smell smoke and then see it, a darkening cloud in the distance, blowing your way. Remembering the weather services warning, you realize theres a forest fire on the loose. Wheeling about, Odin needs no urging as you gallop at full speed back to your barn. You run into the house to call 9-1-1 and report the fire. Since most of your horses are already outside, you hurry to herd them into two pastures (stallions in one, mares in the other, geldings in whichever is closer). Unfortunately, there are still a few horses trapped in the barn. The fire isnt yet visible, but the smoke is, and you can hear the sharp crackling as it burns the trees.
By the time you get into the barn, the fire is eating through your woods at an alarming rate soon it will be in the fields. Youre alone today; your grooms have the day off. As fast as you can, you lead out Bright Haven, Thunderwings, El Shaddai and Constellation. As you hurry to grab Tuxedo Junction, he becomes incredibly restless and panics, rearing in his stall and cracking his foreleg against the door. Not only does he gash it, he immediately lets it fall limply, whinnying wildly now in panic. He refuses to listen to you, and though hes wasting valuable time, you do your best to pull him out. Its Aster who comes to the rescue, slipping through the open stall door and lunging at him from behind. Startled, he leaps forward, and though he puts weight on the injured leg, hes out of the stall and youre able to lead him out and hope that the fire doesnt reach the pasture, for he wont be able to run like the other horses. Solo Act, the last one in the barn, follows you with a blindfold, but outside he smells the smoke, and the fear in the air, and he jerks his head back, ripping the lead from your hands and dislodging his blindfold. Freed, he gallops away, paying no attention to where he is going. Suddenly, as the long, flapping rope tangles around his feet, he steps on it. This results in him flipping himself over, landing harshly on the ground with a broken neck.
This delay gives the fire time to reach the barns, where the mare barn catches alight. The fire department isnt here yet, so you rush in to get the six horses still trapped and now panicking in their stalls. Nawishkote, Celtic Rose, and Midnight Reflections are all you have time for. Midnight Reflections received a 3rd degree burn along her flank.
you try to grab Silver Dice, but she refuses to go even more than Tuxedo did, and you have to run out. Too late, you realize Aster isnt with you, and though she answers your yell with a sharp bark, its cut short by the terrific crash of the roof caving in, taking the dog, Silver Dice, Ive Got You Now, and Celtic Fire with it.
All thats left is to watch the barn burn some of the pastures are catching fire too, though fortunately they are empty. Since the fire is still some distance from the house, you run in to grab the few things most important to you (and near the exits), just in case it changes direction. Finally, the fire department reaches you. They are able to put out the flames on your property, but the fire continues on through the woods, heading for other farms
other departments have been called up to battle the wildfire blaze, but they are working on the other side, trying to stop it from reaching a neighboring suburb. Most of the first mare barn is destroyed, three pastures will have to be refenced, and a corner of the house was slightly burned; there may some damage to anything directly against the wall. You are also dismayed to learn that the hay barn went up in flames and is now merely a pile of ash
Rolling Thunder Ranch: The fire is on a direct path to your barn, and you are busy checking the horses in their pastures. You dont have a pasture large enough to house all your stallions, so some of them are still in the barn. Busy concentrating on your work, you dont realize the fire until it is nearly on top of you its coming straight through the mare pasture, where the majority of your horses are located. With very little time to react, all you can think to do is throw open the gate and then get the other horses out of the barn, which is next in line. Although disoriented, the lead mare finds the opening and runs, with most of the other horses following her except Prairie Flower, who gets confused in the rush and cut off from the other mares. Finding herself cut off by a wall of fire, she leaps the fence, getting tangled in the too-high bars. Though she makes it over, her leg gets badly scraped, and a crack appears in the bone. Confused and panicked, she is impervious to the pain and gallops off into the distance, injuring her leg further with every step. You cant stop her, but at least shes headed away from the fire. Your dogs keep most of the mares in a bunch while you try to save the stallions. Shamans Quest, Golden Sovereign and Naabesim are among the ones you save, but the barn has begun to burn. While leading out Fantasy on the Dargason, a bit of burning wood lands on his hock and gives him a bad burn through the skin. He ends up kicking you while trying to shake it off, giving you a hefty bruise on your thigh. Though you get him to safety, the barn is now ablaze. Briar Patch gallops out with tail smoking, badly singed and consequently several inches shorter, and Night Orison manages to kick out the back of his stall and escape into the pasture, though not before suffering severe burns all over his body. A shower of hot sparks narrowly misses you as you dart out the door, and though youve thrown open the remaining stall doors, the horses dont come out. The smoke is thick and heavy as you catch hold of Cattail Moon, burning your eyes and lungs, and the horses left are coughing heavily. The fire department arrives as you do so and orders you out of the barn. Cattail is the last horse you can save, for you can see that one wing of the barn is already gutted. Though they put out the flames as best they can, by the time the smoke clears and you are able to assess the damage, you find that half your barn is a wreck, including your office and tack room. Winter Storm Warrior, Red Hawk, and Starset Onyx are the three you were unable to save. It appears that smoke inhalation killed them well before the blaze, but nonetheless they are gone. Fortunately, you have one small surprise as you try to pick through the broken rubble, you hear a tiny, weak mew and find Sabrina, trapped in a corner stall. She had a tiny bit of fresh air, the only thing that kept her alive, and fortunately was in the part of the barn that remains standing.
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