racheleggert
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Posted on Sat, Jul. 24, 2004 St. Paul Pioneer Press
Pony dies in prank gone wrong
Farm animal hit after leaving opened stall
BY SHANNON PRATHER
Pioneer Press
A 7-year-old pony was killed after an ill-conceived prank late Thursday in Dakota County.
Culprits crept into the Lear Stables in Vermillion Township where Bairron the pony and 19 other horses were boarded Thursday and threw open all the stalls.
The pony wandered across a field and onto U.S. 52. Bairron was hit by a motorist, and he died in the northbound lane just before midnight.
Dakota County Sheriff's deputies on Friday investigated the incident as an act of vandalism, while the stable staff mourned the loss of Bairron and devised ways to improve security.
"I don't think, if you think ahead, you would do this so close to the highway," said stable caretaker Kyle Lear-Tharaldson. "It's the dumbest thing you can do."
The stables are a block off U.S. 52 among a smattering of farmsteads in rural Dakota County. Lear-Tharaldson and his wife, Jennefer, who live above the stables, said they first heard noises below at about 11 p.m. Deciding that the noise seemed a little different than the typical clatter of feed bails, the couple dressed and rushed down to investigate.
"Every single stall door was open except for one, which was probably too hard for them to open," Lear-Tharaldson said. "There were horses in the aisles and outside."
About half the horses milled around near the stables, but others trotted to neighboring pastures. It took the couple 20 minutes to round up all but two of the horses. Lear-Tharaldson said he was searching for Bairron when he came upon the accident on U.S. 52.
A semi and a sweeper truck swerved to avoid the pony, but a driver, whose vision was blocked by the bigger vehicles, couldn't react quickly enough and hit the animal, Lear-Tharaldson said.
Lear-Tharaldson surmised Friday that the hackney pony — bay-colored with white speckles across his nose — must have been "bewildered and scared."
The driver, Joseph Paul Sorenson, 26, suffered minor cuts, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
"The roof was peeled back upon impact," said Patrol spokesman Nathan Bowie. "The horse was dead at the scene and lay in the northbound lane."
Lear-Tharaldson, who started as caretaker two months ago, said they're now looking to tighten security at the stable but can't lock up because that would be a fire hazard.
"We are going to change some things," he said. "We've had our dog sleeping upstairs. She'll sleep in the barn."
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Shannon Prather can be reached at sprather@pioneerpress.com. or 651-228-5452.
Pony dies in prank gone wrong
Farm animal hit after leaving opened stall
BY SHANNON PRATHER
Pioneer Press
A 7-year-old pony was killed after an ill-conceived prank late Thursday in Dakota County.
Culprits crept into the Lear Stables in Vermillion Township where Bairron the pony and 19 other horses were boarded Thursday and threw open all the stalls.
The pony wandered across a field and onto U.S. 52. Bairron was hit by a motorist, and he died in the northbound lane just before midnight.
Dakota County Sheriff's deputies on Friday investigated the incident as an act of vandalism, while the stable staff mourned the loss of Bairron and devised ways to improve security.
"I don't think, if you think ahead, you would do this so close to the highway," said stable caretaker Kyle Lear-Tharaldson. "It's the dumbest thing you can do."
The stables are a block off U.S. 52 among a smattering of farmsteads in rural Dakota County. Lear-Tharaldson and his wife, Jennefer, who live above the stables, said they first heard noises below at about 11 p.m. Deciding that the noise seemed a little different than the typical clatter of feed bails, the couple dressed and rushed down to investigate.
"Every single stall door was open except for one, which was probably too hard for them to open," Lear-Tharaldson said. "There were horses in the aisles and outside."
About half the horses milled around near the stables, but others trotted to neighboring pastures. It took the couple 20 minutes to round up all but two of the horses. Lear-Tharaldson said he was searching for Bairron when he came upon the accident on U.S. 52.
A semi and a sweeper truck swerved to avoid the pony, but a driver, whose vision was blocked by the bigger vehicles, couldn't react quickly enough and hit the animal, Lear-Tharaldson said.
Lear-Tharaldson surmised Friday that the hackney pony — bay-colored with white speckles across his nose — must have been "bewildered and scared."
The driver, Joseph Paul Sorenson, 26, suffered minor cuts, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
"The roof was peeled back upon impact," said Patrol spokesman Nathan Bowie. "The horse was dead at the scene and lay in the northbound lane."
Lear-Tharaldson, who started as caretaker two months ago, said they're now looking to tighten security at the stable but can't lock up because that would be a fire hazard.
"We are going to change some things," he said. "We've had our dog sleeping upstairs. She'll sleep in the barn."
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Shannon Prather can be reached at sprather@pioneerpress.com. or 651-228-5452.
Those pranksters should be nabbed (if they can be found) and pay for their crimes.