Clydesdale horses are among the most stunning animals on the planet. These large, powerful horses can be found working on farms, marching in parades, and even appearing in Budweiser commercials.
However, a few years ago, a group of Clydesdale horses nearly died after being caught in a barn fire, but survived thanks to the quick thinking of one teen hero.
In 2016, Classic City Clydesdales, a horse farm in Bishop, Georgia, was struck by lightning at 2 in the morning. “It shook the whole house,” owner Shannon Martin told WKYC. “One minute I am in bed. The next minute I am standing up next to the bed trying to figure out what bomb went off.”
It not only woke the family up in the middle of the night, but it also nearly caused a devastating disaster: the lightning started a barn fire, trapping their 14 Clydesdale horses — including a 3-week-old foal — inside.
The fire was rapidly spreading, and the family needed to act quickly. Sadly, the barn doors were locked. They didn’t have time to look for the key, and the power had gone out.
However, an unlikely hero saved the day in an unexpected way: the owners’ 16-year-old son, Macon, who drove their John Deer Gator utility vehicle straight into the door.
“I immediately left. I didn’t have any shoes, clothes, or anything else on,” Macon told WKYC. “I simply jumped into our Gator and slammed it into the door.”
It was a last-minute, unplanned plot that you could see in an action movie, but amazingly, it succeeded. Before the fire reached them, he shoved the door open so that they could free the Clydesdales.
“He busted through like Rambo and opened up the end of the stalls and said, ‘Mom, this way,’ ” Shannon said. “And we were able to push the horses out that way.”
Unfortunately, they were unable to save the farm itself, which reportedly burned down. The family stated that they would have to “start over” and rebuild their farm “brick by brick.”
The important thing, of course, was that the horses survived. The owners stated that their Clydesdales would be participating in parades and other events. They also stated that one of their horses, Phoebe, was expecting a foal soon.
A whole slew of lovely horses, all safe and sound thanks to this quick-thinking teen.
Thank you, Macon, for rescuing these lovely horses! Like his mother said, it sounds like something out of an action movie, but it saved these Clydesdales just in time!
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