A show horse was injured Wednesday morning, Jan. 11, when the tractor-trailer it was in with six other horses was sideswiped by another truck on the 10 Freeway in Redlands, California.
The horses, aboard a Brook Ledge Horse Transportation trailer, were traveling from Seattle to the HITS Coachella Desert Circuit horse show in Thermal, California.
Quoting a California Highway Patrol spokesman, the Press-Enterprise reports “… the tractor-trailer lost control, swerved into the center divider, bounced off of it, and then veered towards the slow lanes of traffic. The Brook Ledge van was traveling in the right lane, and a portion of its side was ripped off.”
One horse is said to have been seriously injured, but the remaining six were loaded onto a different trailer and taken to the show.
The name and condition of the drivers involved in the collision were not released.
The horses were being transported from the Aleron Training Stables in Kirkland, Washington.
One of the owners of the farm told The Chronicle of the Horse: “A shoutout to the Brook Ledge driver … who after being hit was able to keep the truck under control, so it didn’t roll over and make a bad situation even worse. Thank you to him for his professionalism and skill.”
Brook Ledge posted this to their Facebook page Wednesday, Jan. 11, afternoon:
“We had a scary experience today. While traveling with a load of horses another tractor trailer who was passing ours, hit the median, bounced off and collided into the side our trailer. One injured horse was taken to a clinic and is being treated; all other horses were checked by a vet and traveled to their final destination with a vet awaiting their arrival to check them over again. We are thankful for our steady handed driver who was able to maintain control of our truck and trailer while another truck collided into the side of ours. All horses were in box stalls. We want to provide clear and accurate information about what happened. We thank God for his provision in keeping all drivers safe.”
The City of Redlands posted this video to their Facebook page: