LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — A horse on the loose in Loxahatchee led to a crash involving a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputy. Minutes later the horse collapsed but was treated and is expected to be okay.
The horse, a wild mustang, escaped its pen and walked over nine miles before collapsing to the ground from heat exhaustion.
“Accidents like this happen and it’s not how we wanted it to end up,” said Rabecca Lord.
Lord was there when the horse escaped Saturday and was able to follow it safely, but she said the accident could have been avoided.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, wild horses two years or older must be in a 6-foot-high facility.
Lord said the mustang was 6 years old in a 5-foot-high pen.
“Ignoring those requirements guaranteed risk of either the horse or the owner getting hurt,” said Lord. The BLM requirements are there for a reason.”
But other horse owners said the height wouldn't have made a difference.
“I don’t think it really matters how high that fence was because it still was going to try to escape,” said Claudia Campbell, owner of Delmar Farm. “It doesn’t know how high it was, 5 or 6 feet.”
Campbell did not see the incident but said she has worked with enough horses to know how they react.
“Horses are a flight animal and no matter what, if they are scared they are going to try to get away,” said Campbell.
WPTV reached out to the horse owner and the farm where the horse escaped for comment. Neither wanted to speak on camera but the owner’s mother said the horse was given treatment and is doing okay.
“I just hope that this was a lesson learned from her and that further on out she follows the rules and regulations of the BLM because they are there for a reason,” said Lord.
