It’s a horse owner’s worst nightmare: a stable fire. And for Canadian Lusitanos, a boarding and training stable in Caledon, Ontario, that nightmare became all too real on November 27.
Stable owner Louisa Leal posted images and her story on Facebook, writing, “Today was the most devastating day of our lives. We woke up early morning to find smoke in our 27-stall horse barn that houses Lusitano horses. The effort to put out the fire that started on the upper level of the barn was short when the flames contained in a storage room went out of control. We turned our efforts in getting all 18 horses in barn out to safety and we succeeded!”
(Canadian Lusitanos Facebook photo)
Leal’s post reveals that her son, as well as the horse trainer, ended up in hospital with smoke inhalation. Both were treated and are currently recovering at home. She also thanks the firefighters who came to the rescue, as well as her neighbours who provided a temporary space for the horses. But now the painful process to get her property and life back on track begins. “We lost everything that had to do with the operation of our business. All our equipment, machinery, wagons, all our horse gear, all our horse feed, everything!,” Leal writes.
While Leal has found a barn to move the horses into, it has no equipment. So she’s asking for donations in the form of square bales, round bales, water buckets, shovels, pitchforks, wheelbarrows, shavings – pretty much anything and everything. Supplies can be dropped off at 17655 Innis Lake Road inCaledon or 8712 Wellington Rd 50 in Erin; donations can also be made in their name at David’s Feed in Caledon and Southgate Grains.
To help raise money for Leal, a GoFundMe campaign has been started on her behalf with a $100,000 goal. So far it’s raised over $7,000.
Donations will be used to feed and care for the 18 horses.
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