What a tragedy!!
I got sicker and sicker reading that until I started tearing up. How horrible! I can't imagine the guilt of the driver, the terror of the horses and innocent bystanders and those in the way. Oh my God.
Those poor children!
And of course even though it's one of those things that just happens sometimes, how much you want to bet that the town will now demand that horses be banned from the parade? I can't really blame them but that's a tragedy too. So sad.
I was also wondering how one horse could get another's bridle off if it were put on properly in such a situation. Wouldn't he have to "worry" it off? Just one nip and off it would come???
Yes, it would. It's so easy for another horse to do! That's why many people braid the forelock into the crownpiece and/or use a gullet strap if their horse has smallish ears or otherwise might not retain the bridle well. You'd have to tighten the throatlatch to the point of choking most horses for it to actually prevent the crownpiece from slipping over the ears if another horse started rubbing on the side of his face. An open riding bridle wouldn't be so bad, but the blinker assembly makes a driving bridle stiffer and easier to shove off.
And if ONE still had a bridle on, would it be possible to stop the team?
Maybe. It depends on what the other horse does and probably the personalities of both horses. The horse with the bridle would be scooped forward by his breeching and have little choice but to continue running if his partner did. IF the bridled one were an older, stronger, calmer horse, and IF he retained his presence of mind and obedience, and IF the other horse were not truly panicked,
maybe you could get them stopped by controlling the bridled one. You could certainly
steer the bridled one and perhaps succeed in stopping them through circles or running them into a fence but that was not an option on the parade route.
The fact is usually if one horse panics, the other will just because he's obeying herd instinct. With the pole undoubtedly jerking his harness around and all the people screaming and such I'm sure it became very scary, very fast and they both must have wanted OUT of there. Quickly. A guy driving a combine up ahead on the route apparently tried to block them with his John Deere but they got past him although he succeeded in slowing their charge and bought time for the crowds to try and get out of the way.
What a terrible accident all the way around. Apparently the woman who died was the wife of the driver and riding with two other passengers in the wagon.
Leia
Edited to add: Looks like the horses are fine.
Article I suspect this is the reason that throwing candy along the route is banned in most of my local parades and someone walking at the horses's heads is also required.
