An investigation is underway at the Kentucky State Fair after a horse was electrocuted in a temporary barn Wednesday.
The five-year-old Saddlebred, Mr. Spots, belonged to a stable from Salem, Oregon. His trainer, Lisa Lesch, said she was born and raised in the Saddlebred industry and has never seen an incident like this.
Lesch said the stable was setting up decorations while the horses were feeding around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Mr. Spots began jumping and running in circles in his stall, acting like he was getting bit, according to Lesch.
She led him out and checked him but didn’t see anything wrong. After she brought him back into the stall, he began repeating the same behavior.
Lesch called the on-site vet. When she led Mr. Spots out again, his horseshoe-clad hoof stepped on a metal crossbar, electrocuting him. Lesch said the whole scene lasted 10 minutes.
Lesch said they evacuated the barn, and workers began checking and testing all the temporary power boxes.
The state’s Department of Housing, Building and Construction inspects and permits the temporary power. A spokesperson for the department said they are working with fair officials to learn what went wrong.
Lesch said a fair official confiscated a power cable she had taped up on top of the stalls.
A groom at another stable farther down reported being shocked while trying to plug a cord into the power box before Mr. Spots began acting up. Another stable in the temporary barn next door had five fans short out.
Preliminarily, inspectors believe that a cable not provided by the show had a short in it. They are also waiting on the results of a necropsy.
Inspectors are also checking cables and the other electrical equipment to ensure that what is plugged in matches what the equipment can handle.
Out of an abundance of caution, all remaining animals in Tent F and E were safely evacuated.
An investigation into the incident is underway, and electrical inspectors are continuing inspections across the property to verify compliance with stated policies.
Source: WAVE
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