Family Loses Beloved Horse to Lightning Strike In Washington Fields Area

A thunderstorm passed over Southern Utah on Sunday afternoon and lightning struck a field in Washington killing a beloved horse. The horse belonged to Daemon Basile who lives near the Virgin River. He has several horses and cows on the property. He describes the event. 

“The clouds were rollin’ in and the thunder was really clappin’,” said Basile. “When the lightning struck, it shook the whole house.” He immediately thought of the horses. He said he had a feeling something bad had happened. When he checked he found their horse RC had been struck. 

“There were a few calves and a few other horses, and he was just sitting there grazing,” said Basile. “He still had a mouthful of green grass.” The raw power from the lightning strike killed the horse instantly. 

Basile says his wife witnessed the lightening strike when it hit the field. “She saw the bolt of lightning hit the ground, and the dust flew up. It dug a hole in the ground about three feet long by a foot wide on one end, I’m assuming that’s where it hit where the horse was standing. There was another smaller hole.” 

Thunderstorms can be dangerous for people and animals. With the love people have for their animals, the loss of one can be hard to take. Especially in such a sudden way. I asked Basile about his horse. 

“He’s been in our family since 2010 or so. He’s just a good old horse that we’ve been able to do everything on.  We’ve ranched on him, we’ve hunted on him, we’ve roped on him competitively. He’s been a winner. He’s been a horse that we could let our family enjoy and if other people wanted to come over and ride, he was good-natured. He was just a great horse.” 

I think anyone who has loved an animal can understand. It's a reminder to value your time with the animals and people you love, and not take it for granted.