A powerful Thursday morning storm rolled through quickly and packed a punch.
“I heard what I thought was an explosion,” said Kate Waterford.
When Kate and her husband, Albert, stepped outside, they saw mangled metal and wood.
The seven horses inside the barn were nearly crushed.
Some had just inches to move after a mighty tree crashed down.
“These three horses were standing up and looking at him like ‘get me out of here,'” Kate said.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue workers came in to help.
Kate put a plea on Facebook and concerned friends and neighbors rushed over to pitch in.
“The horses don’t deserve to be stuck in there either just because a tree fell,” David Sanchez said.
Making matters worse, Albert inspects commercial fishing boats for the U.S. Coast Guard and he’s not getting paid because of the government shutdown.
“The expense of what we’re gonna have to deal with is something that, again, I’m not ready to deal with,” Albert said.
They have a long road ahead. But, the Waterfords are happy the horses are okay and walked away with only some scratches.
