SPRING HILL — Many in the area have experienced tough times recently, and Spirit Horse Stables is no exception. In fact, the business has gone through the worst tragedy in its history.

The Spring Hill riding stables lost four of its horses to a rare form of botulism poisoning last week and another six are hospitalized.

“I can’t even tell you how absolutely devastated we are,” manager Nancy Haines said. “These horses were and are greatly loved. Some of them the owners had since we opened in 1996.”

The often-lethal botulism is the result of bacteria in decaying matter. The horses can be infected through a cut or by ingesting even a small amount of the toxin.

Although the cause of the Spirit Horse infections hasn’t been determined at this point, Haines believes the bacteria grew in wet hay the horses ate, perhaps due to the recent floods. The property drained well but still got very wet.

Owners Judy and Jay Schwartz had never had an animal come down with the illness since the stable’s founding. Read More…