| With summertime coming, one's thoughts carelessly | | | | ground again. If you don't put your heels together, |
| leap to the idea of trekking across wild terrain with not | | | | lightning could go through your heart and possibly kill |
| a soul for miles, except for the beautiful beast beneath | | | | you. |
| you. | | | | Once the storm has moved on and you have a 50 |
| But like hikers and golfers, when the black clouds start | | | | second gap between lighting strikes and hearing the |
| to roll in, and distant thunder is heard, the prudent | | | | thunder, you can mount up and get under way again. |
| horseback rider must take into account his or her | | | | If high winds are part of the storm as well, once again |
| safety, and that of their horse, when this situation | | | | get to the lower reaches of the landscape. Get behind |
| arises. More riders are killed in local thunderstorms than | | | | rocks or large boulders, but not trees. Get inside a |
| in hurricanes or tornados. If you are planning a ride | | | | sturdy building if at all possible. |
| always keep an eye out for local weather forecasts. | | | | Another danger could well be a heavy hail storm. |
| As long as you are aware of the dangers, there are | | | | Once again seek lower land levels, but also try and |
| many things you can do to lessen the risk to the pair | | | | find overhead shelter. If there is no shelter, dismount, |
| of you when caught out in the wilds in an electrical | | | | and lead your horse. If you can, find a clump of bushes, |
| storm. Don't forget, the danger is not just of dangerous | | | | not trees, and try to manoeuvre your way in the |
| lighting strikes, but of flash floods, and even hail storms. | | | | bushes, pulling your horse in with you. Leave the |
| Do not think that lighting is only apparent at the eye of | | | | horse's saddle on and if you have anything else to |
| the storm - if you are within 10 miles of it, lighting strikes | | | | hand, try to cover the horse's head. Also, try and get |
| can still occur. If there is a time lag of less than 50 | | | | your horse to lower his head. Just as horses do, turn |
| seconds between seeing lighting and hearing thunder, | | | | your back to the storm, keeping your hat on. |
| you are probably in the danger zone. But beware of | | | | Don't forget also the danger of sudden rising water. |
| particularly violent storms - there may be so many | | | | Keep well away from gullies or depressions in the |
| strikes it's difficult to know which flash is associated | | | | ground that lead from uphill. These could soon fill up |
| with which peal of thunder. | | | | with fast moving water in the event of a flash flood. |
| If you are caught in the open and there is lighting, get | | | | Once again, stop and dismount, as lots of accidents |
| off the high point of the terrain as quick as you can, | | | | happen when riders keep going in the rain and poor |
| but do not go into stream beds or low lying areas - | | | | visibility. Ground current is one reason horses and |
| that is tempting fate from other directions. The lower | | | | cattle are especially susceptible to lightning strikes. |
| reaches of sloping land or rolling hills is probably the | | | | Because they are four-footed, livestock are killed by |
| best to get to. Dismount, and tie your horse to a low | | | | "step voltage," which occurs when lightning's ground |
| bush, but do not tether him to a tree or fence, | | | | current radiates out from a struck object. While ground |
| especially one with metal components. Move about 40 | | | | current only affects the feet and legs of a standing |
| or 50 feet away, in case he is startled. Don't lie down, | | | | person, it is a common cause of death among horses |
| but squat down, balancing on your feet. Lightning | | | | and cattle whose vital organs are in the current path. If |
| safety experts have invented a "lightning crouch" that | | | | you are at an outdoor event when a storm comes up, |
| is very important to know about if you are caught in a | | | | and there is no building cover, get your horse back in |
| thunder storm and you can't find a shelter. If you think | | | | his trailer and close the ramp. Make sure that any |
| that this position looks hard to do, you are right. It is. So | | | | safety chains are not connecting with the ground - |
| practice it until you can stay in it for several minutes, | | | | they could conduct a strike up to your trailer, and its |
| because it could save your life. There are several | | | | contents. You should get in the towing vehicle, making |
| reasons for doing the lightning crouch. Remember, | | | | sure that once again nothing such as cables, ropes, |
| lightning usually hits the tallest thing around and this is | | | | chairs, chains, are touching the ground. |
| one time that you don't want to be tall. Remember that | | | | Once again, remember that the prudent rider, even if |
| it is not safe to lie flat on the ground. With your heels | | | | they are not worried about their own safety, should |
| together, if lightning hits the ground, electricity goes | | | | consider their horse's life, and be especially careful in |
| through the closest foot, up to your heel and then | | | | these sorts of conditions. |
| transfers to the other heel and then goes back to the | | | | If in doubt - stay at home. |