Woman cares for horses injured in barn collapse

JASPER, Mo. -- The injuries were too much for the pregnant mare, but 20 other horses that were in a southwest Missouri barn that collapsed under the weight of ice and snow are coming along, their owner and a veterinarian said.

Robin Ramirez has been spending 12 hours a day caring for her horses since Monday's collapse, which brought chain saw-wielding members of the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department to the scene to cut away the fallen wood and metal.

All of the animals were injured to varying degrees. On Thursday, Ramirez found that the pregnant gray mare -- one of the last horses pulled from the rubble -- had died.

"I had had her for about four years; I got her from some people who weren't really taking that good of care of her," Ramirez said. "She was always on the thin side."

Dr. Shannah Cassatt, the Oronogo veterinarian who has been treating the injured horses, said that she was sad to see the pregnant mare die, but she was encouraged with the condition of the rest of the horses.

"There was a little burro involved and we were not sure about him at first, but he is now doing fine," Cassatt said. "He can stand up now. He does have a back injury, but I think he will be able to overcome it. It seems like they are all improving."

Ramirez said while she was taking the loss of the gray mare badly, she was happy to see that the rest of the horses seemed to be getting better. She said it had been overwhelming to watch over so many horses.

Ramirez was able to be at home because she had been laid off since July. She has been searching for a new job but so far has been unsuccessful. She said thanks to some of her neighbors and family members, she's been getting by.

So far, Ramirez said, people in the community have donated about 800 pounds of grain for the animals, and her landlord let her take most of the horses to a smaller pasture.

"He let me bring them all over to this other field to get them out of all the broken board and tin," Ramirez said. "I couldn't get ahold of them in that big open area to give them their shots, but this is much better."