Horse spooked by snowmobiles, fatally injured jumping gate

FRANKFORT, Ill. (AP) - A Will County woman is urging snowmobilers to be careful where they ride after a horse at her farm became spooked by of the machines and was fatally injured trying to jump a gate.

Victoria Vogel of Vogel Equine Retirement Farm in Frankfort tells the (Tinley Park) Daily Southtown that she wants to remind snowmobilers not to trespass on private property and be aware that the snowmobile engines can send livestock and horses into a frenzy.

There are many farms near hers and she worries other animals might be scared and react as the 20-year-old quarter horse did on Jan. 20 when snowmobiles sped past its corral.

She says if snowmobilers slow down when they see livestock, their machines would be quieter and less likely to scare the animals.