Retired Show Horse Dies After Scare From Trespassing Snowmobiles

FRANKFORT, IL — A retired, trophied show horse died Sunday after it fell and broke its neck when speeding snowmobiles zipped through fenced, private property in an afternoon joy ride. Owners of the farm that boarded it believed the horse jumped a fence and fell because it was scared by the snowmobiles that were not permitted on the property.

"All we wanted to do was give her a good life," said Victoria Vogel, of Vogel Retirement Equine Farm in Frankfort. "You know — eat, sleep, maybe nap a little. Live in retirement."

Mia, Vogel said, was an otherwise healthy, 20-year-old horse that had many years yet left to live.

Late Sunday afternoon, Vogel said, she let out the 13 horses she cares for to graze while she and her husband prepared feed in the barn. Several snowmobiles buzzed through a nearby easement owned by electric company ComEd and into a neighboring soybean farm, then slipped across frozen creeks in a shortcut to the street.

They did not have permission to be on any of the properties. But it was the acceleration and the loud "zing" noise it makes that was the problem. Vogel said it was so loud it was startling.

"You could hear it throughout the whole property," she said.

It spooked the horses, and they ran. Mia jumped over a fence, fell, and landed on her neck. Vogel was able to get her to her stall. But the next morning, Mia could not get up on her own. A veterinarian determined that Mia had broken her neck and suffered from spinal damage. After consulting with Mia's owner, Vogel said they decided there was no choice but to euthanize the horse.

"Now my friend [Mia's owner] has no friend to come and look it, to pet and groom. You can't replace that," Vogel said.

Snowmobile riders have been an increasing problem on Frankfort's private properties, Vogel said, and so far, the Will County Sheriff's Office have not been able to help. A spokesperson from the department could not be reached for comment.

No one has been identified as the riders in the incident.

Snowmobiles are not mere nuisances, Vogel explained. The riders do not realize how much of a problem they can be Vogel's farm, which she has operated for three years, offers 11 acres to horses who need a home to age in peace. Her neighbor farms soybeans. And others grow winter crops, such as wheat, that the vehicles can destroy. If any of those properties are damaged, such as with Mia's death, it affects the owners' livelihoods.

"Look, I like to have fun, too," she said. "And I don't even think they know what they did."

"But even if they had eased off the gas and came through carefully and slowly, things would be different," she said.

Seeing the corral should have indicated livestock was close by.

"You can't just go anywhere you want to," Vogel said.

In Illinois, snowmobiles must be registered with the state, and it is unlawful to speed when driving them.

A list of snowmobile-riding regulations can be found at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website.

Photos via Shutterstock, Vogel Retirement Equine Farm.