A South Florida horse park is cleaning up after severe weather swept through the region Tuesday morning and left a trail of damage behind.
The horses weren't just spooked during the storms, one of them named Elvis received a gash on his side while running into his stable.
"He is standing and eating, which is a good sign. So we will stitch him up and he is a tough horse, he will be all right," said Jana Sheer, horse owner.
Several people were at Pompano Beach's Sand & Spurs Equestrian Park near I-95 and Atlantic Boulevard when the storms rolled through. The park houses about 50 horses.
"Just kind of hoping they would not totally freak out and escape or you really don't have time to think," said Missy Meyer, horse owner.
"I am from Oklahoma, so I know about tornadoes. You do not expect in the middle of February on a Tuesday morning to get whacked by a tornado," said Corey Hooper, witness.
Many of the horses panicked and bolted out of their stalls.
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"Somebody got here before me and caught him. I guess when the tree came down on his stall, he broke free," said Chris Rush, horse owner.
"Our shed got knocked over. That got destroyed," said Sharon Tamayo, horse owner.
Tamayo runs a horse therapy program out of the park and some of her clients will be missing a few days.
"Devastated right now. Trees on the roof and everything, but thank God our horses are okay and they will be able to serve our children and our veterans," Tamayo said.
Crews made tremendous progress in cleaning up the debris later in the day, but some of the structural damage will take longer to fix.
The one wounded horse, Elvis, received treatment and needed a few stitches in his side. Employees and horse owners at the park are confident things will be back to normal in a few days.
Horse Park badly damaged in Pompano Beach. @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/AbelJv3GRe — Steve Litz (@SteveNBC6) February 16, 2016
Horses spooked when strong storms rolled through Pompano Beach. One horse slightly hurt. Lots of damage. @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/jpa1wY2yfG — Steve Litz (@SteveNBC6) February 16, 2016
