2000 Darwin Awards

Human Hitching Post

2000 Darwin Award Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin

Then Andrea had the brilliant idea of tying a rope around the Arabian's head, and fastening the other end around her waist to keep the horse from throwing its head back. That way, she would have both hands free to fasten the bridle.

But horses are 500 times stronger than people, according to Deputy Sheriff Lance Modispacher, who reported that the horse spooked again, threw Andrea off her feet, and began running around its paddock, dragging its erstwhile trainer by the rope around her waist. And the rope was short, so she was trampled right under the horse's feet as it ran.

Her father noticed the commotion and ran to help. Unfortunately his two dogs came with him, and started chasing the horse, nipping at its heels. This did not improve Andrea's situation. He finally managed to lock the dogs away and fetch a knife from the house. With the help of a neighbor, he chased the horse down and cut the rope, freeing the lacerated lass.

But Andrea had already spent ten minutes under the hooves of her horse, and she died a few hours later at a local hospital, a victim of internal injuries and head trauma, the result of her lamentable decision to tie herself to a skittish horse.

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Reference: Nevada Appeal

What Readers Think

I am constantly amazed at how people treat horses like puppies instead of 600kg of hard muscle with the brain capacity of a 3 year old. David R - Thursday, April 13 at 23:38:34 PDT

It really takes a genius to think a rope tied to your waist is going to hold a horse down. I have a dog that often breaks his chain, and has been known to pull me around some when I walk him. I can just imagine how much force a horse can exert. me - Friday, April 14 at 08:00:43 PDT

Horse: big. People: small. Common sense didn't prevail. Sodium Pentathol - Friday, April 14 at 08:29:32 PDT

it is a good story but think this... if your daughter is being dragged around by a horse, why would you go in the house and get a knife? Wouldn't you get a gun? Isn't a daughter worth more than a horse? Sounds like dear old Dad is on his way to winning a Darwin himself. c - Friday, April 14 at 11:33:51 PDT

C makes a good point. Now we know who Andrea inherited her brains from. If Andrea's father had been just a tad brighter, his daughter might have been disqualified by surviving. Could we invent a new category? "Assisted stupidity," perhaps? King Harry - Friday, April 14 at 13:46:31 PDT

Implausible. If Andrea was being dragged under the horse's feet, it would have stumbled in the first few strides. Mo - Sunday, April 16 at 14:13:46 PDT

I don't know Mo, it seems that as long as the horse did not actually step down on her with a forward stride, but rather was kicking her with the hoof coming up after the step, it could happen. How long was the rope? d ham - Sunday, April 16 at 19:33:58 PDT

Unfortunately, good old common "Horse Sense" is no longer common. I have seen people dragged beneath horses before and it's not pretty. A horse has no problem draging a person. The poor thing was probably scared by the weight and the screaming, I can only hope the horse was not held responsible for this girl's stupidity. Anyone that has been around horses for long knows never to tie any horse to a movable object. Zoo - Monday, April 17 at 17:31:48 PDT

...very sad story... a mom - Wednesday, April 19 at 09:00:11 PDT

A perfect example of sheer idiocy. By the way, shooting the horse would have been worse. It might have fallen on the girl. I've raised and trained horses and mules for years, and I've seen people dragged like plows by all sorts of things - sleeves, legs, ropes, clothing - and the horse really doesn't care. When a horse gets spooked, it bolts, and if the thing that scared it is still too close, it just runs all the harder. nemhain - Wednesday, April 19 at 10:39:52 PDT

So Nemhaim what would you have done in the same situation? Suppose a relative of yours was being dragged along by a crazed horse causing severe injury. What would you have done? I would do anything to bring that horse to a standstill even if it meant killing it. No animal is worth the life of a human and I love animals. Pixie - Thursday, April 20 at 09:56:38 PDT

I have a hitching post, in a small pen off the main corral, so if the exact scenario had happened, the horse could have been caught by one or two people on foot with relative safety. If someone were being dragged elsewhere, say on a ride, the safest bet is to ride the animal down. I've seen this happen before, I've had to stop it from continuing. Furthermore, ask a big game hunter what kind of shot it takes to bring a large animal down in its tracks. Anything less than a perfect shot would have either dropped a screaming, thrashing horse on the girl, or resulted in death throes, which means a thrashing, rolling and kicking equine. Furthermore, panicked horse presented an extremely difficult target. Tthey weave and buck and frequently toss their heads. Iif the girl were tied to a rope short enough to prevent the horse from tossing its head, that means that the girl would be jerked up along side the animal, and presumably into the potential line of fire. nemhain - Friday, April 21 at 09:58:16 PDT

And to think that nowhere in that artical was a mention of alcohol imbibement! Deserves a 10. spode - Saturday, April 22 at 15:42:13 PDT

So far, y'all's comments have been MUCH more interesting than many of the stories posted. Thanks for the laughs. SOUTHERN BELLE - Thursday, April 27 at 10:28:40 PDT

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