BY ANNIE HOLLER
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

DEBORD — A close encounter with one of the free-roaming horses along Airport Road in Debord left a woman injured Friday afternoon after the animal was startled by a passing motorcycle.

Rex Endicott, director of the Martin County Rescue Squad, said his department responded to the area near Honey Branch at approximately 4:48 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a horse had injured a woman.

When responders arrived, they found a middle-aged woman lying on the ground.

Endicott said the woman and a friend had been standing beside the horses that locals and tourists often stop to feed when a passing motorcycle startled one of the animals.

“The patient and her friend told us they were standing beside the horses when a motorcycle passed and revved its engine, which frightened the horse and caused it to try to flee,” Endicott explained. “In the process of getting away, the horse kicked out, knocking the female to the ground, injuring her right hip and knee. The friend was not injured, but the horse did run into the left front fender of a vehicle parked there, causing some damage.”

A trooper from Kentucky State Police Post 9 also responded to the scene, Endicott said.

Emergency medical personnel transported the injured woman to Highlands ARH Medical Center in Prestonsburg for treatment. Her condition was not immediately known.

The horses roaming the Debord area near Airport Road are feral animals that have lived there for years. They often draw people who stop to photograph or feed them. Officials caution that while the animals may appear calm, they can react suddenly to loud noises or movement.