Sudden and Deadly Bee Swarm Inflicts Lethal Fate to Three Treasured Rodeo Horses

What started out as a normal day for Baillie Hillman and James Ramirez quickly turned tragic as their horses became victims of Killer Africanized Honey Bees in Comanche, Texas.

Hillman shared with Rodeo On SI that she was working from home when she decided to take a peak out at her horses. She noticed that the three of them were not grazing, but just standing with their heads between their legs.  There was a massive black cloud surrounding them and she had figured it was just a ton of flies. Quickly after running out to move them she realized that it was a swarm of bees. There were millions of bees attacking her horses and now attacking her. 

They filled her glasses, ears, hair, etc. incredibly quick. After running back inside to put on a winter coat, beanie, and wild rag she attempted to get to her horses. Two of them were jumping to the sky and striking their body and face. The third had cast herself to the concrete. No matter how hard she pulled on the halters the horses would not budge. 

Ramirez was headed home from work, but was thirty minutes away. They called 911 in hopes that maybe the fire department, or anyone, could do something to help. 

An ambulance was the first to arrive and took Hillman inside. They had to remove stingers out of her neck, scalp, and face while also help her with the panic attack she was having watching her horses in the thick of this massive bee swarm. 

The EMT’s helped to get vets, a local pest control company, and the fire department out there quickly. Everyone was too scared to jump in until Ramirez arrived. He immediately sprung into action and somehow managed to get one horse away from the main swarm.

Another horse had flipped into the fence and was cut free. Once free she took off running at full speed trying to escape the terror. He was then struck in the head by the third horse as he was rearing and trying to escape. With blood running down his face, and fly spray just purchased by the police officers, they began to dump it down their bodies as well as the horses. 

Around this time veterinary care showed up. They administered drugs to calm the horses down as well as reverse the allergic reactions and help with inflammation. Their muzzles and eyes were swelled shut. 

The first horse to pass was Clovis after going into anaphylactic shock. 

Pepper and Ace were both transported to Stephenville Equine once they were stable enough to travel. When Ace arrived at the facility, she was as down in the trailer. After about 45 minutes of working on her they could not get her to come out of her seizure. They made the humane decision to euthanize her.