Barn fire at therapy center leaves 6 horses dead

PLEASANT HILL, Missouri - A barn fire at a horse boarding stable left 6 horses dead early Sunday morning. Three other horses were able to escape the barn.

The fire broke out at the Sugar Creek Equinapy Center at the Pine Dell Farm in Pleasant Hill, Mo. around 6 a.m.

"By the time we got here the fire trucks were all over the place," said instructor Amy O'Neal.

Sugar Creek Equinapy Center helps autistic and disabled people aged 4 to 25 through equitherapy. Equitherapy is treatment that involves using horses to improve people's balance, coordination and motor skills. Organizers were gearing up to start spring therapy sessions.

"Instead of physical therapy and riding were probably going to do a lot of emotional therapy and counseling in that regard and try to go from there," said O’Neal.

Not all horses at the facility were killed in the blaze.

No people were hurt in the fire. Several children with autism will go without their much needed therapy. Jim Lysaght's 6 year old daughter went to horse therapy twice a week.

"I don't think it's totally set in in my daughters eyes, but were not going to concentrate too much on the past we'll truck forward," said Lysaght.

The cause of the fire is unknown and there isn't a damage estimate available yet. The Missouri Fire Marshall is investigating the fire.

For information on how to help out, go to sugarcreekequinapy.org .