Holt family seeks assistance after accident injures horses

A local family is reaching out for help after a crash that left three horses with injuries they are struggling to pay for care for.

Local resident Lisa Holt set up a GoFundMe page for her brother and sister-in-law Kenny and Meghan Holt, who sent a trio of horses to stay with friends Chris and Liz Olson in Nebraska while the Holts are expecting their first child.

Havre Daily was unable to directly contact the Holts for direct comment.

On the GoFundMe page Lisa Holt said it hasn't been an easy pregnancy for Kenny and Meghan Holt, and they wanted to ensure the safety of their horses and alleviate stress on the parents-to-be.

But as the Olson's were making their way to Nebraska with the horses Sunday the vehicle transporting the horses hit a patch of ice on the road between Billings and Sheridan.

The ice caused their horse trailer to jackknife and pull the pickup and horses into the median sending the horse trailer onto its side.

One horse was able to escape in short order but the other two had to wait inside while the drivers and passersby helped cut the trailer apart and stabilize the horse as quickly as possible.

Among those who stopped to help was an off-hours EMT and a mobile veterinarian, who checked on the horses once they got out of the trailer.

Unfortunately the trailer had to be completely scrapped and the vehicle towed back to Billings at the cost of $4,000.

The Olsons were not injured, Lisa Holt said, but the horses suffered various internal and external injuries with one, Doolittle, having injuries that lead to complications including a severe arrhythmia caused by a buildup of fluid on her diaphragm, indicating a possible hernia or hemorrhage.

Surgery was offered but the risk of the horse not recovering from the operation was determined to be too high.

"She is being treated with heart medication to help with the arrhythmia and anti-inflammatories," the page says.

The page says Kenny and Meghan Holt will have to bring the horses back home, as they are in no condition to make the journey to Nebraska but Doolittle's condition, has improved.

The campaign had raised $3,385 by this morning toward its $15,000 goal, and Lisa Holt thanked donors in a recent update for their support.

"Thank you all from the bottom of my heart," she wrote in the update.

The page also thanked the many people who came to the aid of the Olson and Holt families as well as the horses, and thanked the Olsons as well.

"A special thank you to Montana Equine in Billings and everyone who stopped to help at the accident site, that is the true Montana way," Lisa Holt wrote on GoFundMe. "Any and all help towards expenses for the horses and to help Chris and Liz would be greatly appreciated."

The GoFundMe page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/horses-recovery-and-expenses-following-i90-wreck .