Hoofcare and Lameness Journal subscribers will remember this photo that ran in the magazine a few years ago, but it is a good one to look at now and again to remind us all of the power (and danger) of an electrical storm. On the rainy day of September 1, 1923, 18 horses belonging to the Christy Brothers circus died as one when a lightning bolt hit a nearby transformer as they prepared for the parade. The lightning didn't come down from the sky but travelled through the wet, muddy earth from the telephone pole to their steel shoes. This photo shows one six-horse hitch who died as one; the four-horse calliope team and the eight-horse lead wagon team were all killed in the same strike. Several people died as well. Thanks to the Wisconsin Historical Society and Circus World Museum for the loan of this photo.
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