I hit a horse

[Rexlion]

I clicked on this link thinking you'd hit a horse with your ebike! Glad you were driving something with a little more protection.

 

[J.R.]

You can hit any animal with this.

This is the tractor we see in Amish country

 

[6zfshdb]

This is a terrible thing! I echo what others have said; I'm glad no human injury was involved.

Insurance payouts can frequently be woefully inadequate when older vehicles in good condition are involved. Often, and likely your case, the blue book value doesn't come close to the personal value of your vehicle. Hopefully, a fair settlement can be reached. I find this type of "horse" insurance interesting. I suppose it's a rider on a farm or ranch policy.

This has nothing to do with your unfortunate incident but I often ride bike trails shared with horses. Coincidentally, I had an event on my bike last month on PA's GAP trail. I came up on two young Mennonite girls riding horses side by side on a narrow section where passing safely wasn't an option. One of the girls turned when she saw me and yelled "don't get too close, she kicks". I learned a long time ago not to get too close to the rear end of a strange horse, especially on bike trails. I waited patiently for the horses to clear the trail before passing.

I wondered what the legal implications would be if someone did get kicked on a public path. I assume that is what "horse insurance" is for and hope that owners who ride public trails carry it.

In any case, I hope all works out well with your unfortunate mishap.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Have my heart set on a pickup as a replacement. Found a couple that I'm interested in. GMC Sierras or Chevy Silverados are what I'm considering. Mostly because I'm very familiar with their engines, and other parts. Plus I happen to have some brand new spare parts that will fit those left over from the Suburban.

Now, anyone know of a decent truck bed bike rack I could put in? I have no problem lifting my bike in, and I think that would be a better choice than trying to find a trailer hitch rack that won't drop my bike.

 

[PDoz]

No judgement intended, but does US law really put fault on animal owners when vehicles hit them?

I live in a rural area in victoria, Australia - lots of black dairy cows that decide the grass is greener, which can be VERY scary at 2 am. Most of the farmers put " give way to stock" signs up, which essentially put responsibility on drivers to avoid the cows. Unless we can prove negligence , we usually end up paying the farmer for the animal.

 

[Rome]

2 cents from me, I think Amish police their own. A dead horse and totaled suv pretty much equals lost from both sides. It was never reported to State level authorities.

 

[6zfshdb]

Have my heart set on a pickup as a replacement. Found a couple that I'm interested in. GMC Sierras or Chevy Silverados are what I'm considering. Mostly because I'm very familiar with their engines, and other parts. Plus I happen to have some brand new spare parts that will fit those left over from the Suburban.

Now, anyone know of a decent truck bed bike rack I could put in? I have no problem lifting my bike in, and I think that would be a better choice than trying to find a trailer hitch rack that won't drop my bike.

I'm stating the obvious here but carrying a bike inside a vehicle, like a van or pickup bed, is always the best approach. There is less chance of damage from weather, other vehicles or even vandals. The down side is loading & unloading can be more difficult than using a hitch rack. If you can lift the bike, the simple approach that I see used most is to lift the bike into the truck, lean it against the side of the bed and secure it with a bungee. Another simple method is to use a tailgate protector mat such as this style:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0794XTGV7/ref=as_li_ss_tl?SubscriptionId=AKIAJO7E5OLQ67NVPFZA&ascsubtag=547976172-2-906317093.1668005148&tag=brg_ana_1-20

This carrier can be used in short bed pickups that aren't long enough to hold the entire bike. The down side is, the bike's front wheel hangs out over the tailgate.

There are a great many racks on the market that will hold a bike upright in pickup beds. Some require removing the front wheel which is less convenient.

If you're a DIY'er, it's fairly easy to make a rack that will slide in & out of a pickup bed. My avatar picture shows one I made from PVC pipe.

Do a forum search on the subject and you'll find many threads on the subject.

 

[J.R.]

No judgement intended, but does US law really put fault on animal owners when vehicles hit them?

I live in a rural area in victoria, Australia - lots of black dairy cows that decide the grass is greener, which can be VERY scary at 2 am. Most of the farmers put " give way to stock" signs up, which essentially put responsibility on drivers to avoid the cows. Unless we can prove negligence , we usually end up paying the farmer for the animal.

State law determines fault in the US. Domesticated animals (pets), in most states the animal owner is responsible for damage. Livestock like horses, cows and sheep responsibility varies by state law. Some states are free range and in these states the automobile owner is responsible for damages, unless it can be proven the livestock owner was negligent. Pennsylvania is not a free range state and livestock owners would be responsible for damage. The insurance industry tailors policies for the states where they're written.

 

[sc00ter]

I made a homemade bed rack for the Subaru Baja but its been months since its even been started and the bed mount got misplaced in the garage. To get the bikes in the back I have a aluminum folding ramp for dirt bikes. I'll try to get pictures if I can find the bed rack.

My coworker has a mid-90's GMC Sierra pick-up. Super clean and straight. under 100,000 miles. He purchased it to hot rod but can't bring himself to mod it. Just to mint and nice. Only original once.

Did the airbags deploy? We love setting them off when removed from a vehicle. Few things I discovered. They are LOUD when they deploy! Also will punch you like Mike Tyson! Also smell weird after being deployed. First one we did we couldn't believe no one else in the department heard it and came to investigate.

Hope you find a nice replacement truck. Used vehicle prices are starting to come back to reality.

 

[Jason Knight]

I actually thought I hit a moose at first

When I lived up near Fairbanks, AK that happened more than you'd expect. It's also scary how often a small car would get totally wrecked in such a collision, when the moose was just fine. Don't see that as much here in NH, though I remember a "funny" headline from the Worcester Phoenix back in the early '90's:

"Corvette hits moose on Mass Pike, moose drags car nine miles."

A lot of people seem to think that cars are big heavy "destroy what's in your path" when even just a mile marker can do massive damage. You start screwing around with two to six ton animals in a one ro two ton car, you lose.

Good to hear you're ok though. I've seen far too many people lose their lives in crashes like that. Like in Plymouth, MA in the '80's where a certain farmer's cows kept getting loose at night.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

I made a homemade bed rack for the Subaru Baja but its been months since its even been started and the bed mount got misplaced in the garage. To get the bikes in the back I have a aluminum folding ramp for dirt bikes. I'll try to get pictures if I can find the bed rack.

My coworker has a mid-90's GMC Sierra pick-up. Super clean and straight. under 100,000 miles. He purchased it to hot rod but can't bring himself to mod it. Just to mint and nice. Only original once.

Did the airbags deploy? We love setting them off when removed from a vehicle. Few things I discovered. They are LOUD when they deploy! Also will punch you like Mike Tyson! Also smell weird after being deployed. First one we did we couldn't believe no one else in the department heard it and came to investigate.

Hope you find a nice replacement truck. Used vehicle prices are starting to come back to reality.

No airbags did not deploy and I'm glad. They have the potential of turning a non-injury crash into a life time injury.

I had a guy offer me a Sierra with low miles and in decent shape for just what we're willing to pay for one. Just waiting for pictures of it, so I might have a replacement soon. My other car should be out of the shop tomorrow, maybe. My mechanic has to run it to a dealer because none of his programmers will communicate with the TCM he just installed.

Tomorrow night, Some of my family and I are going to their house for dinner. We're bringing it to them, which is something that they're not used to. I told the owner to tell his wife that she doesn't have to worry about dinner, which I'm sure she'll be happy to have a break from cooking. I have a huge pot of Chicken Corn Soup cooking on the woodstove right now. Also on the menu, a fresh garden salad, breadsticks and brownies. Gotta bring enough to feed 15 people.

 

[Rome]

OP
Don't hit another horse.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

OP
Don't hit another horse.

If they leave them in the road, I won't hit them

 

[keithj69]

Some memories.

#2 dressed as Carl for a Halloween event.

#2 helping on the rear brake lines. He's completely under sitting upright.

He's my goto kid when mechanical work needs to be done. He just understands how things work, knows the names and where all the tools are and is strong, like bull.

Very sorry to hear about the accident. Need any help?
I really want to say that the Carl Halloween costume is spot on and I hope he won a contest.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Yeah, he and his sister both won that year. He was Carl, his younger sister was Lizzie. Don't need any help, thanks. Been doing grocery shopping on the bike. Other car should be done tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Wife and some of our kids brought dinner to the Amish family that owned the horses lastnight. Sunday I had made a huge crock of Chicken Corn Soup, which is a favorite among the Amish. Also brought a fresh garden salad and a bunch of home made brownies.

Basically just a night to sit down and get to know each other. It is kind of unusual for an English family to sit down with an Amish family and share a meal. Mostly because people don't realize how friendly they really are, too many people think they're aloof, and they're just not.

I had spoken with the father on saturday when he called and told him we wanted to just drop off some soup, but he insisted that we stay for dinner. I told him we would and to tell his wife that she didn't have to worry about dinner that night, and I knew that would make her happy.

We got there around 5:30ish and introductions were done, they have 7 kids, no I don't remember their names, I barely remember the names of my kids, we have 6. His wife quickly heated up the soup while I showed the kids and her the video of the crash, and pictures of the damage and the pictures of the truck I'm buying. He told us that they found a hole in the fence in the pasture, but they don't know how it got there.

It was a fun night, lots of laughter, my youngest was playing with their kids. My oldest daughter was talking to their oldest daughter. Their oldest son (11) ate 6 brownies. The amish generally don't let their kids eat sweets before bed, but lastnight was an exception apparently. In typical Amish fashion they looked at the good that came out of this. They made new friends. While the horse that was killed was his team lead, he sees that as an opportunity to train a new lead as well as teach the boys how to train a horse.

They enjoyed the soup, and were surprised that I made it myself because Amish men don't cook unless it's grilling meat. His wife asked us for the brownie recipe, which is a great compliment. She wouldn't ask if she didn't like them. She also asked about the "rivals", otherwise known as dumplings, in the soup. The amish don't do that, but I was taught to do that. She really liked them too, and asked how I made them.

After dinner I sat down with the father and we talked about settlement. We settled on an amount which is enough to buy a truck that I found, including tax. We'll have that check in a couple of days.

I told them that if they need to get somewhere or something hauled after I get the truck to give me a call. My family actually lives our lives very similar to the Amish, but we drive cars, have TV's, 3d printers and computers. But we can our own food, make most of it from scratch and try to live practical and pragmatic lives. We'll also be dropping off Christmas cookies for them. We do that every year, but not just for family friends, but I drop them off at businesses we frequent. Which has been a plus, one business gives me discounts now. Last year we made about 36dozen cookies.

A great night indeed. While we were talking we discovered that they know a lot of the same Amish families that I know, including the family where we got our puppy.

 

[procreator]

I can't help but believe this country would be in a much better place if we took the time to get to know each other, rather than think the worst of each other.

Thanks for the heart-warming story.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

I can't help but believe this country would be in a much better place if we took the time to get to know each other, rather than think the worst of each other.

Thanks for the heart-warming story.

It can be difficult to do that with so much negativity around us at all times. Before I started to get to know the Amish I always tried to focus on living in a practical way, much the same way they do, be prepared for the bad, and try to see the good side of bad events.

For me, in this case of the Suburban getting totaled.
1. I don't need to replace that leaking water pump now
2. The ball joints needed replaced and I hate doing front end work
3. The rear brakes just started making noise, but I didn't know why, because they have less than 5000 miles on them.
4. I had been wanting to get a pickup truck, now I can. We found an 09 Sierra 4x4 with full size bed with 91K on it.
5. We made new friends
6. If I had to hit a horse, I'm glad it was the Suburban, other wise, I'd be dead.

 

[dodgeman]

I live in a part of Western Illinois that has Amish very close to where we live. I had some remodeling done and my contractor used all Amish helpers, usually two of them. Like you say, they are regular people, they just live differently. I‘ve talked to them off and on over the years and feel like I learn something often. Not about their way of life but practical every day stuff.

I always remember during our remodel an Amish cabinet maker made us a fairly large series of built in book shelves for our basement and a built in hutch for our dining room. He wanted us to look at them before the install se we visited his shop. They were a quality build but it was late fall and the light was a little dim so I started looking for a light switch. Then I remembered where I was. The picture is the built in hutch in the very short hallway to our dining room which is the left of the picture.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Once you get to know them, you'll find that they're very friendly, have great senses of humor and enjoy talking. I had an amish crew reshingle part of my house. They were here at 5am and started working, they had the roof stripped by 9am, and they were done and gone by 4pm. That was 5 guys. I setup chairs and a fan in the garage for them to take their meal breaks, they really appreciated that.

I've been to barn raisings, and while I never saw the legend of a barn raised in one day, I've seen more work completed in 8 hours than you would believe is possible. Young and old all working. One I was at had 150 men working, and probably 75 ladies preparing meals. When we got there, the timber frame was already up. In 8 hours they had the flooring, and all the wood siding, doors hung and 3/4's of the roof on. When I left, there were still guys working on the roof to finish it before dark.

17 years ago a home near where my parents lived caught fire, gutted the inside of the entire 2nd floor and attic. The community came together and had the entire house fixed within 1 week. I recently was talking to the woman that lives there with her husband. She grew up in that home and now it's her family's. She was surprised I even knew about the fire.
The way they do jobs like that is they'll talk about who has what skills, plumbers, dry wallers, roofers and such. And they'll schedule work party days. Groups of men with similar skills arrive and they spend the day working. The next day another crew will show up with different skills. The younger boys that are there work as gofers, and kind of apprentice with the skilled guys. It's amazingly efficient. I saw another home that burned down of Easter this year, they had a new home framed, and completed in 3 weeks. No one gets paid, other than meals provided by the family that's getting the help. Many men that come to these events are not all farmers, they have jobs with other companies, so they're taking off time to do the work. Some of the companies are Amish owned, others aren't. But even those understand that they sometimes they need to take off to be there for the community.