4 thoroughbreds killed by lightning

Associated Press

JASPER, Ga. -- A Pickens County couple says four thoroughbred horses were killed by a lightning strike at their north Georgia farm.

James and Irma Green says two lightning bolts hit the pasture where the horses were grazing on Monday.

They say two of the horses were pregnant mares, and that the horses were valued at more than $100,000.

The Greens say they think lightning struck a drainage pipe that runs underneath the dam where the horses were standing.

"Well, I just feel empty, you know. We had 18 … now we’re down to 14 just like that. Those were my top mares,” said James Green.

The couple raises horses on a 66-acre farm.