A dozen horses were killed and several others injured when a tornado swept through a Lee County, N.C., farm and training facility on April 16.

Trainer Dany Pelletier said 44 horses were residing at the 200-acre Misty Creek Ranch in Sanford, N.C. when the tornado passed through the area, demolishing barns, a workshop, and the Pelletier family’s residence. The home of farm owners Tom and Marian Brinley was also severely damaged by the storm, Pelletier said.

Two horses residing in a barn were injured during the storm and two that were housed in a covered pen at the time of the storm were crushed to death, Pelletier said.

"The horses that were in the pasture were the hardest hit," he said