A natural gas leak might have caused the deaths of 27 ranch horses in southern Idaho near Malta, according to an online report from Twin Falls’ Times-News.


A spokeswoman for Northwest Pipeline said company personnel found 16 dead horses while performing routine checks on the 24-inch underground pipeline on Aug. 3. Michele Swaner “said the company immediately notified the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office and the owner of the land, Benjamin Bartlett,” the Times-News reported.


Eleven more horses were found dead on the premises in subsequent days.


Wallace Ward, DVM, of Burley Veterinary Hospital, examined the dead horses on Wednesday and told the paper they “were found about 300 to 400 yards from what he and ranch manager Cameron Tuckett suspected was a leak in Northwest’s underground pipeline

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.