Hey, I keep forgetting to bring this up, but a month or two ago a young 
boy and his dad were riding their horses up on the Mogollon Rim, (pronounced 
muggy-own) and the boy and his horse were hit by lightning.  The horse was 
killed, the boy got some pretty nasty burns and was in critical condition for 
several days.
     None of the particulars made the news; I mean, I have no clue if it was 
dry lightning, a sudden summer storm, or if he and his dad were looking for 
strays, or if they were just foolish.  It's just a reminder to all of us that 
this can and does happen.
     Today I read in the newspaper where the Arizona Desert Riders (yeah, the 
group sponsoring the cattle drive with the Shriners' Mounted Patrol) is 
sponsoring a fund-raiser for the boy, to help pay his medical bills at the 
county burn unit - and buy him another horse.  Yes, I'm gonna try to make it 
or at least send some money.
     I'm not certain how true it is, but a comment made by a co-worker was 
that he was lucky the horse took the brunt of the lightning bolt.  I suspect 
the horse was killed because the lightning exited his body at the ground 
through his horseshoes.  Both horses I have known who got hit by lightning 
had bad damage to their feet - one took years to get better, the other died 
instantly.
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