SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A barn fire has left a Scott County man facing a devastating loss, one his family said can't fully be replaced.
James Hutchison built the barn in 2002, on land his family has owned for three generations. After an early morning fire, he and his family walked through the still-smoldering ashes. Four hundred bales of hay, hundreds of pounds of feed and thousands of dollars were gone. But his biggest loss was his three studs and a 5-month-old filly.
"The barn don't hurt me as bad as the horses because I've been for years trying to get the genetics I was getting into and I finally got them and they went up in smoke in 35 minutes," Hutchison said.
Hutchison has spent much of his life breeding registered Tennessee Walking Horses. That filly represented a family line he had spent years raising.
"I had her grandma, I raised her grandmother from a baby, her mama from a baby, and then I was gonna raise her," Hutchison said.
He still has about 45 horses to care for, while facing the cost of starting over.
"Jimmy's not one you see break down, and he has lost it several times because Monday when we was over here, he was very devastated," Lisa Eubanks said.
Without insurance to cover the loss, his family has started a fundraiser to help rebuild.
"I've been into it so long now I just can't get out of it," Hutchison said.
The barn can be built again. But Hutchison said the horses he raised and the years he spent building those bloodlines can't simply be replaced.
"We have took a big loss, but we're going to build back better and stronger," Eubanks said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the recovery. The family wants to thank anyone who has made a donation so far and said they are thankful for any donation made.
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