‘Relentless' killer bees swarm and kill beloved rodeo horses, Texas officials say

Miami Herald

14-05-2025

An angry swarm of killer bees attacked and ultimately killed a trio of prized rodeo horses on a central Texas ranch, officials said.
The bees also attacked the horses' owners in the May 9 incident, the owners and Comanche Volunteer Fire Department said in posts on Facebook.
'Yesterday was the scariest day of my life,' owner Baillie Hillman said in the post. 'It was a day you see only in horror films and made up nightmares.'
Hillman went on to describe how she and three of her horses were swarmed by African killer honey bees after letting the horses out that morning to graze in the front yard — where the owners didn't know the bees had built a hive in one of the trees.
Hillman checked on the horses from the window later that morning but didn't see them grazing the way she expected. Instead, they were 'standing still with their heads between their legs,' she said.
'There was a black cloud around them and I thought it was just an insane amount of flies,' she said. She ran over to move the horses — and realized the black cloud was a swarm of 'millions of bees attacking my horses and now attacking me,' she said.
'They were filling my glasses and my ears and dive bombing my head,' she said. 'They dug into the bun on my head and got caught in my hair.'
To make matters worse, the horses seemed to have frozen up and wouldn't budge, she said. She called her husband, James, and 911 for help.
'Maybe the fire department could come and spray the horses,' she said. 'Maybe they had something, anything to free my horses from the terror.'
Volunteer fire officials arrived with bee suits and added soap to the firetruck's water tank to spray the horses with soapy water in an attempt to stop the bees, the department said in a May 12 post on Facebook. Rescuers took Hillman and her husband into the ambulance to treat their stings.
'The horses were finally moved away from the bees, but sustained hundreds of bee stings many of them around the horses' eyes nostrils and mouths,' the department said.
A local veterinarian arrived with a veterinary technician to treat the horses, while a local exterminator found the hive in the front yard.
'Sparing you from the absolutely unimaginable gory details, my head horse Clovis died in my back yard from anaphylactic shock,' Hillman said. Her husband's horse, Ace, was euthanized at an equine veterinary facility 'after she went into a seizure they couldn't get her out of.'
'The vet said she's never seen anything like this before,' Hillman said.
Hillman's 5-year-old 'spit fire' mare named Pepper was left that night 'fighting for her life' in the veterinary intensive care unit.
But the next night, the mare seized and died, Hillman said in an update.
'They pumped her full of everything trying to bring her body out of shock but it was just too much for her little body to handle,' Hillman said.
Hillman and the department urged residents in the area to be extra careful this time of year.
'It is assumed that the bees in this attack were the dreaded and feared Africanized bees due to the very aggressive and relentless attack on the people and horses, but all bees will become aggressive when defending a perceived threat against the hive,' the volunteer fire department said. 'The local fire departments respond to several 'bee calls' each spring and in to summer…. Bees will find holes in trees — dead or alive, holes or openings in buildings — vacant or not, brush piles, junk vehicles, and even holes in the ground.
'The best practice if a hive is found is to avoid it,' the department said. 'It seems most of the time a hive is found after it has been accidentally disturbed. However, the more aggressive Africanized bees will become aggressive when the perceived threat gets 'too close'. There is no established marker or boundary for what is 'too close' as engine noise from a mower or other loud noises many feet away can disturb the bees. Be vigilant and carefully check old buildings or old trees if any work will be conducted around them.'
Hillman urged others to inspect their trees and property for bees.
'Spray the foam on them so the hives can't form in them,' she said. 'Have a pest control guy come out in April every year to check them when they are more dormant. I promise you it's worth it.'
Comanche is about a 115-mile drive southwest from Fort Worth.