A simple act of kindness turned deadly in a Florida field.
An elderly woman's daily routine of feeding her neighbor's horses ended in tragedy.
And a Florida woman was trampled to death after she made one fatal mistake feeding her neighbor's horses.
Routine Turned Deadly In Winter Haven Field
A Winter Haven woman died Thursday afternoon after being trampled by the very horses she regularly fed.
The incident happened just before 2 p.m. on February 5 in a field next to the Lucerne Lakeside Mobile Home Park on Lucerne Park Road.
Someone called 911 after spotting what appeared to be a person lying in the middle of the field.
Officers arrived to find an elderly woman unresponsive on the ground with two horses standing nearby.
She had visible injuries to her face and torso.
Police began life-saving measures before Winter Haven Fire and Polk County EMS transported her to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Autopsy Reveals Cause Of Death
An autopsy showed the woman died from blunt-force trauma.
Her injuries were consistent with being trampled by a large animal, such as a horse.
Investigators learned from mobile home park residents that the woman lived there and frequently fed the horses in the neighboring field.
The horse owner responded to the scene and cooperated with the investigation.
"Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this beloved woman who cared so much to interact and feed these horses," Police Chief Vance Monroe said. "This was a terribly tragic accident, and we will pray for those she has left behind."
Police found no evidence of foul play and classified the death as an accident.
The woman's identity was not made public.
When Kindness Turns Dangerous
Look, this woman fed these horses every day.
She probably figured she knew and trusted them.
But horses are prey animals with powerful flight instincts.
Something spooked them that Thursday afternoon, and they trampled the woman who'd been nothing but kind to them.
The autopsy findings tell the brutal story: blunt-force trauma from being stomped by animals weighing over 1,000 pounds each.
Mobile home park residents now have to live with the memory of their neighbor's body lying in that field.
The horse owners are cooperating with police, but they'll carry the weight of this tragedy too.
Their animals killed someone who was just trying to feed them.
This wasn't malice, it was instinct.
None of that brings her back or makes her family hurt any less.
Sources:
- Angel Saunders, "Woman Trampled to Death By the Horses She Regularly Fed, Say Police," People, February 7, 2026.
- Nancy Gay, "Winter Haven woman killed in 'tragic' horse trampling while feeding animals: WHPD," Fox 13 Tampa Bay, February 6, 2026.
- Anthony Talcott, "Tragic accident: Woman's body found trampled in Winter Haven field," Click Orlando, February 6, 2026.
- Jessica A. Botelho, "Florida woman trampled to death by horses in 'terribly tragic accident': reports," The National News Desk, February 7, 2026.
- WFTS Digital Staff, "Terribly tragic accident: Police chief speaks on woman trampled by horse in Winter Haven," ABC Action News, February 6, 2026.
- Jennifer Stanton, "Woman believed to have been fatally trampled by horse in Polk County, officials say," WFTV, February 6, 2026.
