Monday during a storm in Peyton, Colorado, west of Colorado Springs, three of Dawson's horses were struck and killed by lightning.

"It hit all three of them," Dawson said. "I don't know if the bolt hit one of them and bounced to all three or hit in the middle and took all of them."

Boe, Rhony and Thorne, all quarter horses used for roping and ranching, were a big part of the family for years.

"All three hold a very valuable place in our heart," Dawson said. "You develop this trust; I want to say it's like a friendship."

This isn't the first time the Dawsons have experienced something like this.

"Not two years ago, we had another one of our really good horses hit by lightning in almost the same place," Dawson said.

Dawson says this has made him a believer in what he thought growing up was just an old folk's tale

"If you look back into the history of ranching you hear of fox fire," Dawson said. "Fox fire is where lightning comes down and kills a whole heard, because it goes from horn top to horn tip. I always thought that was a very unbelievable story. But living through what we have lived though, I certainly believe that it could happen."

Some believe that horses get stuck by lightning because of the metal horse shoes. However, Dawson says none of the horses were wearing them.

The monetary loss for Dawson's family is upwards of $30,000.

The company that insures the ranch's horses may drop their coverage because of the two claims.

9NEWS.COM (KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)