here's what I think.... when the mother went away and came back pregnant - the father did not like it at all because she wasnt suppose to be pregnant... father never liked his daughter from the beginning therefore keeping her up there on the barn, where the horses were... that is why the horses kept her up all night - while she was living up there, she became evil because she was isolated from people? and then making the horses drown because they kept her up all night (she was afraid of them)... her friend who tells rachel she only has 4 days to live heard about the story... ----> remember beginning of the movie she's the one who brings it up about the story of watching the tape... so she heard about it before and because it actually happened to her friend she knew exactly when rachel was going to die.. did i just make sense at all???