Horse receives horrific injuries from gate latch

A CALL for latches on bridleway gates to be standardised to a high safety level throughout West Sussex has been made after a horse received horrific injuries recently, resulting in a wound requiring 105 staples and a vet's bill of more than £3,000.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Dec 2009, 13:33 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:47 BST

He had caught his girth on the latch of a gate on a bridleway between Southwater and Copsale.

Sarah Tillier (30) of Foxes Close, Southwater said her seriously injured horse had endure walking in the dark and rain for an hour along Stakers Lane, the Downs Link and finally Bar Lane in Copsale, which is a busy road at that time of day, to reach the vets before he could be treated.

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Her Welsh Section D horse, Morgan, aged 11, was being ridden by Jess Munden (19) who shares the horse with Sarah, They got into difficulty late in the afternoon on a bridleway near Stakers Farmhouse that was rerouted two years ago, while using a gate designed for horseriders to open while still mounted.

After he caught his girth on the latch, it swung into the horse, resulting in a large gash in his chest area behind his off-side shoulder which had torn through flesh, fat and muscle, leaving flesh hanging. Luckily Jess was riding with a friend, Tanya Clark, and they were able to contact Sarah by mobile phone. They eventually got Morgan to Anvil Equine Veterinary Centre in Bar Lane.

It took vet Alistair McVicar two and a half hours to clean and close up the wound using staples.

For full story see Sussex Horse WSorld, West Sussex Gazette December 16