# Lady Walker killed by stallion



## Freddie19 (16 April 2012)

Daily Telegraph today (16th) page 7.  According to this report a 53 year old woman was kicked and bitten to death by a stallion, in a field near Dartford, Kent.  My sympathies go to her family.
Obviously it will be easy to check ownership of the stallion which took some time for a vet to tranquillise, as it will of course be microchipped and passported.  Samples have been taken from its mouth and coat.


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## madeleine1 (16 April 2012)

Freddie19 said:



			Daily Telegraph today (16th) page 7.  According to this report a 53 year old woman was kicked and bitten to death by a stallion, in a field near Dartford, Kent.  My sympathies go to her family.
Obviously it will be easy to check ownership of the stallion which took some time for a vet to tranquillise, as it will of course be microchipped and passported.  Samples have been taken from its mouth and coat.
		
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i know nothing about stallions, can this happen easily with incorrect handling? seems like a normal stallion would take some winding up to do this


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## JustKickOn (16 April 2012)

Sympathies go out to the family and friends of this lady.

Would be interesting to see the vet report on the stallion and the samples taken. Although unusual for a stallion to go after a person, it wouldn't be the first time no doubt. There will be a reason and explanation for what happened, but without knowing exactly what the lady was doing or if the stallion felt threatened or in trouble, it could be difficult. 

A very unfortunate situation none the less.


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## Paris1 (16 April 2012)

I do not personally know the horse or owners, but on Facebook page of my local riding club it seems the incident occurred after the walker trspassed into the stallions pen. People who know this animal etc are also insisting it was not tranquilised. 
 I feel sorry for all involved.


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## sidesaddlelady1 (17 April 2012)

Freddie19 said:



			Daily Telegraph today (16th) page 7.  According to this report a 53 year old woman was kicked and bitten to death by a stallion, in a field near Dartford, Kent.  My sympathies go to her family.
Obviously it will be easy to check ownership of the stallion which took some time for a vet to tranquillise, as it will of course be microchipped and passported.  Samples have been taken from its mouth and coat.
		
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Why was she walking in a field occupied by a stallion?


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## 4x4 (17 April 2012)

Isn't it illegal to put stallions in fields with footpaths?


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## Spudlet (17 April 2012)

4x4 said:



			Isn't it illegal to put stallions in fields with footpaths?
		
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No, as far as I know it is legal to keep a stallion in a field with a footpath.


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## Paris1 (17 April 2012)

I do not believe the field in question had a footpath in it. The lady was trespassing.


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## Ceris Comet (17 April 2012)

There is some doubt surrounding this story. The lady was a hospital patient and there were no witnesses to the attack begging the question did she died from whatever she was in hospital for and the stallion merely ' played ' with her body.


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## guido16 (17 April 2012)

Seems she went into A&E for some uinknown problem, the staff put her in an area to be diagnosed and she decided to leave.

How she ended up in the field is not not but the fact that they are now saying the stallion was owned by Gypsies means that no doubt it will be their fault!

Nice to see that the stallion has not been put down in a knee jerk reaction to this

We may never know what happened.


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## Angua2 (17 April 2012)

the metro said that she was told by her doctor to get some excercise and that she wandered into this field


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## Capriole (17 April 2012)

I read the article online linked from the other thread (the DM), and the reporting was ridiculous. Contradictory, speculative...I will wait till some more details are released and its reported elsewhere and not go forming an opinion based on the 'events' described in that article.  I havent read the telegraph article, might go and see if its online.


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## Emma86 (17 April 2012)

Capriole said:



			I read the article online linked from the other thread (the DM), and the reporting was ridiculous. Contradictory, speculative...I will wait till some more details are released and its reported elsewhere and not go forming an opinion based on the 'events' described in that article.  I havent read the telegraph article, might go and see if its online.
		
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I totally agree, ridiculous reporting as usual from DM. There is no proof or fact in the story. Its very sad to hear of the death of the lady but there is still no fact to suggest she was killed by the horse9as far as I have seen). The story in DM yesterday implies that in some way the horse intentionally murdered the women who went into its field...Unlikely!
My thoughts go out to the lady's family.


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## Clodagh (17 April 2012)

Whatever happened its very sad for all concerned.
Years ago I was out walking with my mother, on a footpath, with her lab on a lead and we were attacked by a dartmoor pony stalllion. (Not on Dartmoor!) It was terrifying, we are and were both horsey but it was rearing up and boxing at us with its mouth open, swinging round to double barrell then back the right way again. We managed to get out the field (beat it off with a big stick actually, at least so it kept far enough back for us to move.) but I don't think I have ever been so scared. The lab helped by getting the nervous dithers and having to be lumped over the stone wall.


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## architect (17 April 2012)

It is irrelevant that the lady trespassed onto land where the horse was kept. The Occupiers Liability Act places a duty of care on landowners  to protect visitors against forseeable risk - be they invited visitors or trespassers.  After all, not all trespassers have bad intent - sometimes people get lost, or could even have mental health problems.
The police will now investigate  whether  the owner knew the horse was dangerous prior to the attack, or should have known. (and the latter may involve seeking  expert  opinion about the horse's behaviour). The Crown Prosecution Service will then look at all the evidence and decide whether there should be a prosecution. If found guilty the judge will probably have to make a decision about the horse's future.
If the horse did attack and kill  the lady, my guess is that the owner will offer to have the horse destroyed, in order to show contrition, and hope for lenience.


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## guido16 (17 April 2012)

architect said:



			It is irrelevant that the lady trespassed onto land where the horse was kept. The Occupiers Liability Act places a duty of care on landowners  to protect visitors against forseeable risk - be they invited visitors or trespassers.  After all, not all trespassers have bad intent - sometimes people get lost, or could even have mental health problems.
The police will now investigate  whether  the owner knew the horse was dangerous prior to the attack, or should have known. (and the latter may involve seeking  expert  opinion about the horse's behaviour). The Crown Prosecution Service will then look at all the evidence and decide whether there should be a prosecution. If found guilty the judge will probably have to make a decision about the horse's future.
If the horse did attack and kill  the lady, my guess is that the owner will offer to have the horse destroyed, in order to show contrition, and hope for lenience.
		
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That may very well be the case but since the lady (probably) had something wrong with her (she was at the hospital) then it could very well be the case that SHE did something to the horse, through no fault of her own but due to illness/injury she had!

So before we become judge and jury over the horse, just consider that it may of been the other way round. If it was, tragically, we may never know what happened and the horse may have to pay the price with his life.

Thoughts have to be with the family.


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## Freddie19 (17 April 2012)

I gave the Daily Telegraph as the source of the story, as I do not and will not ever read or even look at the Daily Mail, I suggest that anyone who wishes to read a paper, treats the Daily Mail with the contempt it deserves. I should say I did read the Daily Mail up to the point when it published photographs of a very dear friend being killed.


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## Flummoxed (17 April 2012)

Sympathies to all concerned.

If there were, as has been suggested, no witnesses to this tragic event, only the horse knows what happened and he can't tell. No doubt the "experts" will decide his fate.


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## EAST KENT (17 April 2012)

Freddie19 said:



			I gave the Daily Telegraph as the source of the story, as I do not and will not ever read or even look at the Daily Mail, I suggest that anyone who wishes to read a paper, treats the Daily Mail with the contempt it deserves. I should say I did read the Daily Mail up to the point when it published photographs of a very dear friend being killed.
		
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 A newspaper that entertains ,that is the remit..personally I love it but do not regard it as a good source of factual reporting  

  Bit like the Sunday Sport,but more factual..well a bit


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## typekitty (17 April 2012)

Interesting article about aggression in horses (where I first read about this woman):

http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/04/17/more-evidence-of-horse-aggression-author/


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## Shilasdair (17 April 2012)

typekitty said:



			Interesting article about aggression in horses (where I first read about this woman):

http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/04/17/more-evidence-of-horse-aggression-author/

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I read the article, and now I'm not sure whether the writing is worse than the 'science' or the 'science' is worse than the melodramatic writing.
S


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