# What happened to the MOD horse ?



## dingle12 (22 February 2010)

Hi can anyone tell me if the above horse has been found ??


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## russianhorse (22 February 2010)

I dont think the horse was found, but i'd be interested to know for definite too


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## spike123 (22 February 2010)

I'm local to where the horse disappeared and have heard nothing more on him so I presume he is still missing.


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## Cedars (28 April 2010)

Any more news about this? Think about this case all the time.


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## Cliqmo (28 April 2010)

I must have missed the original thread on this one, what happened and where etc??


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## Cedars (28 April 2010)

Cant exactly remember, but rider fell off horse, horse ran into MOD base/training centre type thing, and disappeared. No idea where or anything, cant remember xxx


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## Pacey (28 April 2010)

That's terrible...


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## rosie fronfelen (28 April 2010)

i have always thought there was something dodgy about this- an insurance scam or worse- hope i am wrong.


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## Cedars (28 April 2010)

Hmm rosie I know what you mean, as horses dont just vanish. but if it IS true, my good god I cant even imagine what the owners are going through xxxx


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## T_K (28 April 2010)

I wondered if the rider was paid off by someone else to 'lose' the horse. But then there's been no ransom so what would someone gain by having a prize horse you couldn't 'name'. even if you bred from it (was it a stally?) - yes you'd get a nice horse but it wouldn't have the pedigree on paper. 

It does make you wonder, but then look at Shergar....


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## rosie fronfelen (28 April 2010)

i seem to remember something about the owner, read it somewhere, bit of an unsavoury character- a builder? or am i doing the poor chap an injustice- i dont know!!


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## T_K (28 April 2010)

rosiefronfelen said:



			i seem to remember something about the owner, read it somewhere, bit of an unsavoury character- a builder? or am i doing the poor chap an injustice- i dont know!!
		
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I think I also heard something along those lines.


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## RuthnMeg (28 April 2010)

AFAIK he was a clipped Dark Bay TB Gelding, unseated his rider on Camber Sands and ran into the MOD base. He was seen on CCTV but the 'army dudes?' claimed it was too dangerous to go in there looking, but promised to look for the horse themselves. The area has many hidden dangers including dykes, bogs and thick gorse. He was obiously in full tack and has not been seen or found since this happened on 8th Jan. 
I too, think about him and am almost convinced he got caught up and has since died. His body is probably buried and won't be found - or it could be a big scam and he was stolen?  Poor horse.


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## Cedars (28 April 2010)

Pants ending for the horse either way isnt it =[


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## Luci07 (29 April 2010)

Last thing I could find on Google was January - not a lot of information and nothing since...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/15/racehorse-trainer-blames-mod-over-horse


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## Ranyhyn (29 April 2010)

Lets face it, the horse is either dead or it was an insurance claim.  There's no way it would still be "at large" after this amount of time, and with the extreme weather we've had and where it was, it's dead or it never was missing anyway..


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## JoG (29 April 2010)

I also thought it was an insurance scam....wasn't there something about a horse being heard going through avillage after dark?


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## Ranyhyn (29 April 2010)

And he was seen in Tescos, in the frozen food aisle.


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## rosie fronfelen (29 April 2010)

rather an unnecessary,sad and unfunny comment Kitsune, what if it was your horse?


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## Ranyhyn (29 April 2010)

What shopping in Tesco?  I'd be rather amazed.

I actually think its the way you chose to TAKE my comment, rather than what I meant by it, - but enjoy taking offence at nothing, Im sure it'll do you well.


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## rosie fronfelen (29 April 2010)

well, you have an odd sense of humour wheras i find this thread sad and somewhat sinister- dont fret, i am used to taking offence on these forums but have no desire to fall out as it seems every bloody thing is misconstrued- i dont shop at Tesco by the way!! no need for sarcasm please Kitsune.


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## Cedars (29 April 2010)

Kitsune, uncalled for.

Hmm interesting about it all being an insurance scam. but if there is no proof, they must have had to have paid out?

Poor horsey =[


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## Ranyhyn (29 April 2010)

JoG said the horse was heard walking down the road at night - I said yes and seen in tesco in the frozen food aisle - and thats bad why????


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## rosie fronfelen (29 April 2010)

oh, just give the bloody thing a rest, do!!!


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## meardsall_millie (29 April 2010)

Kitsune said:



			JoG said the horse was heard walking down the road at night - I said yes and seen in tesco in the frozen food aisle - and thats bad why????
		
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I took your comment as amusing and tongue in cheek (along the lines of 'there's a bloke works in our chip shop swears he's Elvis....' ) and certainly no worse than accusing the owners of pulling an insurance scam with no proof. 

Didn't the owner come on here at the time it happened to explain the circumstances and ask for help in looking for the horse?


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## Ranyhyn (29 April 2010)

Thank god I'm not the only one with a sense of humour then! 

Its clear from the lack of response that it was chosen to be taken the wrong way, which is fine by me, most people on this forum know me and how I post, so I'll just ignore the ones who don't know anything.


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## ester (29 April 2010)

I got ya kitty 

though it could also perhaps read as the horse being the frozen food .... not sure if that is why many are taking offence


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## rosie fronfelen (29 April 2010)

sorry,but thats how i read it, i dont "know"Kitsune, although its obvious i should,as it is i am not replying to this anymore, for my sanity!!


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## Cedars (29 April 2010)

I took it to mean as an item of frozen food.

Yes, the owner was on here at the time but went very quiet when people started asking questions. xxxx


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## hotzonezackattack (29 April 2010)

welll said kitsune


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## Baggybreeches (29 April 2010)

I read somewhere recently that the owner or trainer was looking for £10,000 compensation from the MOD, £5000 for the horse Zimbabwe and £5000 for the cost of the search, which seems strange to me, as far as I know the horse was expected to run a couple more times before retiring, I had a fleeting thought of some kind of scam at the time.


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## Hedgewitch13 (2 May 2010)

*Snigger* Kitsune you do make me laugh ;-)

That said I do hope that the horse didn't suffer in any way and I'm sure everyone else feels the same.


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## rosie fronfelen (2 May 2010)

i reckon the horse came to grief, or was picked straight away(doubtful!) or maybe it wasn't there in the first place- i dont think the truth will ever be found. poor horse--


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## Ranyhyn (6 May 2010)

Hedgewitch13 said:



			*Snigger* Kitsune you do make me laugh ;-)
		
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I am available for social functions, birthdays (exlcuding childrens birthdays) and special occassions


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## swallowsoast (7 May 2010)

To those who are genuinely concerned and to help quash the silly gossip.  The MOD horse has not been found.  Although great expense, time, health and emotion have been spent trying to find him.  He was not insured so there is no scam.  The army and the owner continue to work together in this.  With the kind of searches that have been made it is unlikely that the horse died however it all remains a mystery.   The owner is not a dodgy builder or an unsavoury character.


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## Cedars (9 May 2010)

Hi Swallowsoast, thanks for the update.

Fingers crossed he gets found eventually - and is being looked after well in the mean time. xx


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## michelleice (11 May 2010)

swallowsoast said:



			He was not insured so there is no scam.  The army and the owner continue to work together in this.  With the kind of searches that have been made it is unlikely that the horse died however it all remains a mystery.   The owner is not a dodgy builder or an unsavoury character.
		
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I find it very hard to believe a racing horse wasn't insured TBH, not saying it is or isn't a scam but there's no way he wasn't insured


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## JaneyP (11 May 2010)

^^^^ ditto above ^^^^^

I would be very concerned if i thought some racehorses out there weren't insured,, esp some of the nutters i go past on the road near me ?!?!?!?!?


I think no one will ever know what has really happened to this horse ever will go down as one of lifes little mysteries.


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## Aces_High (11 May 2010)

Racehorses are generally only insured for death.  The premiums on bloodstock are very high due to the risks involved.  I would assume the insurers would want to see a body??  Stallions can be insured against their swimmers sinking rather than swimming, brood mares against paddock/foaling accidents and racehorses against training/racecourse/paddock accidents.  The youngstock even if out of Group 1 winners is generally not insured for death during it's weanling/yearling days.  It's amazing how an animal can be worth 5M in one breath and then be re-valued for 25K the next.  Anyway I agree terrible sad about Zimbabwe and a real knock for the staff and people involved.  It's amazing how close you get to your horses in a racing yard.


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## Into Temptation (15 May 2010)

Wasn't it a 'Point to pointer' or a racer in traning rather than a 'pet'?? Some people take things far to much to heart, It was all very dodgy and Kitsune's 'Tesco' comment was highly amusing


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## T_K (16 May 2010)

swallowsoast said:



			With the kind of searches that have been made it is unlikely that the horse died.
		
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Unless the horse had wings it could not just disappear! The owners (who I presume you are/know) must have some logical idea of where the horse is......


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## Mike007 (17 May 2010)

If someone wanted to try some sort of scam ,there are a million and one better ways to do it. I find some of the suggestions that have been made pretty offensive too.In all probability the horse got caught up in a drainage ditch or wire and died of exposure. Remember all that snow.A very sad ending for poor Zimbabwe.I for one have absolutely no suspicions in this matter,except that I think the MOD at the range and the Range Warden really have some hard questions to answer regarding the running of that range.


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## harkback (17 May 2010)

Some years ago a friend who lives on the Ridgeway, close to Newbury, had 2 ponies escape from the field.  Despite intensive searches by them, ourselves and several others for over a week hide nor hair was seen of the ponies.  Police were contacted daily, not just Newbury but other areas.  Ponies both mircrochipped and freeze marked.  Went on for weeks.  They just had vanished.  They in the end thought the ponies were by then on the continent, or their bodies turn up at some point, decayed after getting caught up in woods or similar.  Out of the blue after a long, long time the police phoned, the ponies were in a field only 4 miles from where they had escaped from.  Had been since within 24 hours of the escape.  Old farmer had seen them, opened a field gate into a huge field and then mentioned it to the local bobby who did not bother to take it any further.  It was'nt until a family member visited the old boy and asked why he had 2 ponies that it was reported this time to a more responsible policeman.


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## DebbieCG (18 May 2010)

harkback - thank goodness for your sensible reply, giving an example what can, and sometimes does happen, in these type of incidents.  It is always a relief to see there are answers (most of the time), it's just finding them.

Even though these 2 escaped ponies were thankfully safe in a field some distance away, just think of all the suppositions which could have been made about them, had they never been found and linked with the owners.

It reminds me of a horseowner, a few years ago, saying there was no hope for two horses which had at the time recently been stolen, and inferring where they would have ended up (ie. on the continent etc).  Fortunately a few weeks later the said two horses were found in a field in another county on.


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