A rider is warning others to take care around stallions, and for owners to secure their paddocks, after one jumped out of a field and attacked her and her horse.
Laura Oughton from Norfolk was riding her 27-year-old gelding Charlie on 29 April when a stallion in a fenced paddock charged at her.
“We ride past regularly and he has never been a bother. But he was not happy about us this time,” she said.
He lunged and grabbed her knee with his teeth. Charlie was unhurt.
“I couldn’t ride as I was screaming in agony,” she added. “I’m so lucky; if I’d been on another horse, it could have been so much worse.”
Ms Oughton was prescribed antibiotics and painkillers.
“I’d urge people to beware of stallions,” she added. “He came through post-and-rail and electric fencing.”
She added his owners “have been very helpful” and that the horse is due to be gelded.
“It is best to always be cautious in handling and care of entire horses,” said H&H vet adviser Karen Coumbe.
“One of the problems is that they are often kept stabled so much that they can become an increased liability when they are turned out.”
Lee Hackett from the British Horse Society said it is “absolutely vital stallions are securely fenced in, particularly at times of year when mares are likely to be in season.”
He added: “We recommend fencing should be at least 4ft and of solid construction.”
Last year, H&H reported on a mare who died in an incident involving a rampaging stallion.
The horse jumped into the mare’s field in Worcestershire. Owner Carry Smart pleaded for those with entire horses to be more considerate towards neighbouring owners.
World Horse Welfare’s Debbie Graver said stallion owners should consider whether they “really need” to keep their animal entire.
First published in Horse & Hound on 15 May 2014
