The owners of a promising young horse who almost severed a leg when he kicked out at an arena mirror have called for better safety standards to prevent a similar accident.
Becky Bowman’s five-year-old gelding Tomato had to be put down early this year. His hindleg had gone through the mirror, and was attached only by “a few strands of connective tissue”.
“I’d had him since he was eight months old,” Becky told H&H. “I’d backed him, done it all; the week before he’d been to his first training show and was an absolute angel. I was just about to take him to his first proper show, then this happened. And my whole life has fallen apart.”
Becky was walking Tomato across her arena to turn him out when he went down to roll. As he got up, a pigeon spooked him and he got free, and kicked out at the mirror as Becky ran to close the gate.
“I heard it, it was like a gun going off,” she said. “As I turned round, he was trotting across the school with his foot hanging off.”
Becky and her husband John Stark have since found out that the applicable safety standard to which the glass in most arena mirrors complies, EN12600, covers a 45kg weight hitting the glass. They would like this changed, as horses, and riders, weigh far more.
Reputable arena mirror manufacturers and suppliers have echoed the calls for tighter regulation. Anyone is free to sell glass as “equestrian mirrors”, which without the right installation, can be very dangerous.
Andrea Bowen of Mirrors for Training told H&H she has been trying for 17 years to get across the message that glass on its own is “very dangerous for equestrian use”.
“There are people who sell ‘arena mirrors’ that are just sheets of glass,” she said. “Yes, they’re reflective, they’re mirrors, but they’re not safe, or fit for purpose.”
Ms Bowen explained that her company’s products are far more than just the glass. Each comes with an “impact core” of condensed foam-like material between the glass and the steel backing, giving an overall thickness of 23mm.
“Horses do kick mirrors, it happens,” she said. “If a horse kicks one of our mirrors, it will just break; it won’t let the leg go through. That’s the difference.
“Years ago, I was contacted by a girl whose hand was severed on a mirror and that’s what can happen if cheap sheets of glass are supplied as ‘equestrian mirrors’. I don’t know how people who do that can sleep at night.”
Claire Williams, executive director of the British Equestrian Trade Association, told H&H: “If you’re buying something that could pose a risk to you or your horses, it’s important you investigate the standards it’s made to, and whether they’re appropriate for the use you’re putting the item to.”
A spokesman for the Government department of business and trade told H&H: “This is clearly a distressing incident, and we thank H&H for bringing this to our attention. If anyone has concerns about one of these products, they should provide the relevant information and we will consider it.
“Manufacturers are obliged to provide clear instructions on how to use their product safely and we urge the public to always follow these instructions.”
Becky’s husband John told H&H his and his wife’s “heartfelt wish” is that Tomato need not have died in vain, and that no other owner has to experience what they did.
“We are asking the equestrian community to come together as one to lobby to change legislation to provide Trading Standards the authority to prevent the mis-selling of these mirrors and to initiate the requirement for an impact test specific to the use of mirrors in the equine industry,” he said. “Too many horses’ lives have already been lost because of these mirrors, how long before a human life is lost?”
Becky added: “Emotionally, I was so invested in that horse; he was beautiful inside and out. But this could happen to any horse – or any person. My husband said, as we waited for the vet and my horse was bleeding to death, ‘That could have been you’.”
You might also be interested in:
Promising eventer killed in £65k horsebox: owner campaigns for change
The owner wants annual checks to be mandatory, as well as checks on buying new-build boxes on older chassis
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all summer long
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.
