Newton Stud slurry death

[Frumpoon]

I don't think the fire particularly sways my opinion...the behaviour of the stud is disgusting and the horse's owner has shown tremendous resolve and determination

It isn't JUST the fire/slurry issue...it's the behaviour before, during and after of an equestrian business that seems to regard itself as a cut above

Dead and infected youngstock, polluted land, bribery [settlements] and intimidation [NDA's], selling dead semen and then the mocking of paying customers....just who or what do these people think they are....????

 

[sherry90]

I wonder how many brown envelopes crossed palms to get that glowing right up?

and so well timed?!

 

[Equi]

The post re the sperm was quite appalling to do to a customer.

 

[Gingerwitch]

and so well timed?!

And soooooo well written. Poor newton stud, wonder how long before re branding occurs if the carpet is not big enough to sweep this under?

 

[Renvers]

Glad but astonished that Newton Stud now seem to be admitting liability for both a hideously huge fire and for an unsecured slurry lagoon in which a world class horse horse drowned on the same night... one might be misfortune both is surely negligence...and incredibly that doesn't account for all the other horses lost ... including Faye my yearling who died just 3 weeks before Cassie.. apparently broke a leg in the field?? and Freddie treated for Rhodoccocus Equi about which I was not informed, looking shockingly poor he died shortly after coming home... and the 2 Cornetto King foals that both died plus those that have died but settled and signed NDAs ... Best of luck to many of the country's best and most experienced riders..!!

Jane, I am sorry for your loss. She looked a truly wonderful mare.

Regardless of the part a fire played in the tragic death of your mare, it is the entire experience you had which has made me reconsider using Newton Stud or Elite Stallions for my broodmare or any future youngstock.

An accidental fire and its aftermath can be a terrible tragedy and on its own might not have raised alarm bells to the extent it has. The subsequent litigation against you and the information shared on social media by others of their bad experiences have shown a pattern to concern me that this Stud is not as professional as the marketing/staff would like me to believe. Whatever other information we are not privy to but which a court thought significant enough to be willing to hear your case is clearly damning too.

Anyone with half a brain knows that how a business responds to mistakes is a far bigger advert than any multi-page spread and the laughable attempts of NS fans or staff to try and derail this discussion just make them look incompetent.

 

[foxy1]

Regardless of the fire, or any other incident or emergency, its absolutely unforgiveable that a slurry pit gate should be left unsecured for even a moment.
It's unbelievable that the evacuated horses were not checked.
Poor poor horse and a brave owner to make sure this story is told.

 

[Fandabbydozy]

That is a very good question .. with no answers..!

I am sorry for your losses.

I do think that you are right to bring up your awful situations. One terrible one being that they came after you for livery fees after the loss of your horse in, what they agree are, negligent circumstances.

I think you are right to highlight the awful way the slurry pit is kept. Also right to highlight the infection that seems endemic at the stud, from which you lost another horse. I think it is a service to horse owners that people have come forward to tell of their own experiences, such as the poor horse who had laminitis and did not get much vet care.

I think you are right to point out the discrepancies with the reporting of the incident V the actual circumstances, including the fact that you were, apparently, unaware, and presumably are not convinced of, your horse's career ending injury.

But, I did feel taken aback at the non-mention of a huge fire. Yes, I do think that the fire was managed badly. But the very fact that the event of the fire was totally omitted from the story is a deviation from the truth, in my eyes. By the great amount of material online, people have built up a mental picture in there minds as to what happened. The picture in my mind did not include an inferno and evacuating horses. I feel let down. I suspect I won't be the only one.

In an emergency situation, people work on adrenaline. They physically have changes in their bodies that mean they are not at their best for thinking. I dare say staff, on that weekend, did their best for the horses. I feel for the person who put that horse into that field. Not detracting for the organisational faults, that were thrown into focus by that situation.

If any good comes of this, I hope the slurry pit is now secured, owners have more information and will decide whether that want their horses grazing on infected land, you have won your case to a sensible conclusion, whatever that is. I do hope that you can start to move on too.

What hate?

Suppose those owners who signed NDAs now spoke out about what happened to their horses while in the 'care' of Newton Stud. What, if any, is the penalty?

i understand monetary damages will not suffice & the threat is of court injunction

 

[Tiddlypom]

The ‘glowing write up’ in last week’s H&H is an advertising feature pull out, so it was funded by the Newton Stud .



ETA Does anyone have a photo of the slurry pit and its fencing as it is now? Has the fencing been improved?

 

[laura_nash]

i understand monetary damages will not suffice & the threat is of court injunction

Huh?

You might want to have a read of the thread on how to use quotes. I have no idea what this is in answer to..

 

[INDIA1999]

The ‘glowing write up’ in last week’s H&H is an advertising feature pull out, so it was funded by the Newton Stud .

View attachment 66664
Oh my goodness. Well that explains a great deal. Perhaps post that in comments on the H&H Facebook page for the story. I am sure others would be interested to fully understand that.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Anyone who wishes to can add a screenshot of that advertising blurb to FB, it’s in the public domain.

I don’t get embroiled in FB wrangles, I stay on HHO, so it won’t be me putting it up .

 

[Gingerwitch]

The ‘glowing write up’ in last week’s H&H is an advertising feature pull out, so it was funded by the Newton Stud .

View attachment 66664

ETA Does anyone have a photo of the slurry pit and its fencing as it is now? Has the fencing been improved?

But a respectable magazine would surely not want to be caught on the cross hairs..... lots of bad taste all round. Says slot about the ethics at horse and hound...... so if that harry bloke who knocks teeth out of horses paid enough hho would allow him to publish a glowing advert for backing and breaking skills...... erm think not. So obviously money talks.
Hho credibility certainly getting more and more questionable..... sadly I used to respect the magazine and its articles.

 

[teapot]

There's a whole page piece in today's H&H

 

[INDIA1999]

Horse & Hound Facebook Moderator has been hiding comments on the newsfeed to do with this story that they do not like. Quite a few of them.One person called Cornetto King posted yesterday that she had lost two youngsters at the stud (just that) and it was removed. I was waiting to see if anyone asked her what happened because I wanted to know. It disappeared and others. I can see she has just reposted it.

 

[ester]

There's a whole page piece in today's H&H

different to tiddlypom's pic?

GW you don't mean harry you mean Jay Johnson I think?

 

[Roxylola]

different to tiddlypom's pic?

GW you don't mean harry you mean Jay Johnson I think?

No, Jay Johnson is another one - they had something about Harry Evans who makes Johnson look like Mr Kiss and Cuddles!

 

[ester]

Oh I missed that, oh well another to add to the list!

 

[teapot]

different to tiddlypom's pic?

Yes, actual news article/editorial, page 8.

 

[crellow4]

The post re the sperm was quite appalling to do to a customer.

Not only was it a terrible PR move - most of the comments on FB were in support of the client (and were subsequently deleted by ES). It was also a breach of Data Protection as the client had not authorised ES to publicise the pregnancy. Be careful who you trust, not only with your horses but also with your DATA.

 

[9tails]

The stud support posters are on a major damage limitation crusade. Too late.

Poster. All the new members are suspiciously similar in writing style.

I wouldn't be surprised if this thread is locked or removed pretty sharpish with another fat brown envelope.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Yes, actual news article/editorial, page 8.

It’s in the new H&H print edition out today, but it’s a printed version of what was put up on H&H plus yesterday, and I part quoted earlier.

H&H plus is behind a paywall, but here’s my quote with the link again.

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/plu...mare-who-died-in-slurry-lagoon-hh-plus-738335

It was an emergency evacuation,” she (Lorna Wilson, of Newton Stud) said. “It was an inferno and we had to get the horses out as quickly and safely as we could. The field into which Die Callas and one other mare were evacuated, to try to keep them safe, lay next to another field in which a slurry pit was located, separated by a fence and a gate.

“In her panic, Die Callas went through the gate and continued into the slurry pit where she tragically died. Despite the challenging circumstances of the emergency that led to the incident, Newton Stud immediately admitted liability for this accident and provided insurance details without hesitation.”

 

[INDIA1999]

It’s in the new H&H print edition out today, but it’s a printed version of what was put up on H&H plus yesterday, and I part quoted earlier.

H&H plus is behind a paywall, but here’s my quote with the link again.

How would you read that quote from Lorna Wilson?

That the slurry lagoon was in the same field or a different field to the horses?

That the horse went through a gate (ie crashed through a wooden or metal gate (a gate being a physical thing)
Or she went through a gateway ie a big empty space between two posts where a gate should have been?

 

[teapot]

It’s in the new H&H print edition out today, but it’s a printed version of what was put up on H&H plus yesterday, and I part quoted earlier.

H&H plus is behind a paywall, but here’s my quote with the link again.

Ah missed that post, sorry Least it's made hard copy!

 

[Tiddlypom]

I thought that this bit was written in a way as to be deliberately vague...

“In her panic, Die Callas went through the gate and continued into the slurry pit where she tragically died

Gate left open? Horse barges through insecure gate? Another explanation?

Ah missed that post, sorry Least it's made hard copy!

No problem, there’s so much to keep up with, and it’s a pain that it’s behind a paywall.

 

[INDIA1999]

I thought that this bit was written in a way as to be deliberately vague...

“In her panic, Die Callas went through the gate and continued into the slurry pit where she tragically died

Gate left open? Horse barges through insecure gate? Another explanation?

Somewhere on here I have seen the horses's owner say that the gate was left open that that is what Newton Stud staff had said in the court case. Panicking horse put in field. Slurry pit in field. Some fencing around the slurry pit and a gate. Gate left open. No one checks panicking horse again until following day. Found dead in lagoon.

 

[Gingerwitch]

Well of course this post will ho proof..... cant have the truth out now can we.....

 

[rascal]

I wish that I had known about the abattoir waste being spread on the fields before I sent my yearlings there. They both died.

So sorry, they did not deserve that, and neither did you

 

[celeste-izzy]

In case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, both Anna and Lorna have made accounts to try and justify on here what happened.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

In case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, both Anna and Lorna have made accounts to try and justify on here what happened.

That was quite clear last night.
#hhocsi

 

[Millie-Rose]

I don't really think the fire is relevant. I have a 21 box yard and our fire plan is to evacuate into the two large fields adjacent to the yard. Mares into one and geldings the other. These horses are usually on individual turnout so I suppose this could potentially result in a fatal kick- that would be an accident. A horse or anyone/anything else being able to fall into a slurry pit whatever the circumstances is negligence!