What happened to the MOD horse ?

[Baggybreeches]

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.

 

[Hedgewitch13]

*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.

 

[rosie fronfelen]

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--

 

[Ranyhyn]

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

I am available for social functions, birthdays (exlcuding childrens birthdays) and special occassions

 

[swallowsoast]

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.

 

[Cedars]

Hi Swallowsoast, thanks for the update.

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

 

[michelleice]

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.

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

 

[JaneyP]

^^^^ 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.

 

[Aces_High]

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.

 

[Into Temptation]

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

 

[T_K]

With the kind of searches that have been made it is unlikely that the horse died.

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......

 

[Mike007]

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.

 

[harkback]

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.

 

[DebbieCG]

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.