George’s great escape: horse’s crashing fall captured on video
A former racehorse has made a remarkable recovery following a terrifying accident last year (17 October).
David Lloyd George (“George”) was turned out in his field in Northampton when something spooked him and he attempted to jump out over a five-bar gate.
The gelding fell and skidded several metres across the ground, after which he got back on his feet and galloped to the gate of the yard.
Posted by Clare Lewis on Tuesday, October 17, 2017
He smashed through heavy iron gates and galloped for two miles into Kingsthorpe in heavy rush hour traffic.
His owner, Clare Lewis was lunging a pony when she heard George bolting out of the yard.
“Something had petrified him — I think he may have been stung under his rug,” she told H&H.
“I was driving round for 20 minutes and there was no sign of him. I don’t know what I was thinking, it was just mad and so scary not knowing where he was.”
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Claire contacted police who informed her George had been caught.
A member of the public had caught him with a piece of string and put him in their garden.
“When I arrived he screamed at me and came running over — he’s never been so pleased to see me,” said Clare.
“I couldn’t believe he was upright. How he dodged all the traffic, I don’t know. He’d gone through a really horrendous junction.”
George was left with scrapes to his legs and shoulder, a deeper cut to a foreleg, and a cut through his frog.
George’s crashing fall from the field was captured by the yard’s CCTV cameras.
“I couldn’t believe it and the vets were gobsmacked,” said Clare. “They couldn’t believe he got up from that fall.”
George was put on seven weeks of box rest with pony Cheeko to keep him company.
Posted by Clare Lewis on Tuesday, October 17, 2017
He made good progress and returned to the field for a month, and was ridden for the first time since the accident on 9 January, having been given the all-clear by the vet and osteopath.
George has since gone from strength to strength and is going to his first dressage competition since his accident this weekend.
“He feels amazing,” said Clare of the 13-year-old, who she has owned since he was retired from the racetrack at four. “He’s really fit and strong.”
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Clare said George’s behaviour on the day of the accident was completely out of character.
“He’s so laid back it’s painful,” she laughed.
Clare praised her vets, Swanspool Veterinary Clinic in Wellingborough, and equine osteopath, David Powers of In Motion Equine, for all their help with George’s rehabilitation.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.