Steeplechaser badly hurt after falling in creek

Press, 19 February 1983, Page 11

Steeplechaser badly hurt after falling in creek

PA Hastings The well performed steeplechaser, Arrest, might never race again after having his four legs ripped after being stuck in a creek for more than a week. His legs were ripped apart and rubbed raw by the jagged limestone rocks that bank the Maraetotara Stream, near Havelock North. They might also have been chewed by the multitude of eels that swim in the water, says his ownertrainer, Mr Garnet Wood. Mr Wood said the accident happened on his Maraetotara farm in mid-January, while he was on holiday in the South Island.

Arrest was in a back paddock, one that he had frequently been turned out in. It is thought that the horse may have taken fright and fallen into the creek. He could have been there for up to 10 days before being found. ■ Arrest was only “a -skeleton of his former self” when dragged from the water, and his first thoughts were to have him destroyed," said Mr Wood. The deep lacerations to his legs looked beyond treatment. One cut on one of the front knees was so deep the bone was visible. Arrest started tearing at bandages on his legs and so several pairs of mens long

pyjamas were used tor dressings. “He is responding, but there is still a chance of his being put down,” Mr Wood said.. Arrest was a dashing steeplechaser and the winner of $43,000 in stake money. He had had five wins and 25 minor placings in the last four years His wins included the Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase at Hastings, and the Eric Riddiford, Newtown, and Capital Steeplechase at Trentham. He was third in the Wellington Steeplechase and finished fourth in the Grand National Steeplechase at Riccarton last August.