HORSE IN SHOP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22149, 1 July 1935, Page 8

HORSE IN SHOP

STARTLING INCIDENT I ■m ' % CRASH THROUGH WINDOW 1 ANIMAL ENTERS LIVING ROOM J FALLS ON FLOOR INJURED The sight of a horse crashing through the plato-glass window of her shop* and then plunging into the living room at the rear to fall mortally injured on the floor a few feet from her, was the strfrtling experience of Mr:;. L. Coleman, of 1221 Great North Road, yesterday morning. The horse, a valuable trotting animal, was subsequently destroyed in the room. Attached to a trotting sulky, the horse, which had been broken to harness only five months, ago, was being" schooled by its owner, Mr. T. L. McQuoid, milk vendor, of Western Springs, when, it became frightened. Mr. McQuoid had driven down Point Chevalier Road a short distance, and was on his way back to the Great North Road about 11.30 when a dog came out from a house and ran under the hind legs of the horse. Frightened, the trptter kicked, upset the sulky, broke the shafts, and bolted down the road. From Formby Road to Great North Road the animal continued its mad career. On reaching the intersection it swerved slightly to tho right, but instead of turning the corner, made for the shops. Plunge Through the Window The runaway narrowly missed a telephone box, and then crossed the footpath and plunged into the display window of the shop of Mr. and Mrs. Coleman. The horse splintered first the plate-glass window and. then another pane of glass at the back. Although the passageway behind the counter, which is fully 15ft. long, ia only about 3ft. wide, the animal charged down this and plunged through the open door into the living room. There it fell on its side. It was severely cut about the lower part of the body, and the blood from its wounds covered the floor of the room and bespattered the walls and furniture. The inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Mr. J. J. Hollingworth, was communicated with immediately. Before his arrival, however, Mr. McQuoid, who was»unhurt, made an unsuccessful attempt to move the horse. Upon Mr. Holjingworth's arrival the animal was in a low state and was destroyed with a humane killer. The carcase was then removed. Providential Escape "I was about to go into the shop and I was just at the door when I saw the horse crash through the window," said Mrs. Coleman yesterday afternoon. "I received a terrible shock and had just time to move into the corner of the living room when the animal plunged through the doorway and fell on the floor. Ten minutes before, I wast in the window changing the goods on display. The remarkable thing was that although the horse had. a piece of shaft attached to its harness, it did not disturb a single article, in the shop as it charged down behind the counter."

Mr. McQuoid said the trotter was a five-year-old wliicli he was preparing for the track. "She was by Nelson Bingen from Lady Natalie, and only a fortnight ago I was offered £l5O for her. About five or six years ago I sold her half-brother for £800," the owner added.