A woman from Brook has claimed ‘sub grade’ road surfaces ultimately led to her horse of 15 years being put down after it slipped and severely broke its shoulder – but Island Roads say the road surface meets the national requirements.
Last Saturday 22-year-old Georgia Hedley-Ward took her pony, Archie, out on the main Yarmouth Road from Cranmore Avenue towards Hamstead Road to take the stewardship bridle path to Wellow. She had full intention of making her way to Brook Down, but she never made it that far and for Archie, he never will.
Sadly, the 13.2 hands high pony slipped and fell on top of Georgia, causing damage so severe that he was put down at the roadside by a local vet. Amazingly, Georgia escaped with just a few cuts and bruises.
Speaking about the ordeal, Georgia has said:
“When we got to the brow of the hill after signalling and checking the road, I began to cross to the right hand side to take the bridle path. Archie lost his footing in front, from the middle white line of the road, his back end followed and he ended up falling down on top of me on the pavement, trapping me for a number of minutes before I could free myself.
“Once I was up, Archie tried to get up a few times, but simply couldn’t. His front legs were by a ditch and his back legs were smacking against a telegraph pole. After a few attempts, his eyes rolled and I believed his heart was about to give out, I thought I had lost him there and then. I tried to pull Archie up and give him support with his bridle and at his front end, I then pulled his back legs round together in order to pull him away from the pole.
“Eventually Archie managed to get up, however once up, it was clear he had seriously damaged his leg and I already knew the ending.
“Luckily, I had my phone with me and my yard owner came with her car and trailer. The vet then arrived, she took one look at Archie and told me the inevitable. He had broken his shoulder and to put it bluntly, it was hanging entirely out of place and beyond repair. The phone calls were made and Archie was put down there and then on the side of that busy main road”.
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Georgia believes the road surface is the reason Archie fell:
“We [the horse community] battle daily with these sub grade surfaces which are purely dangerous to horses. Many complaints over the years have been made to Island Roads and have been dismissed. I don’t believe that a loss of life should have to be the reason for change.
“Nothing I do or say will ever bring my best friend back, but I will continue to fight for this matter to be resolved, as no one deserves to go through what I have”.
Rejecting the claims, an Island Roads spokesman has said:
“During discussions via a forum held in 2014 and including the then MP and representatives of the equine community, including the British Horse Society, we agreed to investigate reported incidents of horses slipping on the highway. We have begun that process in relation to this incident.
“Our initial finding is that the location at which we believe the incident took place was resurfaced in 2014 using materials that meet all British standards and are used extensively on the Island and throughout the UK. The latest data shows the surface condition of this section to be above the required standard set out in 2006″.
