A HORSE-LOVER has been left devastated after taking the agonising decision to have her beloved 24-year-old horse Beth put to sleep.

Christine Barnes had last checked on her two horses in a field off Carr Lane on Walney on Monday
Beth in her stable. Picture: Submitted night, to give them their evening feed, and all was well with Beth and Summer.


Firefighters at the scene However, when she returned this morning at around 7.30am, she found Beth lying in a muddy area of the field, unable to get up.

She immediately called family friend and fellow horse-lover Sammie Stutchbury, and subsequently made a 999 call because she was unable to lift her horse on her own.

Miss Stutchbury said: "Christine was screaming down the phone when she rang me, but I was doing a 12-hour shift at work on my own so I couldn't get out there to help.

"I phoned the vet, Browne and McKinney, and they came out straightaway. The vet said he thought Beth might have collapsed for a number of reasons, possibly because of her age."


Beth in a field on Carr Lane. Picture: Submitted At 24, Beth was considered an elderly horse. She has been part of the Barnes family for a number of years, having previously been a racing horse.

In the 1997/1998 season she ran under the name Bethany Diamond Dream.

"Beth was very well looked after," Miss Stutchbury said.

"She was part of the family, everyone is in shock."

Despite the best efforts of Mrs Barnes and her friends, and the firefighters from Barrow and Ulverston who were on hand to lift Beth, the vet said the horse had hypothermia and the kindest thing to do would be to end her suffering.


Firefighters at the scene

Because horses are large animals with considerable body weight, lying down for too long restricts blood flow to certain areas.

"As soon as a horse goes down you have to get them up quickly," Miss Stutchbury, 37, explained.

"Everyone is incredibly upset, Beth was bought for Christine's daughter Lauren from her dad, who passed away a few years ago."