Ex-racehorse owner speaks out after theft left her horse fighting for his life

An ex-racehorse owner sounded a warning to fellow owners on Monday after her horse, a finalist in the Retraining of Racehorses Heart awards, was left fighting for his life following a raid by thieves who stole three stable blocks and left a potentially poisonous dry bran feed in the field.

Sally Bentley, from Lincolnshire, found her timber stable blocks had been dismantled and stolen from the field on Thursday night, along with her neighbour's shelters.

Bentley's ex-racehorse Magical Lasso, who she competes in dressage competitions, was one of three horses in the field in North Scarle, near Lincoln, and was admitted to Oakham Equine Veterinary Hospital after showing signs of colic from eating neat feed, which has to be watered down.

Bentley said: "That morning we discovered the thieves had taken the horses out of their stables, corralled them into the field and then put three bags of dried feed into the field.

Sally Bentley's stables in Lincolnshire after thieves struck on Thursday nightCredit: Sally Bentley

"My horse, Magical Lasso, showed signs of colic and at 4pm he went down in the field. The veterinary team fitted a naso-gastric tube and administered a charcoal, sponge, magnesium and parrafin mixture to flush him and to absorb toxins but we were told there was a risk of colic, septicaemia and laminitis."

Bentley said the five-year-old began to show signs of recovery on Sunday: "He was in a critical condition until yesterday but made progress this morning and seems to have turned a corner.

"The irony is we were only at the RoR end-of-season party last week celebrating at the RoR Heart awards. Then to think a week later he would be fighting for his life.

The stables in North Scarle before the robberyCredit: Sally Bentley

"We love our ex-racers and believe the training they get in racing makes them so versatile. We want people to be vigilant – I don't want anyone to go through what we have gone through."

Bentley paid tribute to Kevin Jardine, of Solway Racehorses, who has established a fund to raise money following the theft, which is being investigated by Lincolnshire police. "We've got two of the most amazing horses from Kevin and he has set up a fund to help buy us some new stables," Bentley added.

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