An eight-year-old boy died after being kicked in the head by a horse at a Warrington livery. Louie Isaac Webster, from Wigan, entered a fenced-off arena at the The Beeches Livery Centre, Croft, while his mum’s back was turned on June 15 this year.
What happened at the livery
The schoolboy had attended the livery with his mum Rebecca and teenage sister, whose horse was kept there. After mucking out the stables, Louie's sister took the former racehorse for a ride in the arena while Louie and Rebecca watched from the fence.
A short time later Louie complained of being thirsty, so Rebecca told him to sit on a bench near the stables while she went to their car to get a drink. She had been gone “a matter of minutes” when the tragedy occurred.
Inquest hears evidence
Louie was taken by ambulance to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7.45pm. A post-mortem scan revealed the cause of death was a subarachnoid haemorrhage (a type of brain bleed).
At Louie's inquest at Cheshire Coroner's Court today, September 30, coroner Victoria Davies heard statements from multiple witnesses, including Det Insp Joanna Morgan, who led the investigation into Louie's death and interviewed Rebecca Webster.
She said Louie's older sister was "experienced and confident with horses", and had used The Beeches Livery Centre for about three months. Louie had not visited the livery before as his behaviour was described as "challenging" due to suspected ADHD.
Coroner's conclusion
Ms Davies said: "Louie complained he was thirsty and she (Rebecca Webster) returned to her vehicle to get him a drink. Rebecca described it as a short walk to the car, around 15 to 20 paces, however the view of the yard was obscured by a horse box."
She described being at her car for minutes when she then heard her daughter shouting at Louie to 'get out', and then shouting 'mum' in a panicked tone.
The teenage girl was caught on the car park CCTV running up to her mum and another livery user as she told them Louie had been kicked by the horse. All three returned to the arena, where they found Louie lying unresponsive near the fence.
Several livery users performed CPR on the eight-year-old as emergency services were called to the scene. Air and land ambulances attended, and Louie was taken by land ambulance to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in a state of cardiac arrest. Despite the efforts of medics, he could not be revived and died at 7.45pm.
The inquest heard Louie's sister had also been interviewed by police. She told them she was riding her horse in the arena when Louie complained of being thirsty and her mum went to get him a drink.
She said her mum had told Louie to sit on a bench near the stables and wait. However, he walked up to the arena and entered it through one of the gaps in the fence. At this point, she said, she had stopped riding the horse and was sitting on it, using her mobile phone.
Louie walked up to the animal and stroked its belly, causing it to become scared and kick out with its back legs. The coroner said: "It all happened in a split second."
Louie's sister told police that she had owned two other horses previously, and Louie had enjoyed stroking one of them on its belly. She said she had warned Louie about the new horse as it was an ex-racehorse, but he may not have understood due to his suspected ADHD.
Summing up the tragedy, Ms Davies said: "On June 15 2025 Louie was at the stables The Beeches Livery with his mother and sister. This was the first time Louie had been to the stables because his behaviour could be challenging due to neurodiversity."
"His mother went back to the car to get Louie a drink as Louie complained of being thirsty. He was told to wait on a bench next to the stable.
"While his mum was gone, Louie went into the arena through the fence and touched the horse, touching its belly. The horse was spooked and kicked out, hitting Louie in the head or neck area, causing him to fall.
"This occurred within minutes of Louie's mother going to the car.
"CPR was started... Louie was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital. He suffered a further cardiac arrest en route to hospital and after further resuscitation attempts in hospital, death was confirmed."
She handed down a conclusion of accidental death.
