An eight-year-old boy died after being kicked in the head by a horse at a Warrington livery stables in June, an inquest has heard. Louie Isaac Webster, from Wigan, was pronounced dead at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, with a coroner recording a conclusion of accidental death.
Incident at The Beeches Livery Centre
Louie had accompanied his mother Rebecca and teenage sister to The Beeches Livery Centre in Croft, where they kept their horse. After cleaning out the stables, Louie's sister took the former racehorse for a trot in the arena while Louie and Rebecca watched from the fence.
Shortly afterwards, Louie said he was thirsty, and Rebecca told him to sit on a nearby bench while she fetched a drink from their car. In her brief absence, the incident occurred.
Inquest details
The inquest at Cheshire Coroner's Court on September 30 heard from witnesses including Det Insp Joanna Morgan, who led the investigation. Louie's sister was described as "experienced and confident with horses" and had used the livery for about three months. Louie had not previously visited due to his "challenging" behaviour, attributed to suspected ADHD.
Coroner Victoria Davies recounted that Rebecca described the walk to the car as "15 to 20 paces," but the view of the yard was obscured by a horse box. While at the car, she heard her daughter shouting at Louie to "get out" and then shouting "mum" in a panicked tone.
Response and conclusion
Several people at the stables performed CPR, and both air and land ambulances responded. Louie was taken by road ambulance to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in cardiac arrest and could not be resuscitated, dying at 7.45pm. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Ms Davies said: "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." She recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
