Boy, 8, dies after being kicked by horse at UK stables in tragic accident

Louie Isaac Webster, 8, from Wigan, was pronounced dead at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after being kicked in the head by a horse at a Warrington livery stables — a coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death

A tragic incident unfolded at a Warrington livery when an eight-year-old boy was fatally kicked in the head by a horse. Louie Isaac Webster, hailing from Wigan, wandered into a cordoned-off arena at The Beeches Livery Centre, Croft, while his mum was momentarily distracted on June 15 this year.

The young lad had accompanied his mum Rebecca and teenage sister to the livery, where they kept their horse. After cleaning out the stables, Louie’s sister took the former racehorse for a trot in the arena, with Louie and Rebecca observing from the fence.

Shortly after, Louie mentioned he was thirsty, prompting Rebecca to instruct him to sit on a nearby bench while she fetched a drink from their car. In her brief absence, the heartbreaking event transpired.

Louie was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital via ambulance, where he was tragically declared dead at 7.45pm. A post-mortem examination determined the cause of death as a subarachnoid haemorrhage (a type of brain bleed), reports the Liverpool Echo.

During Louie’s inquest at Cheshire Coroner’s Court today (September 30), coroner Victoria Davies heard testimonies from several witnesses, including Det Insp Joanna Morgan, who spearheaded the investigation into Louie’s untimely demise and interviewed Rebecca Webster.

She noted that Louie’s elder sister was “experienced and confident with horses”, having used The Beeches Livery Centre for roughly three months. Louie hadn’t previously visited the livery due to his “challenging” behaviour, attributed to suspected ADHD.

Upon reaching the stables around 5pm on June 16, they set about cleaning out the stalls, and Louie’s sister led her new horse – a former racehorse – into the arena.

Ms Davies recounted: “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 teenager was captured on the car park CCTV sprinting towards her mum and another person at the stables, informing them that Louie had been kicked by the horse. All three rushed back to the arena, where they discovered Louie lying motionless near the fence.

Several people at the stables performed CPR on the-eight-year old while emergency services were alerted. Both air and land ambulances responded, and Louie was transported by road ambulance to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in a state of cardiac arrest.

Despite the best efforts of the medical team, he could not be resuscitated and passed away at 7.45pm.

The inquest was informed that Louie’s sister had also given a statement to the police. She explained that she was riding her horse in the arena when Louie mentioned he was thirsty and her mum went to fetch him a drink.

She stated that her mum had instructed Louie to sit on a bench near the stables and wait. However, he made his way to the arena and entered it through one of the gaps in the fence.

Summing up the tragedy, 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.

“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.