By Simon Shepherd
A Cambridge woman is starting a petition calling for a ban on the private sale of fireworks after her horse took fright and ripped a massive hole in its side.
Two more Waikato horses also suffered injuries and the SPCA says it is time for a change.
Stallion Prestige went missing last Saturday night and when owner Jackie chamberlain found him the next day, she was horrified by his injuries.
“Basically it is still touch-and-go because if he gets an infection it could be fatal,” she says.
“There is not a lot between his internal organs and the outside world.”
The wound was too old and too big to stitch, so it has been sprayed with anti-septic.
Jackie believes the horse tried to jump a fence because of a neighbour’s fireworks display.
“He was lucky he was a fat pony actually, because if he hadn’t been fat it would have just gutted him,” she says.
In Matamata a horse worth $300,000 also injured itself on a fence during the day.
The horse’s trainer Danica Guy says he is looking to make a full recovery.
“Initially we thought it was not going to finish his racing career but it is looking a lot more hopeful now,” she says.
A third horse, just down the road from Ms Guy, was also injured.
The horse named Amy flipped over a fence and impaled itself on a post.
Veterinarian Mandy Platt says she does not think people scare the horses on purpose.
“I think for most people it is a lack of awareness,” she says.
“I don’t think that people are malicious about it, generally they just don’t realise how frightened horses are and how much damage they can do.”
Owners say they try to protect horses at Guy Fawkes by stabling them but not everyone has shelter for their horses.
And with fireworks being let off for several days, it's impossible to keep them locked away for the whole time.
Private sales of fireworks are currently banned in all Australian states except Canberra.
Aside from the horse injuries and a mishap at Whakatane where a 40 minute display went up in 40 seconds, the Government say it has been another relatively quiet year.
The Government says it does not intend to change the current laws on fire work sales.
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