A trotting trainer’s resources are limited with a horse that has caused problems.
The start of the cold-blooded race in Gävle ended with one horse being ruined. Stock photo. Jussi Eskola
On Monday, a dangerous situation occurred at the Gävle race track in Sweden.
In the middle of the race, the instructor and coach of the eight-year-old cold-blooded Torvald Grimm Ante Lisell was hit by the hooves when the horse unexpectedly sprung. After several kicks, Lisell had to admit that the situation was getting out of hand and jumped from the cart.
In the middle of the rush, Lisell had time to check that she wouldn’t jump in front of the horses coming behind. The trotting coach hurt his leg in the fall, but was able to walk off the track to the side.
Fortunately for the coach, none of the powerful kicks caused major damage. We survived with a few bruises and a sore jaw and leg, but the outburst of rage was fatal for the gelding. It was decided to terminate Torvald Grimm.
It wasn’t the first time this trotting horse caused damage.
– The horse did the same thing last summer. There were no other people around then. This time I tried to survive the ride, but I was forced to abandon ship. I just thought, “damn it, it kicked me in the jaw”, says Lisell for Sportbladet.
Lisell describes the horse as having changed from well-behaved to unpredictable and violent. He and his wife have decided that the horse cannot be kept and certainly not taken back to the races.
– Whatever people say, the horse has had problems for a long time. We’ve been patient, but I don’t want to feel guilty if something happens while someone else is sitting in the back. It’s not about the money. Either I die or it hurts something else.
Losing a horse hurts the owner.
– I know the risks and I’m wise enough to realize that a kick to the head would have caused a bad result. This time I narrowly escaped. We are really sad for the horse.