Our client faces losing her arm after being attacked by a horse.

Jacqui Kent’s life was turned upside down in November last year when she reluctantly agreed to assist a friend whose horse she had been helping to break in at an agistment property along the Mornington Peninsula, south-east of Melbourne.

The friend had been working at the property three days a week in a contra deal that saw her obtain discounted agistment for her own horse.

In what is in the process of becoming a statement of claim lodged by Arnold Thomas & Becker, Ms Kent claimed she felt pressured to help out despite protesting about her broken foot.

The experienced horse handler said she felt a sense of dread as she noticed the horse’s pinned ears and his teeth coming at her.

In a reaction that likely saved her life, Ms Kent draped herself in the rug, but the horse managed to grab her by the neck and pushed her to the ground.

Curled up in the foetal position, she tried to protect her head. The gelding picked her up three more times by her shoulder, smashing her into the ground again and again. 

Arnold Thomas & Becker legal representative Ciara Smith said her client would struggle with the mental and physical trauma of what happened to her for the rest of her life. 

‘The injuries she sustained continued to cause her daily pain and suffering a year later and will be lifelong,’ she said. 

‘While we understand that animals have a mind of their own and can be unpredictable, this incident could have been completely prevented if Jacqui had been aware of the risks involved with entering this horse’s paddock.

‘She was not informed that the horse could be dangerous or volatile and had previously tried to attack people.

‘Incidents like these emphasise the importance of agistment and property owners to ensure they are covered by public liability insurance. People also shouldn’t be engaging in verbal or backdoor agreements – there is no protection in these kind of arrangements and it is almost impossible to mitigate risk.’