Sixty horse covers lost in costly blaze
Two weeks on and Brittany Willis is still coming to terms with her stable and horse gear being destroyed by fire.
She breaks in and trains different breeds of horses in her spare time but the hobby came to a halt when fire razed the four-bay stable and implement shed in Branxholme recently.
No horses were on the property at the time of the fire, which is under investigation by police.
‘‘I’m gutted ... everything [horse gear] I’ve collected over the last 15 years is gone,’’ Willis, a fulltime truck driver, said.
‘‘The only things left are glass and [rusting] metal.’’ Among the gear and equipment destroyed were 60 horse covers, the same number of bits, 10 sets of harness, including two used only at race meetings, equestrian saddles, a race sulky, brushes, bandages, grooming products, bridles, lead ropes and halters.
Willis thought the value of the gear and equipment lost would be at least $30,000.
‘‘Obviously, it’s going to take a long time to recoup the gear.’’
She wasn’t at the property the night of the fire and got told about it by a neighbour telephoning her.
‘‘When I saw it, I couldn’t believe everything was gone ... it’s just shit.’’
As well as breaking in and training horses, Willis breeds standardbreds and weans foals off mares for people on her 3.2-hectare (eight acres) property.
The shed and gear were insured.