Fairview horses get physiotherapy treat after violent protests
Wanting to make a difference and assist where she could, East London veterinary physiotherapist Sage Pagel made her way to Port Elizabeth to help treat a number of horses injured during violent protests at the Fairview Race Course two weeks ago.
Pagel, 25, of Equi-Nine Veterinary Physiotherapy, said she had been horrified to see videos and pictures on social media of what happened to the horses after a crowd of nearly 200 people converged on the stables housing racehorses trained by Yvette Bremner.
During the protest on September
17, brought on by a labour dispute between Bremner, Hedley McGrath and angry former grooms, 28 horses were released from their stables.
The horses, partly owned by McGrath, were chased out of the stable yard by the protesters and some were hit with sticks and other weapons.
One horse died after falling and breaking its neck as a result of trying to escape the chaos.
Since the protest, Bremner and McGrath have moved the horses to undisclosed places of safety.
The pair have left Fairview Race Course and have indicated that they plan to leave the country.
Pagel, an avid horse rider, said she had been encouraged to assist the horses who survived the ordeal by her boyfriend and a friend, who offered to sponsor her petrol costs to travel to Port
Elizabeth. It was horrific to see
“these innocent animals being treated so badly,” Pagel said.
It was more shocking to see grooms who had worked with the horses do something like that.
”
Arriving in Nelson Mandela Bay last week on Friday, Pagel said she had been able to help only one horse as there was limited time.
But by Tuesday Pagel was back to help more horses after being approached by Bremner.
In total four of the horses were treated with massages, electrotherapy and joint movement therapy. It was unbelievable to
“see the trust of the horses after their ordeal,” Pagel said. While I was treating them “some even started falling asleep.”
Using sponsored kinesiotape, generally used by sportspeople to help treat injured muscles and joints, Pagel said all the horses she helped had shown improvements in their movements, bar one which was still a bit sore ”.
“
Pagel said the horses joints
’ and muscles might have been injured while running wildly, while some might have been injured by slipping and falling.
One horse was quite lame and struggling to walk,” she said.
Pagel said she was happy to have made a difference and to see the improvement in the animals.