A family outing to Columbus Beach, Cedros, almost turned tragic for a Gasparillo family when horses wandered onto the public beach from a private estate and attacked their young son. Jaroed Rampersad, who will celebrate his fourth birthday in April, was kicked by one of the horses. The impact flung the boy against the wheel of his father's car. Jaroed suffered damage to his spleen and shoulder and is now warded at San Fernando General Hospital in stable condition.
His parents, Deoraj and Melissa Rampersad, of Caratal Road, Gasparillo, are calling on the authorities to move immediately to safeguard bathers. "My son is living a second life," Deoraj said, while keeping watch over his only child on his hospital bed. "I don't want this to happen to any other children," he added. Rampersad said four families in four vehicles, went to the beach on an outing on Old Year's Day. He said they arrived shortly after two in the afternoon, parked their vehicles on the beachfront and sat down for a meal served from the trunks of the cars.
Maharaj said several horses were around at the time and his wife even photographed some of them.
"I had just finished feeding my son and he moved away from the trunk, alongside the passenger side of the car to meet his cousin so they could go for a walk," Melissa said. "All of a sudden, one of the horses, closest to the car, just kicked my son, flinging him against the tyre." Rampersad, who was a short distance away, said: "When I heard the sound, I thought the horse had hit the car, but then I saw my son on the ground."
Melissa, who was a few feet away, said she panicked. She said: "I screamed and rushed to pick him up. He was unconscious for a few seconds. I thought my child would have died. You should have seen him."
The worried parents took Jaroed to the Cedros Health Facility. "There was no doctor on duty, so we took him to the Point Fortin Hospital where they just examined him and told us to take him to San Fernando," Rampersad said.
X-rays and an ultra sound later showed that the boy had internal bleeding caused by the spleen which was torn in four places. He is unable to sit up and doctors have ordered that he be put on complete bed rest. "While we are hoping that he will heal, we don't know if damage sustained now can have further impact later on in his life," Melissa said. Rampersad reported the incident at the San Fernando Police Station.
Attempts to contact the Cedros resident believed to be the owner of the horses have so far been futile.
Councillor for Cedros Fitzroy Beache said it was common to see the horses grazing on the estate which was close to the beachfront.
"I have seen horses attack people who believe they are tame and try to touch them....But these are wild animals," he said. In February 2004, a stallion, owned by racehorse owner and trainer Maniram "Boboy" Maharaj, chewed off the arm of David Sinanan, then seven, when he attempted to touch the animal.
Beache said he would attempt to verify who was the owner of the horses to see what could be done to prevent a recurrence. He said he had been making repeated representation, which had been unsuccessful so far, to have the Cedros Health Centre upgraded to a 24-hour facility.
The spleen, an organ the size of a fist, is located above the stomach and under the left side of the human ribs. Part of the lymphatic system, the spleen fights infection and keeps the body fluids in balance. Surgery may be necessary to remove a damaged or ruptured spleen. While one can live without a spleen, its removal can reduce the body's ability to fight infections.