Richard Laming says a valuable horse massager was stolen from his Fiveways racing stables on the weekend. – Alison Noonan
A FIVEWAYS horse trainer has appealed for the return of a limited horse massager.
The $6000 Equissage machine was stolen from a barn at the Richard Laming Racing Stables on Manks Road between 5pm on Saturday, 3 December and 7am on Sunday, 4 December.
Mr Laming said the massager was a relatively new device used in the prevention and treatment of horse injuries.
He said the Queensland machine was one of two at the 50-horse farm.
“It keeps their blood flowing after they’ve been working,” Mr Laming said.
“It’s like a saddle that vibrates the whole body. We use the machines everyday because it helps their bodies, especially older horses.”
Mr Laming noticed the large machine was missing when he opened the stable doors early on Sunday morning.
“It was there when I left on Saturday night and I knew it was gone as soon as I walked in the next morning,” he said.
“They even took the batteries, charger and hand piece so they knew what they wanted.
“But I have no idea who it would be,” he said.
Mr Laming said the machine was easy to identify and unavailable to buy in Victoria.
“I would say they stole it to use or to sell because you can’t buy them here.
“Now we are going to have to replace it and that’s not cheap,” he said.
Anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious around the time of the theft or who may have been approached to buy the stolen machine should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Senior Constable Janelle Edwards at Cranbourne CIU on 5995 4577.
