# More horse attacks? (not for the squeamish)



## Silent Knight (9 January 2012)

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/311039.html

Are these disgusting attacks on horses becoming more frequent?


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## miss_wilson (9 January 2012)

Sick!


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## springer1021 (10 January 2012)

Unbelievable


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## tjmadron (10 January 2012)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-16482110

This happened sometime  over night on Sunday ... hope the B%$&^%$ gets caught


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## ChwaraeTeg (10 January 2012)

I can't read another one. Where was this please? (? another in Cornwall ?)  ?
Teg.

(I also can't print what I am thinking)


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## tjmadron (10 January 2012)

Sorry this is the one that had been posted on another thread ,but have heard that there has possibly been another in thr Redruth area , tho i have no idea if thats true or not ..


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## Shilasdair (10 January 2012)

Murphysgirl said:



http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/311039.html

Are these disgusting attacks on horses becoming more frequent?
		
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I don't know.
Is anyone keeping a record of the frequency of 'disgusting attacks'?
S


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## Jnhuk (10 January 2012)

Sick.
I know that when there were a spate of them in Scotland (few years ago now) that word was spread amongst horsey folks about the attacks but no real media hype to try and stop copy cat attacks.


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## applecart14 (11 January 2012)

Murphysgirl said:



http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/311039.html

Are these disgusting attacks on horses becoming more frequent?
		
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I am interested in true crime and have read hundreds of books on the subject over the years including books by people like Bob Keppel who is chief criminal investigator for the Washington State Attorney Generals office and investigated the Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway murders.

I think what a lot of people fail to realise is that the road to becoming a murderer (or serial killer more than 3 murders in relatively quick succession) is a long one.  It usually (I think in some 90% of cases) starts with children and adolescents torturing, maiming, and killing animals.  It is only when these individuals start practising and honing their skills and becoming competent in this 'craft' that they will gain the confidence to start killing humans as this is the ultimate 'goal'.

Whilst I'm not saying that anyone in the area of the mutilation of the horse is in immediate danger I would say that the person involved in this crime would be an extremely dangerous individual in the height of frenzy to have carried out this crime.  The police should be investigating the crime and treating it as if it were a human murder, finger printing the area and involving detectives to get clues to the attacker. The police say 'enquiries continuing' but you can bet your bottom dollar that that will involve trying to find witnesses who may have seen someone in the area, and similiar and *not* any forensic work at all.  If they did the ground work now they could save a lot of heartache in the future.

From what I have read on the subject I can guarantee that this attack is only one of many that have either happened or that will happen in the future and this person must be stopped before they escalate their crimes to humans.  I would also suggest that to approach a horse of any description in a field would require patience, cunning and an element of the person knowing about their subject so I would say this person is of a horse related background.  Horses will not just stand still to have their insides cut out.

I know that it is incredibly difficult for all concerned to 'step away' from this and look at it logically, but I really think this is what be done to ensure that this person is caught and brought to justice.  Whilst I feel incredibly sorry for the horse and owner I really feel that all full and indepth investigation must take place for each and everyone of these horse deaths.


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## SaharaS (11 January 2012)

Applecart you are quite right..sadly I do not think the police will have conducted any more investigation than witness appeals..I would love an officer involved to reply proving me wrong. Knowing how much mess & destruction i leave in my field when I simply get my horses in,there will be clues as to how the animals were targetted, wether sedated or hurt into submission.this will mean lots of dna,footprints,fibres. Makes you wonder if the individual has a history in vet medicine or similar...honing knowledge before taking things further. The worrying thing I found was that this seemed familiar..correct me if I'm wrong, but was there a recent programe within the last 2-3 weeks where an animals organs were used for transplant..and another film where human remains were found with organs missing that were later found to have been used in black market organ selling/stealing to order? I sincerely hope this is just one person not a spate of attacks by several people. I know from experience the police are not always interested-even when clues,tracks,prints & a reg number were provided they only took my sheep hurdles & gate handles for forensics when i started creating a fuss. Nothing was found,no matches & nothing returned..they were not keen to do anything either when my house was broken into,elderly neighbour tackled the man and he is now paying me back monthly for compensation..they could have prevented 15 other thefts if they acted IMMEDIATELY not three weeks later.if they can't get small crimes like armed burglarly & assault/yard theft sorted...then no wonder sick people like this are on the loose. I am rather pleasantly surprised however that the Sun are offering a reward to catch the individuals....lets hope 2k is enough...:-(


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## Tinseltoes (11 January 2012)

I know there is the stallion in Cornwall and a pony in Wales. Both brutally mutilated,one in wales had organs removed.Sick B******ds hope they get caught.


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## nixipixi (12 January 2012)

If everyone could kindly take time to visit this site it would be much appreciated, you can even leave a note of condolence for Dawn. There will soon be details on donations for any who are interested in donating something to the cause (will go towards reward money). The Sun has already been kind enough to donate £2000 of reward money to find the sick b******s who did this to Erik. Thanks
www.justice4erik.org
Many thanks


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## jennyf (12 January 2012)

Would dearly like to string the sickos up in the stocks and let them take their chances with all animal loving public.

If they do this to animals, they would do it to humans as well, vulnerable fold, children and the aged.


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## BettyK (12 January 2012)

This seems to be quite a common perversion. I cannot comprehend why but that the human animal seems capable of infinite brutality.
Thirty years ago there were many such attacks in Thanet, Kent. It went on for months. The attacker would dope the horses and then restrain them in a brutal way which i wont go into in case a pervert is reading this.....and then assault their genitalia..details too gorey to upset you with..slash them etc. If the horses did survive the brutal attacks they were mentally damaged.  
It got so bad that horse owners were sleeping on their yards to protect their animals. Animal rights folks took to staking out yards and they caught him. I believe he was a little bruised by the time the Police arrived. Turned out that he had a pony of his own that he used to lead about with him...take to the local chippy etc. he went to prison for a short sentence.


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## camel_toe_girl (15 January 2012)

twisted people, i hope they get caught... fast.


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## JanetGeorge (16 January 2012)

Investigations into the case of the pony in Wales suggests he died of natual causes and was attacked by badgers/foxes/crows either immediately pre or post mortem.  The same is the case with the most recent death near Whitstone in Devon.

Finding a 'mutilated' pony is immensely distressing and it is understandable that owners jump to conclusions - but there is usually a more mundane explanation.


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## Zebedee (16 January 2012)

JanetGeorge said:



			Investigations into the case of the pony in Wales suggests he died of natual causes and was attacked by badgers/foxes/crows either immediately pre or post mortem.  The same is the case with the most recent death near Whitstone in Devon.

Finding a 'mutilated' pony is immensely distressing and it is understandable that owners jump to conclusions - but there is usually a more mundane explanation.
		
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Friends of mine had this happen years ago. Because the wild animals go for the orifices as easy places to start it's very easy to read a more sinister motive into the situation. Still a very distressing thing for anyone to find though.


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## MurphysMinder (16 January 2012)

Obviously I have no idea what happened to these horses, but a friend had an incident where a horse had been pts late at night and could not be collected till the morning so was covered with a tarpaulin.  I didn't see it but by the next day foxes/crows etc had been at the body and she said it was horrendous.


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## hcm88 (16 January 2012)

JanetGeorge said:



			Investigations into the case of the pony in Wales suggests he died of natual causes and was attacked by badgers/foxes/crows either immediately pre or post mortem.  The same is the case with the most recent death near Whitstone in Devon.

Finding a 'mutilated' pony is immensely distressing and it is understandable that owners jump to conclusions - but there is usually a more mundane explanation.
		
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I was inclined to believe this until this third attack. Why have we never (or very rarely) heard of such incidents before yet suddenly we have 3 in a matter of weeks?

Quite frankly I'm appalled that the police aren't investigating it more now 3 attacks have occured. Feel so sorry for the owners.


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## SusannaF (16 January 2012)

hcm88 said:



			I was inclined to believe this until this third attack. Why have we never (or very rarely) heard of such incidents before yet suddenly we have 3 in a matter of weeks?
		
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Perhaps because normally people realise it's wild animals and don't report it? Also, the press have got a head of steam up about it now. It's like the other year when birds started falling out of the sky all around the world. Except that it was nothing new - it was just that the media was on the case and reporting every incident.

Re. media hype. When I was hunting around I found this piece about "horse ripping" and Satanic panics.

http://www.ministryoftruth.me.uk/20...tion-and-satanic-panic-a-developing-narrative


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## 1life (17 January 2012)

I'm glad to see there is a discussion on here that is more sensible than the Facebook blurb that is below the article. 

This is obviously very distressing and has caused an uproar but we are only being told the emotive parts. I know this may rock the boat but I feel the RSPCA do a fantastic job for the majority of the time in what are often difficult circumstances with legal limitations placed on them. If the owners feel these injuries weren't caused post-mortem then they will need to prove that before the police will investigae further.

If this is a human crime it is sickening, I agree 100%, but nature often appears to us to be the cruelest animal around.


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## M_G (17 January 2012)

I would love to know what the cause of death is in these cases as I dont think its common to have a healthy horse at bed time then a dead one in the morning, fully agree that the press have gone mad for this and worked up a frenzy 

My heat goes out to all the owners as the death of any animal is heartbreaking without foxes having a feast or indeed some sicko getting his/her kicks


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## s4sugar (17 January 2012)

M_G said:



			I would love to know what the cause of death is in these cases as I dont think its common to have a healthy horse at bed time then a dead one in the morning, fully agree that the press have gone mad for this and worked up a frenzy 

My heat goes out to all the owners as the death of any animal is heartbreaking without foxes having a feast or indeed some sicko getting his/her kicks 

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My second pony died in the night - fine at 10pm & cold at 7 am. PM found his lungs full of blood so suspected an aneurysm. He was eight years old.


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## M_G (17 January 2012)

s4sugar said:



			My second pony died in the night - fine at 10pm & cold at 7 am. PM found his lungs full of blood so suspected an aneurysm. He was eight years old.
		
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I am truly sorry to hear that s4sugar & it must have been devastating  

Thankfully it&#8217;s not a common occurrence (or at least yours is the first I have heard of in a young otherwise healthy animal) which is why I would like to know the PM results in these possibly related deaths, until then it is pure speculation.


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## ladyt25 (17 January 2012)

Isn't it a bit odd though there have been 3 cases within a matter of a couple of weeks where the injuries reported seem to be identical? Ok, I can understand that foxes etc and crows are quite likely to scavenge bits although i know of plenty of animals that have died in fields and they have not been mutilated by animals afterwards. What about the teeth being removed from the first horse and how come it would seem they are all very young horses?

I notice there haven't been any reports so far about what the cause of death was in these cases - maybe they should publish them to stop people panicking unecessarily.


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## EstherYoung (17 January 2012)

One thing that struck me is that it has been prime weather for atypical myopathy over the last few weeks: lots of rain/risk of flooding which has then receded. AM is more likely to affect young horses who live out, and it can make horses go from extremely healthy to dead in a matter of hours. I seem to remember that the South West has had a spate of AM cases over the last few winters.

Another friend of mine lost a young horse very suddenly to an adder bite.


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## suestowford (17 January 2012)

Does anyone remember the exploding toads in Germany? That was found to be down to crows, using their razor sharp beaks to stab into the toads.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-crows-exploding-toad-case-solved-489894.html
So I do believe that crows could cause slash marks on an animal's corpse. Their beaks are very sharp, and long enough to get through a horse's skin.


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## spottybotty (17 January 2012)

M_G said:



			I would love to know what the cause of death is in these cases as I dont think its common to have a healthy horse at bed time then a dead one in the morning, fully agree that the press have gone mad for this and worked up a frenzy 

My heat goes out to all the owners as the death of any animal is heartbreaking without foxes having a feast or indeed some sicko getting his/her kicks 

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 I had pony drop dead over night, fine when I left her , she had a heart attack. I am with JG on this there is a lot of scaremongering. It happened recently in my area a pony was attacked and killed by a dog,next door to my friends yard, two days later after the chinese wispers on another forum someone posted about a pony "attack" her RI had told her it was a ritual killing, I put her straight on that as I knew the Owner of the pony involved.


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## Wagtail (17 January 2012)

applecart14 said:



			I am interested in true crime and have read hundreds of books on the subject over the years including books by people like Bob Keppel who is chief criminal investigator for the Washington State Attorney Generals office and investigated the Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway murders.

I think what a lot of people fail to realise is that the road to becoming a murderer (or serial killer more than 3 murders in relatively quick succession) is a long one.  It usually (I think in some 90% of cases) starts with children and adolescents torturing, maiming, and killing animals.  It is only when these individuals start practising and honing their skills and becoming competent in this 'craft' that they will gain the confidence to start killing humans as this is the ultimate 'goal'.

Whilst I'm not saying that anyone in the area of the mutilation of the horse is in immediate danger I would say that the person involved in this crime would be an extremely dangerous individual in the height of frenzy to have carried out this crime.  The police should be investigating the crime and treating it as if it were a human murder, finger printing the area and involving detectives to get clues to the attacker. The police say 'enquiries continuing' but you can bet your bottom dollar that that will involve trying to find witnesses who may have seen someone in the area, and similiar and *not* any forensic work at all.  If they did the ground work now they could save a lot of heartache in the future.

From what I have read on the subject I can guarantee that this attack is only one of many that have either happened or that will happen in the future and this person must be stopped before they escalate their crimes to humans.  I would also suggest that to approach a horse of any description in a field would require patience, cunning and an element of the person knowing about their subject so I would say this person is of a horse related background.  Horses will not just stand still to have their insides cut out.

I know that it is incredibly difficult for all concerned to 'step away' from this and look at it logically, but I really think this is what be done to ensure that this person is caught and brought to justice.  Whilst I feel incredibly sorry for the horse and owner I really feel that all full and indepth investigation must take place for each and everyone of these horse deaths.
		
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You are quite right Applecart. I have pointed this out on other threads as have others. I am a qualified psychologist with a real interest in criminal psychology and can tell you that this person will undoubtably be a serious threat to humans as well as the poor animals. He (as it usually is a he) will have honed his 'skills' on smaller animals such as rabbits, cats and dogs before progressing to horses. It is quite terrifying.


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## angelish (17 January 2012)

M_G said:



			I am truly sorry to hear that s4sugar & it must have been devastating  

Thankfully its not a common occurrence (or at least yours is the first I have heard of in a young otherwise healthy animal) which is why I would like to know the PM results in these possibly related deaths, until then it is pure speculation.
		
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i too lost a horse like this , she was fit & healthy 6pm and found dead 6am next morning ,it was strangely on the 5th jan a few year ago
on pm results she had a twisted gut ,cutting off blood supply & simply dropped dead 

i have heard of 2 others (similar ^ ) so maybe not so uncommon as you would think although 3 in a short time makes me feel a little uneasy ,she was in easy access to night time attacks from foxes etc but wasn't touched (thank god) 

would crows only start having a go in day light ?

hopefully it is a case of over enthusiasm of media rather than a sicko as what applecart said is a very scary prospect if the police aren't taking this seriously


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## christine48 (20 January 2012)

What I fail to believe is how the vets and police have said the deaths were either 'natural causes or inconclusive'. Having eyes gouged out or penis amputated can be deemed natural causes.


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## christine48 (20 January 2012)

Meant to say can NOT be deaths from natural causes. Hope they catch them soon. You feel for the poorownets too, if that happened to any of mine I don't think I'd ever get over it.


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## koeffee (20 January 2012)

I may put a cat amongst the pigeons now but, i heard the recent attack in Pyeworthy was a case of neglect but owners are saying it was attacked???eyes were gone because it lay dead for days.  i dont know the ins and outs but its from a police source, and is being investigated by the rspca, not everything is as it seems, even heard things about the one that was doped but i wont go in to that!!!  I would like to say im giving my opinion and it may be fact or not so no-one have a go please?!


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## SusannaF (21 January 2012)

koeffee said:



			I may put a cat amongst the pigeons now but, i heard the recent attack in Pyeworthy was a case of neglect but owners are saying it was attacked???eyes were gone because it lay dead for days.  i dont know the ins and outs but its from a police source, and is being investigated by the rspca, not everything is as it seems, even heard things about the one that was doped but i wont go in to that!!!  I would like to say im giving my opinion and it may be fact or not so no-one have a go please?!
		
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Which was the Pyeworthy one?

I'm inclined to believe that two died, as the vet said, of natural causes and then got chewed by wild animals. I'd believe that of Erik too, if it weren't for his having had his teeth knocked out. That's the anomaly.


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## koeffee (21 January 2012)

SusannaF said:



			Which was the Pyeworthy one?

I'm inclined to believe that two died, as the vet said, of natural causes and then got chewed by wild animals. I'd believe that of Erik too, if it weren't for his having had his teeth knocked out. That's the anomaly.
		
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Black pony, i heard re erik and this is hearsay that because he was sedated? which only a vet should have that it was a home made gelding gone wrong and it was covered up?? heard this from a vet, may be true or may not be, but the pony in s wales was mutilated. no horse decerves an ending like they got.


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## SusannaF (21 January 2012)

koeffee said:



			Black pony, i heard re erik and this is hearsay that because he was sedated? which only a vet should have that it was a home made gelding gone wrong and it was covered up?? heard this from a vet, may be true or may not be, but the pony in s wales was mutilated. no horse decerves an ending like they got.
		
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The Carmarthenshire pony (Barney) died of natural causes. 

Erik  yikes!


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## JanetGeorge (21 January 2012)

christine48 said:



			What I fail to believe is how the vets and police have said the deaths were either 'natural causes or inconclusive'. Having eyes gouged out or penis amputated can be deemed natural causes.
		
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Crows will gouge out the eyes of a LIVE cast sheep within a few hours.  A dead horse would present NO challenge.  And the penis prolapses out in death - a badger would have that off in a flash.  Wounds made post morten by animals' teeth can look like cuts - hell, I had a mare kicked by another - she had a 'clash' across the vulva that took 20 sitches - you wouldn't believe a kick from an unshod horse could make that sort of wound (if you hadn't seen it!)


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## Wagtail (21 January 2012)

JanetGeorge said:



			Crows will gouge out the eyes of a LIVE cast sheep within a few hours.  A dead horse would present NO challenge.  And the penis prolapses out in death - a badger would have that off in a flash.  Wounds made post morten by animals' teeth can look like cuts - hell, I had a mare kicked by another - she had a 'clash' across the vulva that took 20 sitches - you wouldn't believe a kick from an unshod horse could make that sort of wound (if you hadn't seen it!)
		
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My sister found a poor ewe, still alive with its eyes missing. Where she lives it is ravens as well as crows that do the damage.

I do hope that the awful injuries suffered by these horses WAS post mortem and cause by other animals. It does seem weird though that both the Devon ones were stallions.


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## Moggy in Manolos (22 January 2012)

I hope they catch these sicko's, those poor poor horses


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