Two ponies have been killed after they were attacked by a swarm of 30,000 bees in north Texas.
Their handlers were injured in the incident. Kristen Beauregard, 44, was stung about 200 times and her boyfriend, who she did not wish to name, about 50 times, as they were exercising Trump, a Shetland pony and Chip, a show horse.
Ms Beauregard said that suddenly Trump started jumping and kicking out.
“Then it got all dark, like it was night time, there were so many bees,” Ms Beauregard told Sky News.
When their attempts to swipe away the bees failed, she jumped in the pool.
“We were trying to stand up in the water but every time we stuck our heads up for air they could cover us and start stinging us,” she said.
Ms Beauregard managed to escape into her house while her boyfriend called the emergency services.
When the firefighters arrived they sprayed a foam substance to clear the bees, but Chip had died before a vet had arrived and Trump, who spent the night at a clinic, died the next morning.
The insects are being tested to see whether they are Africanised or “killer” bees, which are a hybrid of the Western and African honeybees.
