A teenager has spoken of the moment she thought her veteran pony “wouldn’t be getting up again” after she found her lying in her field covered in stab wounds.
Angel Reed discovered 25-year-old Kizzy with cuts all over her body on Wednesday morning (30 August) after another livery messaged her to say she thought something was wrong.
“She was in a rush to get to work, so she sent me a message on Facebook saying she was lying down and I should check on her,” said 16-year-old Angel. “She was away from the herd and when I went and put a headcollar on her she didn’t want to get up.”
When Angel looked over the 13.1hh pony, who she has owned for five years, she noticed her back was hot and swollen and she was covered in cuts.
“At first I thought she’d maybe had a fight with another horse but she runs away if they even pull a face at her — then I saw the wounds were everywhere,” Angel said. “At first I looked to see if there was wire but then I began to think it was an attack. She was just lying there shivering.”
The pony had to be coaxed back to her stable, at which point Angel realised the full extent of her injuries and called the vet.
Kizzy had suffered around 30 wounds, including cuts to her head and one just above her hock, which fortunately missed the joint.
“She’s had two courses of antibiotics and painkillers and is bandaged,” said Angel. “She seems to be getting better, she’s lying down less and doesn’t seem to be in shock any more. She was able to walk out of her stable although her leg is very swollen.”
Angel said that when she first discovered Kizzy injured, she “thought that was it”.
“I thought she was just going to stay lying where she was. She’d separated herself from the herd and her eyes were hollow and faded.”
Despite her initial serious concerns for the elderly pony, Angel said she had started to “perk up”.
“She’s been smiling at me — she has a trick where she smiles at people — and has started to get her appetite back,” she said.
Although semi-retired, Kizzy is still ridden and had been showjumping two days before the attack.
“I’m hoping her back and leg will be OK as they were so swollen — even if I can’t ride her it would be good to do some activities so she gets some exercise as she can be prone to colic. Luckily she hasn’t colicked this time, she has just been lying down a lot,” Angel added.
While another horse in the herd was also found to have three small wounds, Angel believed Kizzy was targeted because she is the smallest and oldest of the horses, and is also very trusting.
The attack was not the first unusual incident at the yard, as there had been a recent spate of headcollar thefts.
“The horses’ fly masks had also been targeted. We found the ears cut off them and we also found them still on the horses but with holes cut out for eyes,” she said.
“I’d urge people to make sure their horses are regularly checked when they are turned out in a herd — it can be easy to miss something when people are busy. If Kizzy hadn’t been found when she was then she wouldn’t have done very well,” Angel said.
“It’s disgusting that someone did this and I’d really like to see them sentenced for it.”
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Angel’s aunt Julie Radley posted on social media shortly after the ponies’ injuries were discovered, hoping to track down whoever carried out the attack, while her friends at the yard have sent letters in the area, appealing for witnesses.
Metropolitan Police confirmed it is investigating the incident, which is thought to have taken place overnight at the yard in Northolt, west London.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, or tweet @MetCC direct.
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