Cornwall horse was 'horrendous', says owner

An attack on a horse in Cornwall over the weekend has been described as "horrendous" and "pre-meditated" by the horse's owner.

The owner from Callington, who did not want to be identified, said she was feeling "empty and sick" after the death of the family's horse.

The nine-year-old mare suffered a deep cut to a leg and had to be put down.

Police said the "malicious and vicious" attack happened on a remote farm some time after 18:00 BST on Friday.

The owner said: "We went up to check the horse. She was lying down. My daughter went over to check her and called us over."

It was then that they found the injury to its front left leg.

The owner said: "As soon as you saw the injury, we knew that was it. You could see the wound. It was horrendous, disgusting."

The family said they were struggling to come to terms with the loss of the horse.

"She was such a trusting horse," the owner said. "It was my daughter's first horse. I had her and gave her to my daughter when she was 12-years-old."

The incident follows other attacks on horses, including the mutilation of a stallion in Stithians in Cornwall in January.