Horse in Cornwall brutally attacked and killed

A horse in a field in Cornwall has been horrifically mutilated, according to the BBC.

Devon and Cornwall Police have said that the animal was tortured and died from severe injuries to its head and body.

It is thought that the stallion may have been sedated before the attack in Stithians and forensic searches are being carried out in the area.

A mare and a foal that were in the same field were left unharmed.

The horse, which was two-and-a-half, was attacked between 16:00 GMT on Sunday and midday on Monday. Anyone with information has been asked to contact police.

Vivien Allaway, the mother of the horse's owner, Dawn, said the attack had devastated her daughter.

She told BBC News: "To lose him like this is total devastation for her. This horse was the love of her life - he was her absolute favourite.

"The poor girl is absolutely beside herself."

Mrs Allaway said when she went to the field to be with her daughter, the brutality of the attack on the horse had shocked her.

"It was the worst thing I've ever seen... and I don't wish to see anything like it again," she said.

Det Insp Tony Blatchford said it was one of the worst incidents of cruelty to a horse he had dealt with and he warned all horse owners in rural areas of the county to be vigilant.

Vanessa Gilbert from the Devon and Cornwall Horse and Pony Association said there had been a recent knife attack on a horse in Wales, but she was unaware of anything similar in the South West.

Picture: Jayenandd