Brain-damaged pony put down after galloping into lamppost

A pony left with brain damage after crashing into a lamppost on fireworks night has been put down this morning.

The five-year-old 12hh pony was found lying in the road in Dartford shortly after midnight last night.

Police received reports that a pony been galloping around the area — and that he had eventually crashed into a post.

A British Horse Society (BHS) welfare officer was called to the scene.

She said: “We don’t know if it was definitely fireworks that terrified him, but you would assume so, since it was 5 November.”

With no owner coming forward to report the pony missing, he was moved to a green yard — a safe, anonymous yard funded by the BHS, the local council and police to take in stray horses. Vets attended the pony again this morning.

“He had a heart rate of 120bpm this morning,” said the BHS welfare officer. “His brain was swelling and he couldn’t use his front legs, so the sad decision was taken to put him down.”

A healthy horse has a resting heart rate of 38 to 40bpm. When exercising, a horse’s maximum heart rate can exceed 180bpm.

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