Man arrested on suspicion of beating horse to death

A Californian man has been arrested on suspicion of bludgeoning his horse to death with a sledgehammer before decapitating it with a chainsaw and feeding it to his dogs.

Riverside County police said they were called on Sunday (19 April) by 64-year-old Jack Ziniuk from Anza, who said his horse had been attacked by dogs.

But on arrival police found the animal had been repeatedly struck around the head with a sledgehammer before being decapitated.

The officers found the chainsaw and sledgehammer on the property, along with the horse’s head — which had been fed to the dogs.

Mr Ziniuk was arrested on the grounds of animal cruelty.

The carcass has been sent to a state laboratory for a necropsy.

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