Pony shot with crossbow on Dartmoor
Police are investigating after a pony was shot with a crossbow on Dartmoor.
Walkers near Yelverton, Devon, found the Dartmoor hill pony with a crossbow embedded in its front leg yesterday (Thursday 22 January) at around 2pm.
“The walkers came in to our local shop and asked who they should contact to report such an incident,” H&H reader Kate Shobrook said.
“I own horses myself and I didn’t quite believe it, and just assumed that perhaps the pony had run in to a bush and got a branch stuck in it.
“We went up to investigate and sure enough there was a poor pony stood on three legs. A crossbow arrow had gone straight through the back of its front leg. It was very distressing to see the pony like that.”
Kate contacted local charity, South West Equine Protection and the local farmer and livestock owner.
“We managed to get hold of the pony and restrain it while the crossbow was cut and extracted from the pony,” Kate told H&H.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“It is horrendous to think that someone could fire a weapon like this at a living animal. Yelverton is an extremely horse dense area, there are now a lot of very worried owners.”
The owner then took the pony back to the farm for further treatment. It is hoped the pony will make a full recovery.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed to H&H that they are currently investigating.
“The farmer contacted us after finding the pony shot through the leg with an steel shafted bolt believed to be from a crossbow,” said a police spokesman.
“The bolt/arrow was still embedded in the pony’s front leg. He managed to remove it and the pony will be fine and will recover.”
Anyone with information should call the police on 101, quoting crime reference CR/005215/15.
In 2013 H&H reported on two horses that were shot by crossbows.
A pony was found with a 20-inch arrow in the face in Barnsley South Yorkshire in June 2013, while in October a Welsh section A was shot in the chest in Sussex.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.