Pony shot with crossbow bolt saved by rug
Wiltshire police are investigating after a child’s pony was shot with a crossbow bolt.
Sandra Padgett, of Warminster, found a cut on five-year-old Lulu’s neck and a three-inch bolt lying nearby when she checked the pony on Saturday 24 September.
She said the pony’s rug probably saved its life as the dart must have glanced off.
The pony belongs to her six-year-old daughter Teagan, who was so distraught that she had to take a day off school.
It is kept at livery at Tascroft Farm, Folly Lane. None of the 27 other horses at the yard was also injured.
Mrs Padgett, of Goodwin Close, told a local newspaper: “I can’t imagine what sort of sick person would want to do something like this to a harmless, innocent animal.”
A spokesman for Wiltshire police said they were appealing for witnesses. If you have any information about this incident contact the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.