‘Like a horror movie’: swarm of wasps attacks horse
A rider has told of her horror after her horse was stung more than 100 times by a swarm of wasps in a freak incident.
Chloe Roberts’ cob Elvis needed veterinary treatment and her friend was taken to A&E after they were attacked.
“I went to catch him from the field after work and he was absolutely surrounded by what I thought were flies,” explained Chloe.
“The next thing I knew I had wasps stinging me.
“It was like something out of a horror movie — I didn’t know what to do.”
The 22-year-old called for help and some friends came to her aid, one of whom reacted so badly to her stings she needed to go to hospital. She is now recovering at home.
“Eventually I managed to catch Elvis — he had them stuck to him,” said Chloe, adding the horse was “dripping” with sweat.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Worried about Elvis potentially going into septic shock, she called the Damory Equine vets and hosed him to sooth the stings and cool his body down.
“His body temperature just rocketed,” she added.
Within about half an hour, a vet arrived and gave Elvis steroids and antihistamines.
“The next day he was ok — obviously the steroids and the antihistamines were still working,” said Chloe.
Elvis is now on the mend, but is still “very itchy” and has lost chunks of his coat.
The wasps were found to have come from an underground nest in the fence-line of Elvis’ field and pest controllers were called in to destroy it.
Chloe, who hunts Elvis with the Portman “as often as they possibly can” and also shows him at county level, added that her friends and the vets were “all fantastic”.
“Elvis is my absolute world, my best friend and I hate to imagine life without him,” she said.
Popular articles:
- Major four-day round-up on Bodmin Moor following welfare crisis
- Exhausted horse saved from drowning in dramatic beach rescue
- War horse Joey sells for £35,000 at charity auction
“Nothing makes me happier than hearing him nicker at me in the morning.
“He is very intelligent and has an inquisitive nature making him even more loveable, he is also a massive softy who loves a good scratch.”
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
Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.