A WOMAN has spoken of her horror at discovering her horse had been attacked with what appears to have been a rake.

The animal called Harvey suffered five puncture wounds and a fracture to the skull after being struck a heavy blow to the head in a field at West Kyo, near Stanley, County Durham.

Owner Julie Moat said: “I am horrified. I can’t believe anyone could do something like this. Harvey is such a friendly animal. He would have walked over to whoever did this.”

Miss Moat said she made the grim find when she went to take Harvey for a ride on the evening of Thursday, July 10.

She said: “He wouldn’t come up to me and was subdued, which is totally out of character.

“When I managed to approach him I noticed that he had a dent in the middle his head. On closer inspection I saw there were puncture marks on his face. He was also bleeding from one nostril.”

Miss Moat called out an emergency vet who said Harvey appeared to have a fractured skull and was severely concussed.

The vet also identified small puncture holes in the line down one side of the 16-year-old gelding’s face, which appeared to have been caused by a rake of some kind.

Miss Moat said: “Harvey has been given pain relief and is on antibiotics so we can only hope he makes a full recovery. But he will probably be scarred for life.”

PC Liam Padget, who is investigating the case, said: “This was a shocking incident and we appealing for anyone who knows who was responsible to get in touch.

“If for any reason they are not comfortable contacting the police they can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

The police non-emergency number is 101.