Bodies of three dead horses found abandoned in field

Foal and mare recovering at rescue centre

Staff from an animal-rescue centre came across the harrowing site of three dead horses in a field.

Responding to calls from distressed members of the public, Frederick Durham, was one of the first on the scene at a field near the Ashford Designer Outlet

s Durham, of The Retreat Animal Rescue Centre at High Halden, said two of the horses were in an appalling state.

“It looked like one of the horses had drowned as it was covered in ice and water, and one had what looked like a bullet wound,” she said.

The shaken animal-welfare volunteer said she and colleagues rescued a horse and foal that had been reported abandoned on the site but both animals were in a shocking condition.

The older horse, whose ribcage was showing, has been named as Gracie. She is in her late teens.

Her foal named Libby was “nothing but skin and bones” underneath her fluffy coat.

She added: “They were both absolutely freezing and had been standing among the dead horses.

“It’s beyond me how human beings can treat any animal in such a callous way.”

Both mother and foal are under the care of the sanctuary, and Ms Durham said they would need a lot of building up physically and psychologically to recover from their ordeal.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “We share concerns about the mare and foal, whose images are posted on social media. We visited towards the end of last week.

“We would expect a mare to be lean after giving birth to a foal, but in this case there were welfare concerns.

“We fully intended to follow up these concerns, but then the horses were taken into the caller’s care. .

“We are very grateful for their help in caring for these animals.

“It is heartbreaking to see the dead horses in the field, and we urge anyone with any information which may have led to these sad deaths to call us on 0300 123 8018.

“The removal of dead bodies is the responsibility of the landowner and/or the local authority if the land is public, and we understand in this case they are aware of the bodies and the need to collect them.”

‘One was covered in ice and water and one had what looked like a bullet wound’