'Traumatic night' for women who found dead and dying horses in field

Warning this article contains distressing images

A horse had to be put down after it was found having seizures in a muddy field.

Jacqui Short Boyce spotted the yearling lying on its back while passing by the field on Wednesday.

Volunteers spent a "traumatic night" trying to comfort the horse and later discovered two more dead horses near a wet ditch at the back of the field. They are calling for all three remains to be removed.

The local council said its animal welfare team received a report of a horse dying in the Dungannon area of County Tyrone and confirmed that an investigation is under way.

"You could clearly see this horse, that he was suffering, so I tended to him," Boyce said.

"When I actually came to the field at the start he actually whinnied at me. He was crying out for help."

She contacted a vet, but was told they would not be able to put it down without the owner's permission.

After being unable to find the owner and not hearing back from police Boyce contacted animal welfare charity My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue which put out an appeal for more help.

"I actually left in tears. There are so many local people around here somebody was bound to see these horses in the field. Why was it not reported?" she asked.

About half a dozen volunteers responded to the appeal and brought blankets and warm water for the yearling.

They stayed with the horse for several hours. When no owner appeared or could be found a vet agreed to put the distressed horse to sleep.

Martina Kenny, co-founder of My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue, said she thinks the horses may have been abandoned by their owner after getting sick or injured.

"Why would they pay for a vet? Why would they be bothered? They just leave them. It's happening all over," she said.

The cost to humanely euthanise a horse varies considerably depending on the method, time of day and location.

An animal pet insurance company estimates the average price to have a horse put to sleep by injection in the UK is about £143 - excluding transportation and cremation costs.

It added removal afterwards can cost upwards of £200.

"Every day we get reports of, horses, dogs, pigs, goats, everything. So many animals being either stranded, abandoned, locked up and chained," Kenny said.

She praised the volunteers as amazing for trying to help the horse during what was "such a sad, horrible traumatic night".

Hayley Doak, who runs a dog rescue charity in Ballygawley, said she travelled to the field after seeing the appeal online.

"I'm usually dealing with dogs so I see a lot of cruelty and neglect. I don't have much experience with equines but I felt I had to go and help," she said.

Doak added that she and the other volunteers named the yearling "Cookie".

Another volunteer, Fiona Harrison, said it should be easier for people to get help for animals in distress and she felt the authorities did not want to take responsibility for the horse.

"It was absolutely horrific to see an animal in such distress, it was just awful," she said.

The women left flowers at the field on Thursday.

In the UK causing unnecessary suffering to an animal or neglecting its welfare is a criminal offence.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that they attended the scene and referred the matter to the local council, which handles enforcement.

Mid Ulster Council said it could not comment on the case as it was a live investigation.