Two Horses Shot in Gainesville
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 10:10
Two horses have been shot in Gainesville, Florida in what is believed to be an accidental shooting, with the horses having been confused as deer overnight.
Gunshots were heard on the evening of November 22nd by the horses’ owner, Wade Hanes, who assumed that hunters were after deer in the area. The next morning he noticed that his horses didn’t bother coming over when he went to feed them, although he stated that this was normal behaviour as they occasionally didn’t feel like coming over for feed.
It was only when he later returned at 3pm when he noticed that they had still not left the corner of the pasture. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the horses had been shot. Later inspection revealed that one shot had penetrated through the chest of the first horse, exiting the shoulder before hitting the second horse in the knee. Mr Hanes has stated that the leg was shattered from the knee down, and the horse was supporting itself with its other three legs.
Sadly the second horse had to be put down as it could no longer fully support its own weight, but vets are hopeful that the horse shot in the chest will recover. The case is still being investigated but it is clear to Mr Hanes that this was an accident, as both horses were wounded by the same shot. Neighbours have been questioned but no one had seen anything out of the ordinary on the night of the incident. We hope that Mr Hanes’ remaining horse recovers and that such incidents are stopped in the future.
