'˜Heartbreak' as pony dies in arms of girl

Chloe Harrison was travelling home to Leigh Park from work when she spotted the stricken animal near the road.

After going home to get changed, she returned to the scene to look after the horse until it died in her arms.

The 18-year-old said: ‘When I drove by I could see it wasn’t moving. It looked like it was struggling.

‘There was lots of mud around it and it had been kicking its legs.

‘I just kept stroking it and comforting it. You do feel useless though and think you can’t do anything.’

A RSPCA inspector, who arrived at the field near College Road shortly after Chloe last Thursday, told her the pony was suffering from ringworm. he vet and police arrived about two hours later, but the pony died before they could help,

Chloe, who works for a gas engineering company in Portchester, said: ‘You can’t quite explain what state it was in. It was heartbreaking.

‘We kept thinking it was gone but then it would start to move again.

‘It was disgusting how long he had to wait. It could have been put out of its misery earlier.’

Chloe, a regular horse rider, said it was likely the pony would have been a 13.2 cob – only between one and two years old.

An RSPCA spokeswoman confirmed it was contacted at about 3pm after concerns from members of the public about the horse.

She said: ‘On arrival our inspector found the horse was unable to stand and spasming and passing green water.

‘A vet was contacted but sadly the horse died at around 5.35pm before the vet had arrived.’

The horse was not microchipped so the charity have been unable to trace the owner.

The spokeswoman added: ‘People should be reminded that it is their legal responsibility to provide proper care for their animals, including when they are sick and in need of veterinary treatment.’