A showjumper has spoken of her devastation after her beloved pony was allegedly stabbed and sexually violated in a nightime attack.
Zoe Wright, 30, of Maud, has put up a £1,000 word reward for information following the loss of her 18-year-old mare Blaze, who was put down following the incident.
Ms Wright said it felt as if the family pet had been “murdered” after she found the pony lying on her side in her own blood in the grazing field opposite her home.
Blaze, described as a much-loved family pet of the Wrights, had been stabbed twice in the chest and was forcefully penetrated, Ms Wright claimed.
She said she did not have the words to describe those who carried out the attack and launched the reward for information on the culprits.
Police confirmed it was carrying out an investigation following the death of the horse.
Ms Wright said: “She’s a family pony. It’s like someone has murdered someone in our family. She was with us for 18 years.
“I can’t really say what type of person would do this, you would just think that if someone needed money or knew of this attack they would come forward.
“Everybody loved blaze. She was retired and was one my first ponies – I’ve had her since 1997.”
Ms Wright, who has six horses and a regular competitor on the showjumping circuit, had to decide whether to have Blaze put down given her poor condition.
She said: “The vet examined her and noticed that there was also blood coming from a small tear.
“Unfortunately Blaze collapsed at this point and the vet said the best decision was to put her down, which I agreed with as she really was in quite a bad way.”
Ms Wright said an autopsy was then carried out at the Scottish Agricultural College at Craibstone.
Horrifically, the vet discovered internal haemorrhaging from two stab wounds and internal bruising caused by what appeared to be blunt force trauma, Ms Wright said.
She added: “She had only stayed out on Sunday because I was a bit short of hay.
“When I went down, I saw the blood on her back legs. Something was wrong, but I wasn’t sure what it was. It was only when I got my vet out that we could tell something was really amiss.
“She had bled out internally, and a full autopsy report concluded that it was definitely the result of the two stab wounds and the damage to her rear-end – done by brute force.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland last night confirmed that inquiries were ongoing.
He said: “We were called to the incident in New Pitsligo in relation to an injured horse and are carrying out inquiries.”
Ms Wright said she was trying to come to terms with the attack.
She said the horse community in the area was close-knit, and that she could not think of anyone who would have targeted her specifically.
“I can’t even think about who would do this. I haven’t fallen out with anyone or had any disputes, so I just don’t know if this was done because someone thought it would be an opportune moment for themselves or not. You’d drive yourself mad trying to think about it.”
“My brother John is putting up the money for the reward. We’re all just angry about it.”
