A HORSE may require surgery after it was shot as it grazed in a field.

The injured animal was discovered on September 16 with a deep wound in her back by her owner Christine Wakefield on her farm in Leigh.

Mrs Wakefield even had to borrow a friend’s metal detector to prove to vets that there was something lodged in the 21-year-old horse’s back.

The 49-year-old, of Walmsley Farm, Green Lane, said: “There have been lots of incidents around the back of Lilford Park recently.

“I found Sally injured when I went to bring her in. I’ve had her for 18 years and she is a tough cookie, but I could tell she was in quite a bit of pain so that’s why I borrowed the metal detector.

“The x-ray showed a bullet or pellet very close to her spine and she may need surgery to remove it.”

Mrs Wakefield is worried that shootings in the area are becoming common and is worried because young children quite often play around there.

She added: “Sally’s injuries suggest it was either a high-powered weapon, fired from far away, or an air rifle or something less powerful fired from close range,” saidMrs Wakefield.

“That means either they deliberately shot Sally or it was an accident, but with an illegal weapon.

“There are always people walking and children playing around there and I am worried that it could have been worse.”

Anyone who has any information about the incident is asked to call police on 101.