THE RSPCA is appealing for information, after a pony was found dumped and "half-dead" in a country lane in Surrey.
The animal, a black five year-old cob-type mare was found by the charity's inspectors in Kingsley Green, Haslemere on January 27.
She was extremely thin and weak - unable to stand - and was suffering from a severe case of worms.
A vet was called but nothing could be done to treat the horse, so she was put to sleep to end further suffering.
RSPCA inspector Rebecca Carter said: "This poor horse was in a very bad way. She had just been left there, suffering, in a half-dead state.
"She was so collapsed that she just could not get up and you could see the ground flattened around her - so it is likely she had been there for quite some time. There was bruising around her mouth from where she is likely to have been dragged to the secluded spot in her collapsed state.
"The man who found her mistook her for a log at first - she was so weak and still. It was lucky she was spotted at all really, as not many people would pass by this remote spot
"The horse was suffering so badly from redworm - a condition called cyathostomiasis - which causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.
"This is one of the major issues we see in horse neglect cases and can, like in this case, be fatal. The condition is easily treated if caught in time, which makes cases like this seem so pointless and extra cruel as they are so easy to avoid.
"She was a real sweetheart - it was just so terribly sad. I spent some time with her while waiting for the vet and tried to give her a bit of the love she had been missing. She even tried to follow me even though she was just too weak to manage it - eager to trust humans again after they had treated her so poorly."
Anyone with any information should call 0300 123 8018.
