A REMINDER of a past nightmare has returned to send shivers down the spines of the local horse-loving community with the news that a stallion in the Grayshott area has sustained a horrific cut wound.
The injury has been confirmed by a veterinary expert as being "more than likely" the work of a malicious knife attack.
The incident occurred overnight on September 8 at the Stallions of Substance horse yard in Grayshott Road, Fairlands.
Owner Phoebe Murray was shocked to notice blood pouring out of the young stallion's rear end when she opened the stables the next morning.
She immediately called the vet who confirmed the wound had more than likely been inflicted by a knife.
It is also strongly suspected that the horse – a two-year-old stallion called Cheyenne – had been drugged, in order that the attack could be carried out.
Police have been notified and are investigating the incident.
A blood test has been taken which will confirm whether or not the horse was drugged – the results of which will be available in 10 days.
The wound has been described by the veterinary surgeon who treated it as "fairly clean" and about seven and a half centimetres deep.
"It is also about seven and a half centimetres long and was inflicted around 15 centimetres below the horse's anus", he said.
He added: "I would say that it is a sharp edged object that has caused it. If it was a knife then it was clearly a deliberate attack."
"It could have been a piece of corrugated iron but the owners say they have had a very good look around the field and that there is nothing else there that could have done this.
"I think it is more than likely in this instance that it was a knife that caused the wound – but one cannot say conclusively."
The vet went on to say that he deals with these instances from time to time: "They are not always malicious, but I think this one was particularly suspicious," he said.
"I personally seem to deal with a couple of malicious attacks a year."
Stallions of Substance owner, Phoebe Murray, is appalled at the sinister nature of what she believes was definitely a deliberate attack.
She said: "I'm still in shock.
"I have owned horses since the age of 10 and have never seen anything as terrible as this.
"It was such a vicious place to cut a horse that I can only assume whoever did this is on drugs themselves."
Mrs Murray is now installing security cameras, automatic system lights and fencing around the area to help prevent similar instances from occurring.
She trains many young children to ride horses and regularly performs in county shows.
She was recently featured on BCC-1's television show Test Your Pet with Rolf Harris.
Mrs Murray hoped to train Cheyenne to take part in similar shows, but is concerned for his future.
"It is vital that infection doesn't set in," she said. "We won't know until eight weeks down the line. He has to start healing from the inside out."
"The horse has been definitely affected by the attack.
"He is a young stallion who I want to train up to the standard where he can do TV work, but his behaviour has definitely been affected in a big way.
"I can only compare it to a kid being abused. I don't know what sort of trust he still has.
"He's not even keen on us going in the stables at the moment. He is only two. He's obviously in a lot of pain and a lot of discomfort."
Cheyenne is currently back in the yard where the wound was sustained.
Mrs Murray said that police are checking on him every night and that someone is keeping constant watch on him as he has to be administered with drugs every four hours.
A police spokesman said: "The case in is in very early stages and we are still investigating.
"It is still yet to be confirmed as to whether or not it was a deliberate knife attack."
During a six-month period in 2003 a spate of malicious attacks were recorded on horses in the West Surrey area.
A number of horses were left with serious injuries as a result and some had to be put down.
Police at the time believed the attacks had been carried out with a bladed instrument but nobody was charged.