SPCA: Horse Found Abandoned, Hit Over 100 Times By Paintballs In Lancaster County

By Jan Carabeo

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa., (CBS) – The Lancaster County SPCA is investigating a serious case of abuse after a horse was found abandoned and bruised earlier this week. Officials say someone shot the animal more than 100 times with a paintball gun.

"It's shocking and unbelievable," PennVet Associate Professor Rose Nolen-Walston said. "When you see her, your mind goes to imagine how someone could do something like that, and honestly my imagination cannot get me that far."

Veterinarians who examined the horse say she is in a lot of pain. They say the Arabian was shot nearly 130 times with a paintball gun. Each one of those paintballs caused a bruise, and health experts say she probably feels like she was hit by a Mack truck.

"It looks like it was done at close range," Kelly Smith with Omega Horse Rescue said. "She probably wasn't able to move, and that would be excruciating beyond miserable amounts of pain."

Smith helped get the 20-year-old horse help after it was discovered abandoned inside a New Holland auction barn.

"I have been going there for 25 years and I have never in my life seen anything quite like this," Smith said. "At first I thought someone painted this horse like an Easter egg, but then I realized it was a paintball gun."

The Lancaster SPCA is now searching for the owner and the people responsible for hurting the horse.

Vets say she was shot from all sides. Along with those injuries, the horse is blind in one eye and may lose the other due to an ulcer.

"Every time you touch her, she winces," Nolen-Walston said. "You can tell she is uncomfortable."

The horse's caretakers have nicknamed her Lily since she was found so close to Easter. They say it will take weeks for her to recover.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lancaster SPCA.