A SWANSEA mum stumbled upon a dead horse while out walking with her five-year-old daughter and dog.
Catherine Clutterbuck found the mare among trees in Long Ridge, Mayhill.
"It is horrific to see some- thing like this," she said.
"She appeared to have suffered.
''There were paw marks on the ground. She had a rug on but it was really thin — I could see she had protruding bones."
It is the latest of several cases involving horses that have caused concern or been found dead in Swansea.
The Post has previously chosen not to publish pictures of dead horses, but such is the concern about their welfare that we have decided to print this photograph of Mrs Clutterbuck, daughter Maya and dog Allie with the mare lying in a heap in the background.
It was the least disturbing of the photographs submitted.
Mrs Clutterbuck, who keeps horses on Gower, said she contacted the police, the RSPCA and Swansea Council following Saturday's grim discovery.
She estimated the coloured mare was around eight years old and so had not died of old age.
"They live till 30 or 35," said Mrs Clutterbuck, of Baptist Well Street.
She added that some local boys told her they had seen the mare at the spot in question the previous afternoon.
The mum said Maya was "a bit spun out" by what she had seen.
The Post has been inundated with letters, phone calls and emails in recent weeks from residents concerned about the welfare of some urban horses. But responsible horse owners may be feeling the actions of a few are giving all owners a bad name.
The charity Cyrenians Cymru has proposed building a new equine centre in Swansea, partly in an effort to help recovering drug addicts.
