Pitbull alert after young horse mauled

By ELIZABETH BINNING

A terrified riding teacher and two builders used a lump of wood and a spade to stop two pitbulls' frenzied attack on a young horse.

The bloody mauling left the horse, Flossy, with more than 40 puncture wounds on her legs, a gaping wound on her cheek, a split tongue and a torn lip. She is healing but not out of danger. The dogs are still on the loose.

Tooki Riggs was alerted to the horrific attack in her South Auckland paddocks by the sounds of a horse in distress. "I thought it had got tangled with its cover in the mud. I carried on walking down and then I saw what looked like a log hanging from its head collar."

Mrs Riggs found a pitbull terrier hanging from the horse's bloodied head and another tearing at its stomach. "The worst thing was the dogs weren't making any sound. It was like the silent killers."

Mrs Riggs grabbed a piece of wood and a lead rope and started hitting the collared dogs, trying to get them to release their grip on 8-month-old Flossy.

"I distracted the one hanging on her head and it fell off but then he got a hold of her on the cheek. I was just yelling, absolutely screaming my nut off," she said.

Mrs Riggs, who looks after the horses grazing in the Flat Bush paddocks, ran back to her house to call dog control rangers and a vet.

By the time she returned two builders from a neighbouring property had rushed over to help. Using a spade, they managed to scare the pitbulls, which then turned on two other yearlings in the paddock.

"Eventually the builder hit [one] really quite hard on the head and he gave up but it was about 15 minutes of screaming, hitting, kicking - you name it - to distract the bloody thing," Mrs Riggs said.

Flossy's owner, Katie Brenstrum, who arrived at the paddock shortly after Wednesday morning's vicious attack ended, said she had nothing but praise for Mrs Riggs and the builders. "If it wasn't for their quick reactions that filly would be dead, I have got no doubt about that."

Barry Gillingwater, managing director of DSS Animal Management, said dogs which have attacked once do not normally stop.

The priority now was to catch the pitbulls, one which was coloured tan, the other white.

Residents are urged to report sightings of the dogs to the Manukau council's 24-hour line, (09) 262-5104.