Police and wildlife officers are looking into the deaths of three horses found shot dead in Sundre near Calgary on Tuesday.

The horses, a pregnant mare, a yearling and a 2 year old colt were found near the Mountain Aire Lodge campground about half a mile from the roadside.

It is thought that the horses were shot from the roadside on Tuesday afternoon.

Bob Henderson of the Wild Horse Society of Alberta said:

“For the first time in a long time, I actually cried this morning. It hurts your heart when you watch them out there, the way that they are and live out there. They’re such a beautiful, magnificent animal, and to see this needless, senseless act just sickens the heart,”

A Florida vet is blaming the deaths of 21 polo ponies on the mineral supplement Selenium which is often given to horses to help them recover from muscle fatigue.

Vet Thomas J. Holt said that tests on the ponies showed that they had above normal levels of the mineral in their bodies. He also said that the ponies had shown signs of toxic poisoning when they were dying.

Dr Garland, head of toxicology at Texas A&M’s Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory stated that the horses would have suffered a painful death after the overdose.

It is not yet known if the overdose was a vet or pharmacy error.

A stallion owned by Leona Lewis has head butted her after becoming spooked.

The X Factor winner was hit so hard that she was knocked to the floor and her lip was split. She was sent home by doctors and ordered to rest just in case she was suffering from concussion.

Leona has been riding for many years and the stallion was a birthday gift from her friends.

Ms Lewis didn’t need to have surgery on her injuries but she is resting and her album recording sessions have been put on halt for now.

Thieves who use horse and carts to transport stolen scrap metal are being targeted by Bradford police. The police will also be focusing on animal cruelty.

Police officers are looking out for horses that are illegally tethered on public ground as well as suspicious horse drawn vehicles.

With the weather improving illegal activity is set to increase. Bradford City Council, The Environment Agency and animal health inspectors are working together to deal with the problem.

When the last scheme of this type was run 21 illegally tethered horses were found, 2 anti social behavior letters were issued and 2 carts were stopped.

The family of a professional horse rider who died at Belton Park Horse Trials on Sunday have said that their only consolation is that he died doing something he loved.

Mr Olding was riding his horse Gran-Kiki when he was killed in a rotational fall.

His brother Gary said:

“He loved just being around horses. When he left school, he started out as a chef, but it just wasn’t him; horses and teaching people to event was his life.

“When he left Northern Ireland, it was almost as if he was running off to the circus. He just wanted to go eventing.

He said the family was devastated: “We are all in deep shock and we are at a loss as to what to do without him.

“Ian will be very sadly missed by mum and dad, myself, my wife Lyn and his three nephews.

“Our only consolation was that he died doing something he loved.”

Ian was originally from North Belfast but moved to Cheshire ten years ago. For the past four years he had run a successful yard based at Somerford Park Farm near Sandbach,