Someone apparently impaled a horse in Harwich with the handle of a pitchfork this weekend, forcing the animal to undergo an emergency operation to save its life.

Harwich police said they were called around 9 a.m. on Sunday to a barn at CB Equestrian on Derby Lane in North Harwich, where they concluded the animal had been impaled in the corral sometime overnight on Saturday.

Besides the injured horse, Scottie, three other horses had been let loose from their stalls, according to Claire Bangert, who runs and owns CB Equestrian.

Thanks to a veterinarian who rushed to the scene, Bangert said, Scottie survived the removal of the handle, and following a subsequent successful operation he’s now “perky, hungry, and stable.”


She said the local community has offered selfless support in the wake of Scottie’s attack.

“To those who have and continue to show up, reach out, help, bring meals, install security, give hugs, mend fences, make calls, we are immensely grateful,” Bangert said. “I will continue to believe that there is more good than evil, more help than hurt, and more love than hate in this world.”

She said while the other four horses are now secured and surveilled, continued prayers for Scottie’s healing is important.

“We will lean on each other and move forward,” Bangert said. “We never thought such an atrocity was possible.”

A GoFundMe Bangert started to support the pony’s recovery, offset medical costs and increase the barn’s security had reached $23,990 of its $25,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.

The Harwich Police Department said it is investigating the incident as a felony offense against an animal.

“We are deeply disturbed by this heinous attack on a defenseless animal,” police wrote in a press release Monday.

Police urge anyone who lives in the area with security cameras or anyone with information to contact Detective Sergeant Bob Brackett at 508-430-7541.