Kit the 7-year-old former racehorse (Picture:Ross Parry)

A woman found Kit, her seven-year-old former racehorse, dead in her front garden after it had been shot dead by stable staff.

It is believed to have been carried to owner Beckie Warner’s North Yorkshire property in the bucket of a JCB and left covered in a blood-stained sheet.


Kit was shot dead allegedly over an unpaid bill of £30 for the stabling of the horse.

Some have made a comparison between this grim incident and the infamous horse head scene from the 1972 film, The Godfather.

Ms Warner, mother of two, said of the crime: ‘Somebody from the centre phoned me last night and told me to pay up, but I said I would be paying them at the end of the week and they seemed fine with that.

Mother of two, Beckie Warner

‘They told me if I don’t pay up they would tie my horse up in my garden.’



The owner of GC centre that stabled Kit, Edward Harvey Johnson, has claimed that due to lack of payment they were obligated to transport the animal to Ms Warner’s home at the earliest opportunity.

As they were unable to get the animal safely into the horse box to travel to the property, he explained they were further obliged to engage a licensed professional to put the animal down to allow easier transportation.

The owner of GC centre that stabled Kit, Edward Harvey Johnson (Picture: Ross Parry)

Johnson said: ‘We removed the destroyed horse for them to dispose of in the correct or legal manner, as is the responsibility of the owner.’

‘We are satisfied it was handled in the best possible way and we fulfilled our obligations for the safety and well-being of the general public.’

North Yorkshire Police have confirmed a 36-year-old man and a 53-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remain in custody.

The seven-year-old former racehorse had been loaned by Ms Warner since July who was intending to buy the filly from Elizabeth King and her partner, Chris Green.

Mr Green described their reaction: ‘It was barbaric, we just can’t believe it when we got there last night and saw our horse in the garden it didn’t feel like it was really

happening.’

The awful scene that awaited Ms Warner (Picture:Ross Parry)

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