A 17-year-old rescue horse has been put down after an unknown assailant injected her with gasoline.
Jolean, a Paso Fino horse, initially had a spot of blood on her shoulder last Monday which her owner, John Hoogerhyde, believed to be an insect bite.
However the horse's neck began to swell and she was left bloated and in so much pain that she couldn't lie down. Two days later, she had to be put down at the small horse farm in Belleview, Florida
Mr Hoogerhyde told MailOnline today that he had rescued Jolean 18 months ago from a cruel farm where she was beaten and starved.
He said: 'It was a complete transformation, we had her loving people again.'
Mr Hoogerhyde kept Jolean and two other horses on his land on Southeast 55th Avenue Road alongside a neighbor, who also has three horses.
He said: 'I noticed a blood spot on her shoulder last Monday but it looked like a bug bite. I gave her medication but she began to swell and bloat. Two days later, she couldn't stand and we had to take her to be put down.
'The vet who did the autopsy asked me: ''Did you pour gasoline on this horse?'' which I told him I would never do.
'The vet said the smell of gas when they opened Jolean up was overpowering.'
It is unclear how much gasoline Jolean had in her body as the chemical ate into the horse's tissue after it was injected.
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