The operators of a Mississippi horse sanctuary hope the offer of a cash reward will lead them to those responsible for shooting a rescued horse.

Doll Stanley, director of the Hope Animal Sanctuary, operated by In Defense of Animals, said a 15-year-old gray mixed-breed gelding came to the sanctuary in 2006 after being found tied to a tractor tire by a logging chain, which had become embedded in the animal's neck. The horse had also been starved, and was blinded presumably by repeated beatings to the right side of its face, she said.

Stanley said the horse thrived at the sanctuary until it was shot in the face sometime between July 2 and 3; sanctuary personnel discovered the horse bleeding from its left nostril, she said. A subsequent veterinary examination revealed the horse had sustained a gunshot wound from a .22-caliber rifle. Stanley said the wound appeared to have been caused by someone driving past the horse's pasture.

“We get phone calls from (our neighbors) all the time warning us that people are driving by shooting cows and horses,” she said