Horse breeder Mark Hope has spoken of his shock after his award-winning brood mare Darcy was shot in the face with a rifle.

Police believe the 11-year-old former dressage horse was caught by a poacher’s stray bullet while she grazed in a field near Great Bedwyn and Chisbury Woods.

The bullet left a gaping hole beneath her left eye and went into her skull.

A vet had to remove shattered bone from the wound but could not find the bullet.

Mr Hope said if it had been centimetres higher it would have killed her.

“It’s really concerning because it could have been a member of staff that was hit. We have five dogs and we take them for walks around that field,” he said.

A groom found her shocked and bleeding at 6.30pm last Wednesday. “When the groom found her they didn’t know what had happened because all the horses in the field were shaken,” said Mr Hope.

“There was a lot of blood running down her face but at twilight it was difficult to see exactly what it was so they thought it was some sort of mark until they got up closer.

“I was absolutely devastated. We breed competition horses but I would have been just as upset if it had been a donkey, I love them all just as much.”

Mr Hope, who owns a stud farm nearby and has 20 horses, said Darcy is being looked after at the farm and it will be three months before she is well enough to return to the field.

He added: “She responded really well to treatment but it’s a big hole and she could get anything in it if she’s out in the field. It’s been a week now and there’s not much improvement.

“When she was taken in she was comfortable but obviously shocked.”

Mr Hope and his staff already regularly checked the stud’s horses but they have stepped up patrols since the incident.

PC Jeff Rice from Wiltshire police’s Rural Crime Team said: “The owner is understandably concerned for the safety of both his animals and staff who work in and around the area and we’d like to hear from anyone who knows anything about the incident.”

He said: “If you’re not a licensed owner don’t use a gun, don’t shoot on privately-owned land and find out about the area where you are shooting and what surrounds it.”

Witnesses can contact PC Rice on 101, ruralcrimeteam@wiltshire .pnn.police.uk, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.