Horse lovers in Wanganui are concerned that horses being kept in the Castlecliff area may have been abused and that one has been attacked with peroxide bleach.
Pictures have emerged on a Facebook page of a horse with an inflamed bald patch on its head. The owner could not be contacted by the Chronicle.
A local horse owner who does not wish to be named said the horse may have been abused by someone who was seeking to take revenge against the owner.
"Something is rotten in the state of Wanganui equine society," she said.
The person alleges that some horses in the Wanganui District Council region have been ill-treated for some time and that council bylaws are not adequate to deal with the problem.