A woman has appealed for kind hearted animal lovers to leave her pony alone after his life-saving muzzle was removed.

Margaret Duff thinks someone felt sorry for her pony, Janus and removed the muzzle.

But he suffers from a disease known as chronic laminitus, which means he could die if he eats too much grass in one go.

She said: "The only thing we can do to prevent him eating the grass is to put a muzzle on him, but when I went out there the other day the muzzle had gone.

"Somebody had obviously been out for a stroll, gone to pat the ponies, and taken it off him."

Mrs Duff, from Norwich Avenue, Southend, said she had to buy a new muzzle for 21-year-old Janus, but it didn't fit very well so would like the old one returned.

She added: "He could have been out eating all day and half the night, and he would have died.

Janus has been at the stables in Hawkwell, for the past two and a half years, but Mrs Duff said nothing similar had happened before.

Muzzled - Janus is not allowed too much grass, says owner Margaret Dove

Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL

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