An elderly Hawke's Bay pony shot in the head late last month is fighting back well, but faces a crucial hurdle this week when she comes off antibiotics.
 Azra pictured after she was shot. |
Azra was
shot in the head 11 days ago as she grazed her orchard block at Clive.
The bullet, believed to be a .22 calibre round, entered the right side of her muzzle, near her eye, and is believed to be lodged near her ear.
The bullet crushed part of her sinuses and she has nerve damage, affecting her nostril and lip on the ride side.
Trevor and Cheryl Hall got Azra five years ago as a schoolmaster pony for their 12-year-old daughter, Sam, who has ridden since she was four.
The Halls own a four-hectare block which backs on to the Limestone Walkway. The offender most likely entered their property from the walkway to carry out the shooting.
Trevor says Azra has been on a powerful antibiotic since the shooting and will receive the last dose today [Tuesday].
"It will then be 48 hours before we see if there is any sign of infection.
"The bullet has shattered her sinus area on the right side," he says. "It has caused some nerve damage to her face, affecting part of her nostril and her lip on the right side.
"Because it has crushed her sinus area, she now has a constant discharge out of her right eye."
Discharge that would normally have come out through the sinuses was now coming through the tear duct, he explained.
"The wound has almost completely crusted over," he said.
There is a possibility that the bullet may come to the surface near the ear, but there is no sign of it as the moment.
Trevor said the vet came to see Azra last Friday and was of the view that Azra should come off antiobiotics at the end of her course, after which it would soon be known whether the drug had been masking any infection.
Azra, he said, was comfortable and eating well.
She is on anti-inflammatories and the swelling to her face has gone down a lot.
She is behaving much like normal, apart from the partial paralysis from the nerve damage to her face.
He said the family had been inundated with messages from well-wishers by phone, text and email, and had received many visitors.
"It's been overwhelming, to be honest."
He said they had received an email from a previous owner of Azra, and it transpires she was born in 1977, making her 33 years old. The Halls had always thought she was 28.
The writer had outlined Azra's history and it made fascinating reading, he said. She had been an accomplished show jumper in her younger years.
"She was very, very well known in her day," he said.
He had not heard whether there had been progress in the police inquiry, but said the community constable who attended the incident was a fantastic guy and he knew he would have his ear to the ground.
The shooting of Azra was a senseless crime, Trevor said.
"I strongly agree that whoever was responsible needs to have their time in court."
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