Investigators trying to figure out who shot two Hall County horses

HALL COUNTY, Ga.,None — The Hall County sheriff's office is looking for someone who shot two horses. One survived, but the other had to be put down.

Investigators told Channel 2's Diana Davis they believe it was the result of a careless hunter.

Wade Hanes' horse, Lucky, still walks with limp one week after the shooting. The entry wound to his shoulder is still visible.

The exit wound on Lucky's leg caused massive muscle damage Hanes said.

Hanes thought the 6-year-old horse wouldn't make it.

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"It was awful, it was terrible. It was the worst thing I've ever seen around horses. He was in really bad shape," Hanes said.

Lucky and Hanes' other horse, Color, were grazing in a back pasture.

The hills nearby are full of hunters, so when Hanes heard a shot at about 6 p.m. last Tuesday night he thought nothing of it, except for the time of day.

"I told my wife there ain't no way that anybody could see deer as dark as it is outside," Hanes told Davis.

The next morning Lucky and Color didn't come to feed. When they hadn't touched their water later that day Hanes discovered them shot up in the field.

Hanes said Lucky was bad off but Color was beyond help.

"I didn't know at that point he'd gotten shot. I thought he stuck a stick in his shoulder or something and I looked at the other horse, seen his knee and knew it was over for him," Hanes said.

The vet saved Lucky. Color had to be put down.

Hanes and the sheriff assume the shooting was a hunting accident.

"Somebody, inexperienced hunter, or somebody got buck fever. It was dark when they shot," Hanes said.

Besides the death of the one horse Hanes told Davis his biggest regret is that both horses suffered alone for 18 hours before he discovered them.

WSBTV