Deadly attack by horse stuns rescuers; rabies
                  test planned

                  Associated Press, 05/06/98 11:09

                  NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A horse was shot to death after it attacked
                  and killed a farmer and then tried to stomp a would-be rescuer. A rabies test
                  was planned.

                  Billy Camron, 64, was in a pasture about 20 miles southeast of Nashville
                  when the horse, owned by him and his son, attacked Monday. A neighbor
                  tried to help but was chased away by the horse.

                  Camron sustained 22 rib fractures and died from internal bleeding.

                  ``We found definite evidence of hoof and bite marks on the upper torso and
                  face,'' said Dr. James Kennedy, Williamson County medical examiner. ``I
                  believe the victim was accosted on the ground by the horse, but was able to
                  get up and get to his tractor. He died sitting in the seat.''

                  Volunteer firefighter Lisa Sanford, one of several rescuers who came to the
                  scene, said the horse appeared, galloping and baring its teeth, as they made
                  their way toward Camron.

                  She jumped into a nearby car, but the horse ``wouldn't leave me alone. It
                  started running around the car every time I moved.'' The horse reared,
                  stomped and tried to climb the car, denting it. A deputy then shot the horse
                  to death.

                  Sgt. Robert Dillon of the Williamson County sheriff's department quoted
                  Camron's son as saying ``it was just a mean horse'' that had become violent
                  once before.

                  But rabies tests were planned. The disease is rare in horses but not
                  unheard-of. In March, veterinarians at Michigan State University issued a
                  warning to horse owners that a new strain of rabies was believed to be
                  spreading from the East Coast to the Midwest. Infected horses could start
                  behaving aggressively or become hyperexcited, they said.
 

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