NORWICH – A white Arabian mare who was shot as she stood quietly outside of a Town of Norwich barn is still fighting for her life.

“We really don’t know. The vet said if things don’t straighten out within a month, he doubts it’s ever going to,” said the horse’s owner, Dr. Nick DeRensis.

At around 9:20 a.m. Oct. 19, someone in a passing blue car leaned out a window and fired at the mare as it grazed 60 feet from the roadway off Manley Road in the Town of Norwich.

The shot struck the 27-year-old horse, named Minute, in the upper shoulder area with the bullet shattering into fragments that traveled internally along the animal’s spinal column, making them impossible to remove.

“There is some damaged tissue, minor internal issues, the bullet split up into pieces and hit nothing vital, but you can’t control the infection,” said DeRensis.

Initially medical professionals were not as concerned over the horse’s direct wound, as by the infection it may attract.