Video: Horse in Turkey bites three-year-old, lifts him 3 metres in the air

Dubai: A family outing in the Turkish province of Antalya took a terrifying turn when a horse bit a three-year-old boy and lifted him more than three meters into the air, according to local reports.

The incident occurred in the Molla Yusuf neighbourhood of the Konyaaltı district, where the child’s father, Mohammed Al Qassoum, has lived with his family for about a decade.

Al Qassoum, his wife, and their son Omar were riding their motorcycle when they spotted a horse inside a wooden pen along the roadside. Wanting to give his animal-loving son a chance to interact with it, the father stopped so the boy could feed the animal.

Al Qassoum first offered the horse some grass before handing a piece to Omar to do the same. The boy’s mother began recording the moment on her phone, hoping to capture a cherished memory. What followed, however, was anything but.

As the horse bent down to take the grass, it suddenly reared up, bit the boy under his arm, and yanked him from his father’s arms, hurling him through the air more than three meters. Screams filled the air as the father rushed to pick his son up from the ground, while the mother frantically called emergency services. Paramedics arrived quickly, providing first aid at the scene before taking the boy to a hospital, where doctors found a deep bite mark and multiple bruises from the fall.

Medical staff said they were stunned when they learned the details of the incident and watched the video footage that documented it. After receiving treatment, Omar was discharged in stable condition, but his father said the experience had left lasting scars: his once animal-loving son is now afraid of them.