Mystery as 26-year-old miniature horse named Buttercop is found dead in Washington with a forehead gunshot wound as cops investigate second slaughter of horse in under three months

A miniature horse has been shot in Washington, the second reported to police in ten weeks. 

Buttercup the miniature horse was found dead with a shotgun wound in Maple Valley, King County, by her owner on Monday morning. 

Stevie Jacobson told K5 News how she was shocked to discover her beloved Buttercup shot dead in the pasture. 

'It was right between her eyes and a little bit up,' Jacobson said of the bullet wound.

No arrests have been made, and local police are at a loss as to the culprit and motive.  

A miniature horse has been shot in Washington, the second reported to police in ten weeks

Buttercup the miniature horse was found dead with a shotgun wound in Maple Valley, King County by her owner on Monday morning

Stevie Jacobson discovered her beloved Buttercup dead in her pasture on Monday

'Nobody was in the pasture,' said Jacobson.

'We've kind of looked around. They had to have done it from up at the road.' 

'Why?' she said.

Adding: 'Somebody's just purely evil... is the only thing I can think of. Why would you do something like this?'

'She didn't want to be caught. She'd run around and she'd challenge us,' Jacobson said of Buttercup. 

Buttercup is a great loss to another of Jacobson's other horse Peanut, who is blind in one eye and was 'pair bonded' with Buttercup for security.

'She would just kind of follow Buttercup around and be like, 'Okay, where are you going? I better go there,' Jacobson explained. 

No suspects have been identified according to local police.  

It comes just ten weeks after another horse was shot dead in Washington.

Delanie Greer discovered her beloved horse LeMon had been shot dead outside his stall in Tacoma on December 17

'Every morning I have to walk up and remind myself that you're gone' LeMon's heartbroken owner wrote 

Brandon Gerner, 41, was charged with animal cruelty as well as with first and second degree murder on Wednesday

In December, horse owner Delanie Greer discovered her beloved horse LeMon had been shot dead outside his stall in Tacoma.

Brandon Gerner, 41, killed LeMon as a sacrifice to his friend Kody Olsen, who died after a shooting involving Pierce County police, prosecutors alleged. 

'My horse was shot three weeks ago on my parent's property' Greer wrote on Facebook. 

'Every morning I have to walk up and remind myself that you're gone,' Greer added in her heartfelt tribute to her beloved pet. 

'People say you didn't deserve this, but no living thing deserves what happened to you' she added. 

Writing after Gerner's arrest, Greer added: 'He says he did it as a sacrifice but in your death you linked him to another murder… even in death you're helping people.'