Horse mauls drunk man in St. Petersburg, bites off his nose

A 25-year-old male resident of St. Petersburg lost his nose after he wanted to kiss a horse in the center of the city, Interfax reports.

According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in St. Petersburg, a young man, in a state of alcoholic intoxication, started putting the moves on a woman on horseback. Afterwards, the man decided to kiss the horse that the woman was sitting on, although the woman warned him that the animal might bite him.

The man decided to proceed with his intention despite the warning. The horse bit off the man's nose, and the victim had to be hospitalized.

The police noted that if he had tried to approach the horse from behind, he could have suffered much more serious injuries, for example, an open cranial injury or a brain injury.

The injured man, named only as Vasily, told the Fontanka newspaper that he does not feel physical pain - he feels morally crushed. Recollecting the circumstances of the incident, the man said that the rider offered him to take a carrot to feed the animal. However, he refused to acknowledge that he wanted to kiss the horse:

"I had a drink yesterday, but I would never go to kiss a horse, because it is dangerous. I wanted to stroke it. I gave it a carrot that the woman gave me, but then the horse turned its head and bit me!"  said Vasily.

The man received surgery that went successful. Doctors say that there is every chance the nose would heal.

Professional horse breeders believe that the animal did not like the man. "Horses do not like drunk individuals, because they smell. They do not like the way that drunk people behave - they may display aggression, wave their hands and try to hug and kiss the animal. The animal may perceive this behaviour as an attack," Anna Goncharova, a zoopsychologist and horse owner said.