FLORIDA (WFTS/CNN) - A bizarre attack in New Port Richey, a Florida town just north of Tampa.
Mike Santo says a 10-foot alligator took a gash out of his horse.
“The gator came up behind him cause that's where they attacked and grabbed him from the rear end," said Santo.
The attack happened on a pasture while the horse was cooling off in a pond.
Crown- a former race horse turned rodeo-- now needs 35 pills in the morning, 35 more at night.
"There's turtles, there's bass, there's birds, there's rabbits, there's - otter there's plenty for an alligator to eat. And he picked a horse," said Santo.
State wildlife officials announced plans to issue an additional 1300 county-wide alligator permits starting next week.
Additional 1,313 county-wide #alligator permits available for 2018 at https://t.co/cuwUiNpo1T beginning July 10 at 10 a.m. ET. https://t.co/vVMJtGsROe #Florida pic.twitter.com/xN6jTsVvg3
— MyFWC (@MyFWC) July 5, 2018
A state-wide hunt helps control the gator population.
Santo says he believes someone was feeding the gator that attacked his 1,000-pound horse.
They're expecting crown to make a full recovery- he's been part of the family for the past 2 decades.
Santo says medical billS could cost nearly $10,000.
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