A pony with a horrific head wound is being constantly nursed and checked, landowners say.

A woman walker reportedly raised the alarm when she saw the Exmoor pony with what looked like a massive gash on the Dover cliffs at Langdon Hole.

But landowners the National Trust says the animal has been cared for since it was alerted and the wound has been cleaned and dressed.

The pony was diagnosed with an exploded abscess on the right hand side of its head.

A National Trust spokesman said today: "As soon as we were made aware, we moved all the ponies from Langdon Hole to a transfer compartment below the coastguard station, in readiness for confining the injured animal for an assessment by the vet."

It was alerted to the pony's plight last Thursday and said vet visited the following day and again on Monday and prescribed antibiotics.

All six ponies there have been checked several times a day.

The spokesman added: "In order to properly assess the wound, treat the underlying cause of the abscess and also treat the wound, the pony was sedated today and the wound has been cleaned and dressed by the vet."

The Trust said it followed the vet's recommendation that it should only be sedated in a confined area, a corral, as it could panic and hurt itself out in the open.

The wounded animal was moved to the corral with its companions and it will have to be kept there for at least a week.

The spokesman added: "The ponies are visually checked daily either by our team of lookers or the ranger.

"If we are treating a pony or have other reason too, we will check twice daily. They also have an annual health check with the vet."

Exmoor ponies have been grazing at Langdon since the 1980s and there are currently three others on the cliffs near St Margaret's-at-Cliffe.