When Jade Walters loaned out her beloved horse Magic to help a young girl learn to ride , she did n't realise she would never see him again . Miss Walters , 21 , was horrified to discover that the family looking after Magic had sold him at auction for just £200 . Magic 's fate has sparked fury in the equestrian community , and an appeal for his whereabouts has been shared 58,000 times on social media sites . Jade Walters , 21 , was shocked to discover the family she loaned her beloved pet horse Magic to had sold the animal ( pictured right and left being ridden by Miss Walters ) for £200 . Selling a horse at auction is notoriously risky – bidders are not vetted and some horses are bought for slaughter . Miss Walters said : 'We would never in a million years have considered sending Magic to auction – they 're horrible places . The thought makes me cry . ' It was two months before she discovered the horse had been sold – making it all the more difficult to trace Magic , who could have been taken out of the country or sold to an abattoir . Miss Walters , who had owned the 17-year-old chestnut pony for seven years , said : ' I consider him like a child , he thinks of me as his mum and he 's been taken from me . My heart is broken . 'He could be anywhere by now , I do n't know how to find him and even if we do , what state will he be in ? ' The care assistant from High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire , advertised for a temporary owner last year after the cost of his upkeep went over £4,000 a year . A woman in the West Country responded and took Magic to help her daughter improve her riding . Miss Walters pictured with her new horse Lad after her previous pet was sold at auction without her knowledge . Miss Walters said : 'He was getting very expensive . Loaning a horse is common for people who ca n't afford the expense of the purchase but can afford the upkeep . So while they do n't have ownership , they have a duty of care . ' I was naive . The woman I loaned to seemed very respectable and said she wanted her 12-year-old daughter to get more experience riding . ' But after six months , Magic 's temporary owner said keeping the pony was too expensive and he was proving too difficult for her daughter to ride . They agreed that she would help Miss Walters look for an experienced rider to buy him for £500 . But just 12 days later , on February 10 , Magic was auctioned . However , Miss Walters did not find out until last week when she decided to bring Magic home . 'He has always been treated like a prince , so being fought over at an auction by a crowd looking for a quick deal makes me sick . ' Her mother Julia , 53 , said the woman had no right to auction Magic , adding : 'The arrangement was that if she had any interested parties , she would pass them to me . 'In no way was Magic to be sold without our knowledge . ' Last night , the seller insisted there was 'another side to the story ' , but declined to comment further .
Jade Walters , 21 , loaned her horse Magic to help a young girl learn to ride . But she was horrified to discover the family looking after him sold him . She claims it was two months before she found out he was sold for £200 . Notoriously risky horse auctions often see animals being sold for slaughter .