Horse 'saves its life' by painting

The stallion's artworks sell for up to $500

A former race horse turned artist has managed to prolong its life by selling some of it paintings.

Metro suffered from a debilitating knee condition when he was adopted by Ron Krajewski in 2009.

The artist from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, noticed how the horse like nod his head and thought he might be able to teach him to paint.

After training Metro with treats, he began to hand him a paint-dipped brush with which the stallion could splash on a canvas.

The resulting paintings have been successful and hundreds of the works have been sold.

"Metro's brush strokes are nothing a human can make, because he doesn't think about what he will do before he does it,” Mr Krajewski told the BBC.

“His strokes are thick, random and sometimes broken, which lets other colours show through. It all just vibrates on the canvas.”

With Mr Krajewski’s help, Metro can paint up to four pictures at once.

Metro’s paintings can sell for up to $500 (£386) and the funds they have raised have gone towards an experimental treatment, named Tildren, for the knee condition Metro was afflicted with.

"Within a few months X-rays showed the bone growth had receded. It has added years to his life," Mr Krajewski told the broadcaster.

Around half the profits from the paintings are donated to a charity which cares for retired racehorses.