Photo courtesy of Joan Resk

Farruco, a 10-year-old Andalusian stallion, turned up missing Thursday morning from his South Roanoke County pasture.

Joan Resk has no clue where her prize black stallion could be after he broke through his Roanoke County fence, but imagines him scared, hungry and maybe injured.

"I definitely need the help of others. I can't find him by myself," Resk said Friday, after nearly two days of frantic searching.

The stallion, named Farruco, is a rare, all-black Andalusian that Resk imported from Spain. The 10-year-old horse was gone Thursday morning when Resk went to feed him and her other three Andalusian stallions. Part of the backyard electric fence had been plowed through, leading Resk to suspect the three bigger stallions fought with Farruco and forced him to flee.

He must have taken off "sometime after dinner Wednesday and before breakfast Thursday," she said.

"I'm stumped. Usually I feel pretty confident," Resk said. "I just don't know where to go or what to do."

The terrain near Resk's Back Creek Road property near Boones Mill is hilly and wooded. It's near enough to Franklin County that Resk fears Farruco could be anywhere. She worries he'll be hit by a car or shot for wandering onto someone's property.

Roanoke County Assistant Police Chief Donna Furrow said an animal control officer helped look for the horse Thursday.

"The officer couldn't find it, and because of the location, there wasn't much that could be done after that," Furrow said.

Farruco's dark color makes the search more difficult, Resk said. She hasn't been able to find any tracks.

Farruco has a microchip with information registered in a national database, Resk said. He's completely black and between 5 and 6 feet tall. He was wearing a purple halter.

Resk said the horse is "very valuable." Purebred Spanish Andalusians can fetch more than $30,000, according to Web sites. Equusite.com estimates there are nearly 3,000 Andalusians in the United States and 20,000 worldwide. Resk said Farruco's color makes him even more valuable.

Farruco has placed second and gotten high praise in Andalusian horse competitions at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Resk said. Experts from Spain judge the Andalusians on breed-specific traits such as style, elegance and how they carry themselves, Resk said.

Resk asks that anyone who spots the horse or has information phone her at 776-8331.