A BARNSLEY woman gassed herself with exhaust fumes the day after her beloved horse passed away, an inquest was told.
Steph Lees, 42, was found slumped in her car clutching a lock of Jake's hair, her horse of 15 years.
She left a note to her parents, John and Jo Lees, saying she could not cope without Jake and a list of friends to whom money was to be given.
Assistant coroner Julian Fox accepted the cause of death as carbon monoxide toxicity.
He said Stephanie had no record of mental illness and had rarely visited her GP.
He recorded a verdict of suicide, and said: "I have no doubt at all that Stephanie did intend to take her own life and I record she died as a result of suicide.
"I hope her family can take some small comfort from this as perhaps in her mind at least she is with the horse she loved so much."
