Ananova:

A US couple have been arrested after officials discovered a miniature horse living in their kitchen and dining room.

They were charged with child endangerment as the woman's son had been sleeping in a tent inside his bedroom to protect himself from flies.

Police officers in Modesto, California, told the San Francisco Chronicle they did not know how long the horse had been there.

But police animal control supervisor John Bear said: "The conditions were horrendous.

"This miniature horse had been housed indoors for I'm guessing a good length of time by the amount of animal waste that was built up inside the house."

Mr Bear said the boy, who he estimated to be between 10 and 12-years-old, was taken into care.

Joe Curtis Silva, 30, and the boy's mother, 37-year-old Nichole Surkala, were jailed on suspicion of child endangerment.

The horse and the dogs were taken to the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services.

"The animals were not in what I would consider to be bad shape," Mr Bear said, adding that no charges of animal cruelty were issued.