Emmerdale fans gasped 'we lost an icon tonight!' after a fan-favourite was killed off in 'undeserved' twist on Monday night. 

As viewers will know, Kim Tate (Claire King) fell off her horse Ice last week after going to investigate a shooting that happened on her land. 

Kim was rushed to hospital with a very injured leg, while her beloved animal also suffered some bad injuries. 

During the latest instalment of the ITV soap, vet Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) told Kim's stepson Joe (Ned Porteous): 'It's not good news I'm afraid. Ice's leg bone shattered, so it will never heal properly.' 

Joe asked her: 'Right, so he won't be ridden again?' 

Vanessa told him: 'It's worse than that. He's always going to be in pain. It's going to get worse over time.' 

She added: 'It's not my decision to make.'  

Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) said: 'Kim is going to be devastated. I think we should speak to her first.'

But Joe insisted: 'She's just come out of surgery, she won't want Ice suffering. Which presumably, he is?' 

Vanessa told him: 'I'm afraid so.' So Joe replied: 'Better do it then!' 

The pair then went to the hospital to visit Kim and were told that she luckily wouldn't have to have her leg amputated. 

Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) asked Kim while she was laying in bed: 'Do you remember what happened?'

Kim explained: 'I fell off Ice, I tried to get help.'

She then asked how Ice was, to which Joe said: 'Maybe get yourself a bit more together before we talk about that.'

'Please don't dodge the question,' Kim told him.

'Joe how is my horse?' 

Dawn said: 'Kim, we are so sorry.'

'Ice had some pretty serious injuries too,' Joe explained. 

'He got his food caught, tried to run and end up shattering his leg. Vanessa put him down this morning.'

Kim sighed and said: 'I see...' 

Joe told her: 'It was me that decided it was best. I promise you he didn't suffer.

'The important thing is that you're okay. We're all worried about you.'

Dawn explained: 'We were both there when Vanessa put him to sleep.' 

Joe also told her that he explored all the options before going with the final one of putting him to sleep. 

Lydia grabbed Kim's hand and told her: 'I am so, so, sorry.' 

Many rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their heartbreak over the loss.

'Lost an icon tonight on Emmerdale #Emmerdale.'

'What on earth emmerdale killing off ice Kim's favourite horse that's cruel. #emmerdale.'

'I can’t believe they’ve killed off our murderous icon ice.'

'Poor Ice Ice Baby.'

'R.I.P Ice. #emmerdale.' 

'#Emmerdale RIP Ice, you didn’t deserve to be written out just before Christmas.'

Ice first appeared on Emmerdale back in 2022. 

At the end of the episode, Lydia went home to husband Sam and told him that she was going to confess what really happened. 

The cleaner couldn't ignore her guilt after realising that they were the reason that Kim lost her horse. 

In recent weeks, Sam and Lydia started to get fed up about how Kim and Joe were treating them at the farm. 

They decided to stage a shooting on Kim's farm, however things went very wrong after snares were left out for rabbits. 

Kim went out on Ice to see what was going on, but Ice ended up getting caught in one of the snares. 

This means that they are the reason that she lost her horse. 

 It comes after a pulse-racing Corriedale trailer shows characters screaming in horror ahead of the landmark soap crossover hitting screens in the New Year. 

First announced back in May, the highly anticipated one-off event brings together the worlds of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Beloved characters from both shows are involved in a frightening car pile-up that will prove deadly. 

On Monday, a 30 second preview was revealed exclusively during The Big Quiz, hosted by Stephen Mulhern. 

Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.