Leona Lewis has reportedly been forced to delay the recording of her second album... after being head butted by a horse.

The 24-year-old prized warbler was riding the mare in Los Angeles when it inexplicably reared its head back and knocked her clean off, splitting her lip.

A source tells the Daily Mirror: Something startled the horse and it flicked its head back and smacked Leona full in the face. She was knocked flying by the force of it. Everyone rushed over to see if she was okay, she was holding her face in agony.

"Thankfully she didn’t need any surgery, but she was told to stay at home and rest just in case she passed out with concussion. She doesn’t blame the horse though - it was just one of those things."

"She had been due in the studio to record, but she felt shaken up so they had to cancel. It has pushed everything back, but she's such a grafter she'll easily make up for lost time."

(by Scott Colothan)