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Horse purposefully drowned in river by owner

2K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  jaydee 
#1 ·
I've read about so many cases this year of horses miserably dying and some really heart breaking stories, but this one might just take the cake. This story made me cry, it's just so sad but also incredibly upsetting.

I know it may not be a story that everyone wants to hear about, but let's remember this poor boy for who he was. He so didn't deserve this. This is a story that should be shared because this boy needs to be remembered. This just happened 2 days ago and it has spread on Facebook like wild fire.

Horse Purposefully Drowned in River | News of the Horse

God bless to the group of people who tried to save him. I'm incredibly upset at the SPCA for not coming out to see him when the group called them. Thank you to the vet who made it out there, but it was too late. :(

If I was in the situation, I would have jumped in that freezing cold water to save this horse. I would have done anything to save this boy. :icon_frown:
 
#2 ·
Sure it really happened, an dis not an urban legend? How reliable is that source?
I would think it would not be easy to sit on the head of a horse and down it Ever tried to hold a horse down, without sedation?
Cat get drown in sacks, but there are certainly easier ways to kill ahorse.
Call me a skeptic, until the report is in some reliable news paper
 
#4 ·
There is apparently an investigation going on, but this is so sketchy. First of all the woman who reported this is not a horsewoman, and originally thought the people were bathing their horse. TBH, I am more likely to believe that they were either bathing or riding (possibly breaking in deep water) this pony and it got stuck and they abandoned it. Terrible but IMO more likely.

I find it extremely hard to believe that no emergency services came out, ever, besides one vet.

There is some absolutely vile racist rhetoric going on in the comments of the original post.
 
#5 ·
I have a hard time believing anyone would kill a horse the way it was described in the article. Why not just turn it loose or give it away?

I think it's more likely the horse drowned somehow by accident. There was an incident several years ago of a horse drowning in a lake near me. I tried to find the newspaper article but all I found was people discussing it on forums. Anyway, the horse drowned in the lake after being repeatedly swam across. Rumor has it his leg got caught in a lead rope or rein or something, but I don't know for sure. I have also heard that if you tried to swim a horse with a tie-down on it will drown. Which makes sense.

The article *could* be true but it sounds like whomever witnessed it didn't know a thing about horses so it's hard to tell what actually happened. There are a lot of assumptions there! Bite marks on the legs making it go lame? So we better drown it? That sounds pretty hokey!

But either way the poor horse drowned. :x
 
#6 ·
Sounds pretty darned sketchy to me, too. NOBODY would help, and only ONE vet would come out? Yeah, I find that extremely hard to believe.


The article is poorly written, obviously slanted, and from an on-line rag that seems to be all flash and trash, with no actual substance.


Maybe it's time to stop being so gullible, and stop deliberately looking for things to start controversy.
 
#7 ·
Considering all of the horse neglect and abuse that's currently going on in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and that most of the cases are 'gypsy cob/gypsy vanner' types it wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that its true
Trailhorserider - a lot of them are already running loose or being 'fly grazed' on other people's land and you literally cannot give them away because no one wants them. They have no microchips or passports so can't be legally sold or passed on to a private buyer, can't even be sold for meat,
The rescue centres are overflowing with them already so the easiest way for these people to dispose of a horse that they can't afford to keep any more, is to kill it yourself and leave the untraceable body somewhere.
Dead horses are turning up on waste sites, the sides of the road etc. all the time Its becoming commonplace
 
#8 · (Edited)
Not saying horses aren't killed and abandoned-happens here also. In fact, auction marts started to lock up facilities, so horses could not be dumped off and left, esp when horses were selling for less that the commission!
People that were hauling horses, started to lock their trailers over night, so that an extra horse would not be in it.
However, trying to drown a horse by sitting on his head? I doubt that would be even possible. You have to be very experienced, just to hold a horse down on the ground, without sedation
Bite marks on the legs? Thus the poster, having no horse knowledge, concluded the horse (pet) was 'drown because he might become un sound. I certainly am open to believing people deliberately kill horses, but this story is just a bit too far fetched. I guess anything is possible!
Could the horse have had his legs trapped, thus those ethnic minorities might have tried to restrain him, to free feet? I mean, how did three women in the first place, throw a horse in the river, then sit on his head? Could they then just have given up, far as freeing him. ?
Just playing Devil's advocate!
 
#9 ·
Yeah, I'm not really buying it. Not enough detail, and not everything posted on Facebook is true. Most of it is just fake media to draw you in. Plus, it doesn't make sense that no emergency personnel would come out for something like that. Or that all those people wouldn't help? Not buying it. The source doesn't seem very legit either. I just can't believe everything I read.
 
#13 ·
I will say one thing, never under estimate what the SPCA may or may not do. About 3 weeks ago, there was a post on Facebook of a very emaciated gelding who was abandoned in an empty shelter. Looks like he hadn't eaten in months. The story spread online like wild fire, thousands of people posted wanting to help this guy out, many (including myself) called the SPCA down there (Houston), and I never even got a call back. The SPCA never went out to get this boy, even though he was in desperate need. People even found direct names to contact, contacted the police, animal rescue, the chief and no one gave a **** about this boy.

He is most likely gone by now. This story made me so upset as I followed it and found out that no SPCA would go out there.
 
#14 ·
I'm not saying everything is made up, but a story like this just doesn't add up for me. I could be wrong of course, but that's just my opinion.

There is definitely a lot of wrong in the world. It is sad. That is a shame.
 
#17 ·
Well, if it is true then that is indeed such a shame. Sad people would not help. If you see something, do something needs to happen more often.
Whoever wrote the story needs to maybe add more detail next time, the way it was written made most of us think it was not true.
That is pretty disturbing.
 
#18 ·
This is the short report from the local news - according to this a full report is going to be in this weeks newspaper


Outrage over horse drowning in River Nore in Kilkenny - Kilkenny People


This is the report from another newspaper
QUOTE
'Shocking pictures of the animal were posted on social media by a local woman who thanked passersby and a local vet for trying to save the horse, despite it being too late to help.
She said that when she saw the horse she tried to save it: “As freezing cold as the water was, I hopped in and was able to get the poor baby’s head above water.
She wrote: “He was still alive at this stage but barely. We asked every passer by to help us and to the ones that did I am forever grateful.
“It took eight of us to get him out including a gentleman who got into the freezing cold river with me to push him from behind.”
The woman complained that the Kilkenny Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (KSPCA) referred them to Gardai who in turn reportedly said it was a matter for the KSPCA.'
 
#19 ·
Thanks, Jaydee for more info, far as sources.
You are quite right that people not living where incidents occur, often don't have a true sense of the situation.
I will take the PMU situation as an example,living where many PMU farms existed
After new research, linking HRT to increased risk of heart disease, which it was supposed to prevent, along with the already known associated risk of breast cancer, that industry plummeted.
However, unknown to many, the drug companies gave very good buy out compensations. They continued for an entire year, to pay those farmers, the same quota as when those mares were on line, plus had feed provided for a year
Yet, the media was flooded with reports of poor PMU mares, with those ranchers unable to feed them, all the while they were laughing, carrying that money to the bank! Those PMU ranchers, retired rich, with many having built indoor arenas, based on those urine quotas, thus fueling their other hrose interests
They were already in the black, before those by products (foals) ever hit the ground, and any selling price for them was ;gravy
Yet how many sites were dedicated to rescuing these poor PMU foals and mares????
 
#22 ·
This is awful. I just don't get it. People that have pleasure hurting innocent animals have serious mental issues.
If they don't want the horse anymore just sell, ask a rescue to keep him or just shoot him in the head, done properly will hurt less.
I've seen a video where authorities just arrived in time to save a horse from being buried alive with the help of a backhoe (hope that's the right word). He was already so covered in dirt, and so miserable :-(

In here (Portugal) people get away with all kinds of torture, from beating horses to death because they can no longer pull a cart or leaving them wondering loose in suburban areas where they sure can't find food or water. Once I saw on the news one of those poor horses that fell on a ditch and struggled for hours, legs up, until he died. Apparently other than recording the sad event no one did nothing. I spent the rest of the day sick. My country only has ONE horse sanctuary, and it belongs to an english lady... That's what it is :-(
 
#23 ·
It just makes me sick to my stomach, so many people are in the industry for all the wrong reasons. It's all about their greed and self worth, self satisfaction to them.

However, what I do enjoy watching is the wonderful crews and groups of people who will do anything to save a horse in need. Seeing this stuff just makes my day. :loveshower:
 
#24 ·
A bit late to the "party" on this thread, but it reminds me of a sad incidence at Appleby horse fair (large traveller gathering) in 2007 where a horse drowned in the river.

Whilst it wasn't intentional, it shows it is possible to drown a horse. At Appleby, it is traditional to take the horses in the river (sort of a good luck token). A lot of people will just wash the horses and use a bucket to rinse, but many swim the horses as well. Some abide by the tradition that the horse has to be fully dunked (head included), which is what happened to this horse that drowned. He was dunked multiple times whilst apparently in obvious distress, before he became unresponsive.

Unfortunately the rider/owner fled the scene, but was eventually found and charged. Whilst I agree there are huge issues in the traveller world, I will leave food for thought in the form of a photo - the people that many are quick to tar with the same brush, are of the same community that are shown here having made a human chain to drag the horse out of the river, but sadly to no avail.

(Non-graphic image, but some may find it upsetting)

 
#25 ·
I grew up around 'Travellers' they used to stop off in our area every harvesting season and they were on the whole good people, even then though there were 'rotten apples' amongst them but they were pretty good at policing their own because they relied on being willing to allow them to camp on local land so offending people didn't work in their favour.
I've bought some great ponies off gypsies, my first pony was bought off gypsies and I've counted many of them as friends but something is going seriously wrong within their communities and it needs some drastic action to get under control
The children who pushed this pony into the river were possibly not even gypsies or the owners of it but local children looking to get amusement from cruelty as these cobs and ponies are just left to run free around the housing estates so fair game
 
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