High drama played out on social media recently involving two horses on an Oldham County farm and their owner. It started early on a Friday morning when the animals somehow got loose and ended up on the property of a nearby neighbor in the Brownsboro area.
Woman leading a rescued truly malnourioused horse
The entire situation quickly devolved into one of cries for horse lovers to take matters into their own hands through modern day vigilante action.
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A furor arose on social media when pictures of the senior horse, 29 years old and showing ribs, were posted where many people jumped to the conclusion that the horse surely must be the victim of neglect and underfeeding. In short order, the postings of Internet armchair investigators quickly took on an air of vigilante “justice” with an angry social media mob crying out for retribution to be taken against the long-time owner of the two animals.
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed at Oldham County Animal Control which promptly made an on site inspection and made a referral to an experienced veterinarian for a professional assessment of the health and condition of both animals.
By the next day, rumors were rampant on social media as various armchair veterinarians weighed in with threats against the senior citizen owner and plans to liberate the horses from their 40 acre farm by any means necessary.
Numerous armchair investigators jumped to the conclusion that the horses needed to be immediately rescued, many criticizing Animal Control for taking the time to exercise due process in investigating the conditions surrounding the care and condition of these two animals. Only one of the two horses was showing ribs. The story quickly spread that three animals were involved and with each iteration of retelling, the owner became more of a monster.
The entire situation quickly devolved into one of cries for horse lovers to take matters into their own hands through modern day vigilante action. Someone flew a drone over the farm, while others plotted ways to “rescue” the “abused” animals.
As the story was told and retold by the armchair investigators, Oldham County Animal Control was vilified online for taking the time to exercise due process in its investigation. Some people even called in local television media to investigate.
By nightfall, someone called Oldham County Police to check on the animals and I also responded as the district Constable, being familiar with the parties involved. It was too dark to locate the horses that night, but I returned at daybreak the next morning to conduct a welfare check and photograph the two horses until the veterinarian could respond at the beginning of the week.
Both horses were grazing amid lush grass and water was readily available to them. Other social media reports that the horses had been shot and buried to hide evidence of neglect proved to be totally false.
Five days after this firestorm of animal activism played out, the decision was made by the owner to put down the older horse. This helped quell critics who were demanding immediate action, never mind the facts.
Some undoubtedly believed that frontier justice was well served, while others thought euthanasia was not the proper course of action and the animal should have been “rescued” from its owner for allowing it to grow old. This was a great example of why we have protections of due process in this country. Happily the days of lynch mobs and vigilante justice are behind us, though sadly, there were times recently that I wasn’t completely sure of that.
Barry Wilding, District 8 Constable
Press release by Albert Harrison - Letters to the Editor - Oldham Era News - See complete article HERE