By: Myrt Price, WFTV.com and Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com
A horse that was being boarded in Summerfield was found dismembered and butchered late last month, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
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Deputies on May 29 responded to the scene and met with Cindy Downs, the property owner who boards other people’s horses. She said that, after feeding the horses, she left the property, and all the horses were alive and well, according to deputies.
When she returned the next day to feed the horses she noticed one of the horses named Frosty, a 7-year-old female quarter horse, was missing. The owner looked for the horse and found it dismembered and butchered, then contacted the agency, according to deputies.
“I realized she had been butchered and dismembered and meat was taken from her bones,” Downs said. “The sight of the animal was the most horrific sight I’ve ever seen.”
Mari Pritchard, Frosty’s owner, was notified. Frosty was valued at $2,000, according to the incident report.
No suspect information was immediately available. Investigators say they believe horses are slaughtered because the meat is valuable on the black market and is illegal to sell in the U.S.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Around Thanksgiving, a horse was taken and found butchered in Marion County.
In early December, video shows a man lurking around a farm in Manatee County, where he allegedly stole a horse.
A few days later, Sumter County deputies said a horse was stolen and its body was located in nearby woods.
Deputies said they are in the early stages of the investigation and, so far, they don’t know if it is connected to the similar cases previously reported.
Pritchard had some advice for other horse owners.
“Keep them off the road and closer to the house. Get a dog and light up your property so they can see it from space,” she said. “Do whatever you can to keep them safe.”
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Uncategorized
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
HORSE STEALING! Seems to me I remember a hundred years ago the penalty was lethal!! Could be the laws & penalties need to be enforced a little more harshly. Make clear exactly HOW harshly! I realize some police departments dont have the resources for this. But as I recall, the FBI has called animal abuse/cruelty a felony (?) & butchering an animal that does NOT belong to you in the first place certainly qualifies as abuse – I’d say! Possibly this should be stopped before it becomes more widespread.
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If these were humans, you can bet your boots this case would have been solved. I truly believe in vigilante justice when it comes to animals. Maybe it is time!!!!!
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Please get surveillance cameras. Wyze cameras (plus 64g micro SD card) are inexpensive, no monthly fees and only require wifi. I have several , as do many neighbors and they’ve caught break ins, vandals and theives. #dontcomearoundhere
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I’m devastated to see this article and after hearing about the other couple some time ago makes me furious that these felons are not caught yet. There has to be someone out there that knows that slime ball lurking around. I know people need money but to take possessions from others to sell is bad enough, but to take their beloved furkids is the cruelest attack on any family. Then to slaughter and butcher it? What a heinous barbaric thing to do not only to that animal but this trauma will live forever in the minds of those effected. Please find these perpetrators and give them the death sentence, and nothing less!
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This is an article by a contributor to Mountain Journal. Its VERY interesting because it tells of a different way of gathering DNA from wild animals – in this case – mountain lions. But just think how this could be put to use by an agency that actively, scientifically WANTED to gather research into the DNA of wild horses!!! Maybe rather than darting them with PZP (or in addition to?) this could give information about the actual genetics of a wild horse herd! Think about it – if there was a real effort to learn about our wild horses – not just eradicate them!!
Good article – well worth reading.
Click to access MQ-Winter-2019-Science.pdf
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