Mysterious Horse Killings Reported Across Texas

“YOU SEE IT ON social media all the time, but I never thought it would happen to me. Someone shot and killed our horse last night in his pasture in Port Mansfield. If anyone has any leads please let us know. I am completely devastated. R.I.P Seabiscuit.”

Those heartbreaking words showed up on my Facebook feed as I started investigating mysterious horse killings in Texas. I was able to interview the horse’s devastated owner, Jessica Neu. She said the horse was shot in the chest, head-on, and no meat was taken.

“This was in a pasture right outside of Port Mansfield, Texas. It’s the navigation district property where local kids can keep livestock and show animals.”

There is no known motive, and as she noted in her post, these killings are showing up all over the place.

The Pearland killings involved the harvest of meat. Like the death of Neu’s companion animal, the ones in Liberty were shot and left to die with no meat harvest.

In my opinion two different motives in these killings. The Pearland killings, along with a similar killing in central Florida, are most likely tied to some sort of black-market horse meat trade.

One hindquarter could possibly weigh more than 100 pounds. This would probably take more than one person to accomplish.  This makes the risk level of taking the horse, killing, and taking the meat far higher than a drive-by shooting.

The second killing is what we will focus on here, the killing of horses for seemingly no gain. Is the motive the kill itself or perhaps to terrorize the owners?

An August 5, 2020 story at Spectrum News details a July killing of a little girl’s horse in Caldwell County, where a horse was shot in the head and left to die. Caldwell County is a four-hour drive straight up Highway 77 from Port Mansfield.

Another little girl’s horse was killed last February near Poteet, according to The San Antonio-Express News. This is just an hour from the Caldwell County killing, one turn off 77 from Port Mansfield (37 North). All three of these involved kids’ pets, ag show horses, or were on the property where young people from these programs keep their horses.

Even the killings in Liberty involved a little girl’s horse. Two of the killings were the same little girls’ pets. The killer or killers shot one on December 23, 2017. The other was shot in February 2018 after someone gave her a new one. Another child’s cherished pet was killed in the same area in November 2017.

Is there a pattern here?

We have just hit the tip of the iceberg. We will cover more in future editions, but here are a few similar reports from other states: On May 26, ABC Denver 7 reported “Horse Killed in Elbert County ‘Execution Style.’”

A horse was shot in the head as if someone walked up to the horse and did it at point-blank range. This was the second horse in the area killed by gunfire.

On February 17 KNOE News 8 reported someone shot and killed a horse named “Big Mac” in Calhoun, Louisiana. The owner said she feels that she and her family are being targeted.

She said her other horses have been mysteriously released from her barn multiple times over the past year. She feels this was done by the same person who killed her horse.

A November 2019 story reveals five horses in North and South Carolina stabbed or shot. At least one of the Pearland horses was stabbed.

Is there a killer fixated on horses in Texas? What is driving the killing of horses for their meat? Why are horses the target of killings all around the nation?

These are many questions to ask, and we hope someone finds an answer soon.

 

—story by CHESTER MOORE

 

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