Someone broke into the ranch and cut off the manes of 20 horses. Why would someone steal their own hair?

Austin (Kanzan) — About 20 minutes from Austin’s bustling downtown, you’ll find a peaceful farm with chickens, barn cats, goats and horses. People go there to take horseback riding lessons, play with animals, and escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

But Kathy, who has been running the stable for years and wanted to keep her last name private, said last week the calmness of the space was disturbed.

“We had some horses put on the show and then the owners found pieces that had been cut,” Kathy said. “And then basically started looking for the herd.”

Upon investigation, I discovered that at least 20 of my 35 horses had been destroyed by someone. Many of them had large clumps of long hair cut off. Others had only a few inches cut off.

“No, it pisses me off,” Kathy said.

Cathy the stable and the horse’s owner are racking their brains trying to figure out the motive. They don’t understand why someone would break into the farm and steal the horsehair.

Some have theorized that the culprits may have wanted to make jewelry out of their hair. He said he would have concentrated on cutting more out of a few horses.

“Various crafts? Maybe weird voodoo? I don’t know. Malice can’t be ruled out,” Kathy said.

Another theory: A disgruntled employee who did it nonetheless, she said.

Melissa Lester owned a 1,500-pound horse named Perseus that had most of its mane cut off in the incident. Perseus does shows, models, and is sometimes hired for events, so vandalism could mean Lester missing out on hundreds of dollars.

“He got chopped off like an inch and a half in the middle of his mane here. It’s a mess,” said Lester.

“You’ll probably have trouble hiding it for pictures and stuff like that,” Lester said. will take at least five years.”

Beyond invasion of privacy, Cathy and the horse owners are concerned about the safety of the animals and even the vandals. Many horses are very friendly, but some are shy and timid. People who are unfamiliar with how to interact with animals can frighten the horse and injure themselves or the animal.

Other horses can get sick away from their diet. Kathy suspects that the person who soiled the property lured them with treats.

“I think my biggest concern is that a lot of people don’t know enough about horses to understand what they can and can’t do. , the horse may have been injured and they were able to release them.

Kathy said she didn’t want to call the police because she didn’t know how they could help. rice field.