'Sick To My Stomach:' Horse Dragged To Death Near Purcell

The McClain County Sheriff's Office is investigating how a horse was dragged for nearly a mile to its death.

It happened Wednesday evening on the I-35 Service Road northwest of Purcell. Sheriff Landy Offolter said a man loaded up his horses in a trailer and left a horseshoeing school. But as he was driving, his trailer gate somehow got open. One of the horses then fell out and was dragged for nearly a mile.

Investigators said students of the horseshoeing school noticed the blood trail, caught up with the horse owner, and alerted him. The horse owner then stopped near the ramp to I-35, where he untied and left the horse, Offolter said. The animal had broken legs and internal injuries but was still alive. "He didn't have a gun with him and said he was going to get one to put the horse down," said Offolter. "Never showed back up."

Because the horse owner did not return to the scene, the owners of the horseshoeing school humanely put the animal down and brought the carcass onto the school property. The horseshoeing school owners told News 9 they tried calling the vet's office, but the horse's injuries were too severe. "I have been doing this for about 45 years and never seen anything like this," Offolter said.

Witness Maureen Georgiadis said she saw people surrounding the scene as she was driving home from work Wednesday evening. After a friend told her a horse had died, Georgiadis went back to the scene to make sure the animal was not one of hers. "It just made me sick to my stomach," said Georgiadis. "And you can just see the pools of blood where the horse had begun to be unable to keep up with the trailer anymore. And its injuries were horrible. You know, it's legs had been ripped open."

Offolter said deputies interviewed the horse owner Wednesday afternoon and will examine the trailer. They will then put together a report for the District Attorney's Office, which will determine whether charges are warranted, Offolter said.

The owners of the horseshoeing school told News 9 deputies did interview the horse owner Wednesday. The horse owner also picked up the animal's carcass. "I guess I just kind of think if it was one of my horses, I couldn't have left it there like that," said Georgiadis.