Video Leads to Horse Cruelty Charges

An outfitter faces cruelty charges after contacting authorities about a video posted online showing him beating a horse.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

A Florida man is facing multiple animal cruelty charges after he contacted authorities to complain about a video someone posted to his business’ social media page. The video showed him beating a horse.

Okeechobee County, Florida, Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Michele Bell said that on May 8, a sheriff’s deputy responded to a call from a man saying a video depicting someone beating a horse had been unlawfully posted on a social networking website under the name of his business. Bell said the sheriff’s department identified the man as James “Bo” Sharpe, owner of Prairie Trail Riders LLC, a guided horseback riding tour company in Okeechobee. Bell said Sharpe subsequently showed the video to the deputy, claiming the posting erroneously accused him of abusing the horse.

The following day the same deputy responded to a complaint reporting that 11 horses owned by the Prairie Trail Riders LLC were being maltreated, Bell said. After an investigation, all the horses were determined to be maltreated and in need of veterinary care, she said. Okeechobee County Animal Control subsequently removed the animals, Bell said.

Sheriff’s Deputies later charged Sharpe with eight counts of third degree felony animal cruelty and three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty in the first degree. Bond was set at $23,000, Bell said

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
433 votes · 433 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!