Thief sheared show horse’s tail in broad daylight — likely to make a wig, NC cops say
Thunder, a 17-year-old show horse in eastern North Carolina, was robbed of his tail on Monday, according to sheriff’s deputies.
Now detectives are hunting for the mysterious thief.
“The suspect(s) cut off the hair of a horse’s tail, took it, and left. They also let another horse out on the property,” the Camden County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
The tail was cut off sometime between 5:30and 8:30 p.m. on Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Thunder’s owner returned home that evening to find one of the horses had been let out, Detective L. Copeland told McClatchy News. It wasn’t until the horse was returned to the barn that owner spotted Thunder’s sheared tail, she said.
Detectives later found a trail of horse hair scattered across the property.
According to the sheriff’s office, a horse’s tail is its “first line of defense” against bugs.
Given how hot it gets during the summer months in Camden County, which sits on the North Carolina coastline near the Virginia border, Copeland said removing a tail used to swat flies and other bugs away can be “very detrimental to the horse.”
She confirmed none of the other horses were injured, nor were their tails or manes cut. But it could take years for Thunder’s tail — which was “extremely long” — to grow back.
Horse hair can be used for wigs, hair extensions, art projects, weaving, bracelet making and fishing line, according to Copeland and the sheriff’s office. She said there’s a “huge variety” of uses for horse hair.
The sheriff’s office doesn’t have any leads yet but Copeland thinks the tail was most likely taken for “hair purposes.” Wig shops will offer between $300 and $500 — give or take a bit — for horse hair, she said.
“It’s very expensive,” she said.
Two of the owner’s other horses were similarly shorn in 2018, according to Copeland. But there haven’t been any other more recent cases.
“It’s just her — she’s only person we’ve dealt with in this county,” she said. “No other counties have other reports of it, so it’s a little strange.”
Detectives never got any leads on the last case, but Copeland said she’s hopeful reaching out to the public will be helpful this time.
At minimum, she told McClatchy the culprit faces charges of animal cruelty, larceny and trespassing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Powers with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office. Tips can remain anonymous.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Thief sheared show horse’s tail in broad daylight — likely to make a wig, NC cops say."
