A Colorado couple has been ᴄʜᴀʀɢᴇᴅ with animal ᴄʀᴜᴇʟᴛʏ after a video surfaced of their horse tied to the back of a pickup truck and ᴅʀᴀɢɢᴇᴅ down a snow-covered road….
The horse’s owners, John Saldate, 59, and Amber Saldate, 33, were ᴄʜᴀʀɢᴇᴅ with animal ᴄʀᴜᴇʟᴛʏ Tuesday after a sʜᴏᴄᴋing video showing a horse being ᴅʀᴀɢɢᴇᴅ by a moving truck in Colorado went viral over the weekend and sparked widespread backlash. John and Amber Saldate have both been charged with one count of animal ᴄʀᴜᴇʟᴛʏ, the Grand County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The woman who recorded the video is heard saying, “This a–hole refᴜsᴇs to leave the ranch, so John is pulling him across because he’s being a douchebag.”
The light-brown horse stood at attention, its halter tied to the hɪᴛᴄʜ of a pickup truck with a thick lead rope. Then the truck accelerated. As its tires rolled over the snowy road, the leash quickly became taut, pulling the horse by its headgear. The horse, later identified by the name Trigger, leaned back as if bracing itself for a game of tug-of-war, but its hooves sʟɪᴘᴘᴇᴅ on the snow.
The witness said the horse sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇd to keep up and then fell on its side and was ᴅʀᴀɢɢᴇᴅ along the asphalt surface sᴜffering horrendous tears to its hide.
The horse has since been seiᴢed by authorities and is now safe. Schroetlin said a VET saw no “obvious ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ” to the animal.
The horse’s owners, who did not want to be identified, talked to CBS4’s Matt Kroschel from their home in Grand County on Monday.
“You make one bad decision sometimes and it can desᴛʀᴏʏ your life,” the woman told. “I’ve ʟᴏsᴛ my job over this, I’ve upset a lot of people. I made our horse go through something that he shouldn’t have. I was wrong.”