Hobby farmer in North Cowichan alerts others after discovering unwanted haircut on horse

A hobby farmer on Vancouver Island is alerting others after a surprising discovery.

A hobby farmer in North Cowichan, B.C., is alerting horse owners in the region to be on the lookout after finding her animal’s tail hair clipped.

“They’ve cut off probably two feet,” says Lee Anne Mansueti. “It’s not chewed. It frays if the animal chews it.”

Gypsy’s owner says her tenant noticed the puzzling picture on Dec. 20 while taking the horse inside the hobby farm’s stable. The animal had been outside in a feed area over a roughly two-hour period that evening.

“I was already in bed for the night and she just said, ‘Did you cut Gypsy’s tail?’ No. Of course I did not. She goes, ‘Well she’s missing half her tail,” says Mansueti.

The farmer has surveillance camera notices up and a secured gate to get in. But she believes the person or people came onto the property through part of a fence.

“We have a gate just leaning up against it right now to stop the horses from going over but the barbed wire was cut so we’re assuming. I mean, that’s a safe assumption,” says Mansueti. “You kind of take that personally at first.”

After making a post online, she learned of a report of another case in the area and wonders if the hair is being used to make art. The RCMP have not responded to a CTV News request for information around any reports or investigations.

Mansueti says she’ll be notifying authorities this week.

“I don’t know what they can do. I’m not going to put a lot of pressure on them to solve the big mystery of the horse tail cutting. There’s a lot more important things they have to do with their time than this, but more than anything I just want the community to be aware,” she says.

The B.C. SPCA confirms it’s received a call through the agency’s animal helpline.

“We encourage anyone with firsthand information to reach out to the B.C. SCPA’s Animal Helpline 1-855-622-7722,” says communications coordinator Debra Walley.

As for Gypsy, Mansueti figures it will take two years for the animal’s tail hair to grow back to its full length. She’ll be leaning on fly sheets to help protect Gypsy from bug bites, since the animal now has a reduced ability to swish them away with her shortened tail.

“Their tails serve a purpose. They protect them. They’re indicators. They’re communicators. They use them for a lot of things. It’s not just this fancy thing that hangs down and swishes around,” says Mansueti.