MOLT — Ted McFarland and his family woke up to a nightmare on Thursday, when they found three of their horses shot dead in their field, in what can be described as a completely random act of violence.
McFarland owns the Clint McFarland Ranch near Molt and this incident has left him with nothing but anger and questions. He and his family owned the three horses, Shade, Heidi and Haley. They were 22 and 21 years old, and, according to Ted, were healthy animals.
Discovering their bodies was a nightmare for the family, and they're still in shock.
"Wednesday afternoon, my daughter checked the cattle for water, and everything was fine. Yesterday morning my daughter and I came up to do chores, and that’s when we found them," said McFarland.
On top of the devastation of losing the horses, it's left the family feeling violated.
"I’m a drive-by shooting victim. That’s how I felt. And I just grabbed my rifle and wanted to protect my family and animals," added McFarland.
The question of why this would happen is the biggest of them all.
"It’s very disturbing to me that someone would deliberately shoot these horses. They’re a defenseless animal. They’re not hurting a thing. Why would some whack job do that?" said McFarland.
McFarland has contacted the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and an investigation is underway. He said law enforcement has no leads at this point.
There's also a reward of $500 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever committed the crime.
"I've been around horses all my life. They become a friend and they're a part of our operation here and more importantly part of our family," said McFarland.
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