Owner drags horse behind truck

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The light-brown horse stood at attention, its bridle tied to the hitch of a pickup truck with a thick leash. 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 slipped on the snow.

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The truck sped up, dragging Trigger behind it as the horse thrashed its head and flailed its legs, trying in vain to resist the moving vehicle.

It drove another hundred yards, the length of a football field.

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On the video, the first version of which was apparently uploaded then deleted by the owner, a woman filming says of the horse: “This [expletive] refuses to leave the ranch, so John’s pulling him across, cause he’s being a douchebag.”

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On Tuesday, authorities announced that Trigger’s owners, John and Amber Saldate, have been charged with one count each of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor in Colorado.

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