A disturbing video of a drowning horse has sparked a vicious feud between a reality TV show family.
The video, which was posted on December 26 by Terra Ward – the daughter of the late star of the History Channel series Ice Road Truckers Darrell Ward – has attracted enormous attention online.
The clip showed her brother Reno Ward pulling a dead horse from a lake in Powell County, Montana.
The horse, named Red, was purchased by Tatum Hansen – a rodeo star at the University of Montana – after his last animal tragically died from a rattlesnake bite.
Tatum and Reno, who also appeared on Ice Road Truckers, got together in May and worked together to find the perfect “bulldogging horse” for competitive steer wrestling: Red, from Cheyenne.
“I was like, ‘Goddammit, this thing is (red) a fire rocket. It’s got a big engine.’ So I called Reno and told him, ‘Yes, this is exactly what we need,’” Tatum told Cowboy State Daily.
Two weeks later, on June 11, Reno and Tatum took Red and other horses to move cattle near Deer Lodge.
As the day went on, they said Red swam in several ponds, “acting like a big water bug,” but at the third pond the horse met its tragic fate.
The video, posted on December 26, by Terra Ward – the daughter of the late star of the History Channel series Ice Road Truckers Darrell Ward – has attracted enormous attention online as her brother, Reno Ward (pictured), was spotted doing a pulled out a dead horse. from a lake in Powell County, Montana
The horse, named Red, was purchased by Tatum Hansen (pictured) – a rodeo star at the University of Montana – after his last animal tragically died from a rattlesnake bite in Glendive
The siblings, Reno and Terra, are now feuding as she publicly called out her brother for the animal’s death
The video shows Reno riding atop the horse as Red panics and flails in the water before going under. Another clip then showed Reno and others joking on the shore as Red’s lifeless body floated in the pond.
Now he and his sister Terra are fighting as she publicly calls out her brother for the animal’s death.
“(Reno) should have known to take that tape away,” Terra said in a Dec. 27 post. “I didn’t know the video would blow up like that. I just didn’t want Reno to buy another damn horse.”
The footage showed Reno looking at the pond as one of the men with him shouted “F***!” as they saw Red floating in the water.
He was then seen swimming in the water towards the dead horse while one of them went along a rope to him to attach himself to Red, while another callously told Reno, “You can ride him like a boat, it you’ll be fine,” adding that it’s “the cheapest boat you’ve ever had.”
Reno finally got hold of the horse and laughed as he hooked the rope to the animal and dragged it to shore.
When he got close, Reno jumped out of the pond and continued to pull the animal until a pickup truck came and pulled Red completely out of the water.
At one point, Reno was seen drying off in the grass while sticking out his tongue and laughing.
He told Cowboy State Daily that the clip of him and Red in the water was “very cut and edited,” and that the horse “didn’t drown with me on him.”
Two weeks later, on June 11, Reno and Tatum took Red and other horses to move cattle near Deer Lodge. As the day went on, they said Red swam in multiple ponds and “acted like a big water bug.”
But at the third pond the horse met its tragic fate
Reno finally got hold of the horse and laughed as he hooked the rope to the animal and dragged it to shore
A second clip, obtained by DailyMail.com, showed the full 20 minutes of Red and Reno wrestling in the water.
He was seen on top of the stressed horse before eventually being thrown away by the frightened animal. Reno appeared to watch as the animal struggled.
On the same day she shared her thoughts on her brother regarding the video, Reno filed a restraining order against his sister.
When she asked an officer what the order entailed, Terra said she was “not allowed to have any direct or indirect contact with him.” She then posted on Facebook about the warrant filed against her and was arrested.
“And Friday night (Dec. 27) at 5 p.m., they arrested me for violation of restraining order because I posted on Facebook that I had a restraining order, and my misdemeanor bond was $5,000 cash,” she said.
She spent a night in jail, but now that she’s out, Terra refuses to stop posting about Reno’s actions that day, calling her brother “a piece of shit**.”
The Powell County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the horse’s death, while the department thanked those who brought the “disturbing video” to their attention.
Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles said Cowboy stands daily that while the office rarely gets a case like this, they will “let justice take its course.”
‘But this is just one of those stories. Obviously there are a lot of emotions involved. Being a former rancher myself, everyone has feelings for the animals they love dearly.’
Roselles said the investigation into the horse’s drowning will continue “without emotion, based solely on facts.”
Reno finally got hold of the horse and laughed as he hooked the rope to the animal and dragged it to shore. At one point, Reno was seen drying off in the grass while sticking out his tongue and laughing
Pictured: the late star of the History Channel series Ice Road Truckers, and father of Reno and Terra, Darrell Ward
“And reserve determination or judgment until after the case has been presented to the county attorney, if it comes to that and justice takes its course,” he added.
Janet Rose, the founder of Horse Haven Montana, told the outlet that she will also continue to monitor Red’s tragic death, which seems “completely plausible” in relation to Reno’s connection to it.
“But here’s what I would say: be knowledgeable, be smart. Do not take any animal into an environment that you are not familiar with and cannot interact with,” Rose added.
‘The first instinct is fight or flight. So if it’s a horse If someone panics, it is obviously very difficult for someone to calm them down.”
The investigation is ongoing.