Netlore Archive: Viral Facebook posting claims 52 unwanted thoroughbred horses will be slaughtered unless people volunteer to give them homes.
Description: Viral wall posting on Facebook
Circulating since: Jan. 2011
Status: Outdated
Example:
As posted on Facebook, Aug. 9, 2011:
Posting for a friend: 52 thoroughbred horses need homes. Will go to Sugarcreek this Sat. for slaughter. Gentleman died his son wants nothing to do with them. Most broodmares are broke and some are in foal weanling, yearlings, 2 yrs and 3 yrs old most are gelded. FREE and papered. Friend of the deceased is trying to find homes. 440-463-4288 Barnesville. Please copy and paste this!
Analysis: As often happens on the Internet, a viral message which once upon a time had some truth to it has outlived its purpose and continued to be posted, reposted, and re-reposted, to the point where now, six months down the road, it's simply false and irrelevant.
Back in January 2011 there were indeed 52 thoroughbred horses left homeless by a deceased owner in northeastern Ohio (though whether or not they were actually in danger of being "slaughtered" remains a matter of debate), but thanks in part to a timely plea by race horse enthusiast and Facebook member Lynn Boggs, all of those horses were successfully relocated within days. So her original posting was already out of date by the beginning of February, yet as of August 10, 2011, new and old versions of it were still replicating at the rate of several hundred repostings a day.
Moral of the story: Good news doesn't travel as fast as bad news, or linger as long. Always check the facts before sharing!
Variants:
This version claims the homeless horses are located near Napa, California:
Reposting - for a friend of a friend of a friend near Napa, CA FREE HORSES!!! 52 thoroughbred horses need homes. Will go to Sugarcreek this Sat. for slaughter. Gentleman died, his son wants nothing to do with them. Most broodmares are broke and some are in foal weanling, yearlings, 2 yrs and 3 yrs old most are gelded. FREE and papered. Friend of the deceased is trying to find homes. 440-463-4288 Barnesville. Please copy and paste this
This version claims the homeless horses are located in Oregon:
FREE HORSES!!! 52 thoroughbred horses in Oregon need homes. Will go to Sugarcreek this Sat. for slaughter. Gentleman died. His son wants nothing to do with them. Most broodmares are broke and some are in foal. Weanlings, yearlings, 2 yrs and 3 yrs old most are gelded. Friend of the deceased is trying to find homes. 440-463-4288 Barnesville. Please copy and paste this if you have horse connections
This version claims the homeless horses are located in Johannesburg, South Africa:
URGENT: 52 thoroughbred horses need homes in Joburg. Will go to Sugarcreek this Sat. for slaughter. Gentleman died and his son wants nothing to do with them. Most broodmares are broke and some are in foal, weaning, yearlings, 2yrs and 3yrs old most are gelded. FREE and papered. Friend of the deceased are trying to find homes. CONTACT: Chett Wallace in Rustenburg 084 274 8538. PLEASE PASS ON!
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Sources and further reading:
Ohio Veterinarian's Son Confirms 52 Thoroughbreds Rehomed
TheHorse.com, 18 February 201152 Thoroughbreds Find Homes Via Facebook
TheHorse.com, 3 February 2011The Day the Internet Saved 52 Horses
YourSEOSucks.com, 2 February 2011No Hoaxing, 52 Thoroughbred Horses Will Not Be Slaughtered
Digital Journal, 2 February 2011
Last updated 08/12/11
