LAND O'LAKES — Why would someone want the hair of a miniature horse?
That's what Raymond McGeehan, 64, and his family are asking after finding his horses' hair shorn for the second time.
Thanksgiving Day 2007, it was the quarter horse. Someone cut off Dun Corleone's gray tail and there were puncture wounds in his rear. The family had to buy him a fake tail because fly season was coming up. The tail, and the directions on how to attach it, have yet to arrive.
Friday, the victims were the miniature horses. Two of the five dog-sized beasts — Foxy and Taylor — were found with hair missing from their tails and manes.
Pasco deputies said they have not received any similar reports from other animal owners. And the family has no idea why anyone would want clumps of strong, wiry hair that feels kind of like fishing line.
McGeehan's daughter, Monica, 35, wonders if the cutting is a gang rite or just some kids causing trouble. "The way it was cut in chunks, it looked to me like it was more mischief than anything else," she said.
The horses are kept on approximately 8 acres McGeehan owns off Alpine Road in Land O'Lakes. The chiropractor lives about 10 minutes away but is building a house on the land. At night, the property is protected by a chain-link fence and a Doberman named Red Dog.
McGeehan has owned the quarter horse for 13 years. Dun Corleone, so named because of his grayish-brown coloring, has starred in New Port Richey parades and fundraisers for the American Heart Association.
McGeehan wants to put the five miniatures in shows, his daughter said. But building the house has taken up his time. "They've been more or less lawn ornaments," said Monica McGeehan.
But they're sociable and always looking for a treat. McGeehan thinks that's why Foxy and Taylor fell victim to the scissors. "They're very trusting and very friendly," she said.
Helen Anne Travis can be reached at htravis@sptimes.com or (352) 521-6518
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