A dispute has ignited in a picturesque Wyoming mountain town after a frustrated resident decided to give away his neighbor’s horses that had strayed onto his land.
Mark Husman, aged 43, took to the Casper Mountain Landowners Association’s Facebook group on Sunday, announcing his intention to give away three horses that had wandered onto his property.
“Free to a good home: Abandoned horses! No brands visible. You transport,” Husman wrote, sharing photos of the animals in question.
This announcement set off a lively discussion among the residents of Casper Mountain, a quaint community roughly a dozen miles from Casper.
Not long after, Husman’s neighbor, 75-year-old Morris Carter, stepped in to clarify that the horses were indeed his and not abandoned.
“Those horses are not abandoned. Where are they?” Carter responded, eager to reclaim his animals. “They are not wild. Tell me where they are and I’ll come retrieve them.”
As he frantically searched for his horses, Carter wrote, ‘You take them, you go to jail.’
Many community members sided with Carter and urged Husman to put up a fence if he doesn’t want animals wandering into his land.
Mark Husman, 43, posted in the Casper Mountain Landowners Association Facebook group on Sunday that he was giving away three horses he found on his property
Husman’s neighbor, Morris Carter (pictured), 75, quickly stated that the horses were not abandoned and, in fact, belonged to him
‘Pretty sure that’s not how this works,’ one person commented. ‘You can’t give away something that is not yours,’ added another.
‘They can still hang horse thieves,’ a third person wrote.
‘It’s a fence out state. If you don’t want them on your property, fence them out,’ wrote a fourth.
A fifth person added, ‘Leave them poor horses alone, they’ll be fine not bothering a thing.’
Others came to Husman’s defense, claiming his post was sarcastic and saying it is not unreasonable for him to want the horses off his property.
‘You all realize he was being sarcastic???? Mark also has young kids. Has anyone considered what would happen if the horses hurt one of the kids on their property?’ one person wrote.
‘Take them, and if anyone comes knocking. We’ve got your back. You found them! You were trying to find an owner!’ wrote another.
The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily Mail they have not received any complaints over the matter.
Husman said his post was sarcastic and he was just frustrated the horses wandered onto his land. Carter said he eventually got his horses back
The post sparked a feverish debate among residents of Casper Mountain, a small community about 12 miles outside of Casper (stock image pictured)
Wyoming is a ‘fence-out’ state, meaning the law requires landowners to build fences to keep livestock off their property rather than to keep animals in.
Carter eventually commented on the post that he had gotten his horses home, and he told the Cowboy State Daily that they had fled to Husman’s property to avoid a mountain lion.
‘Where my horses run used to belong to my grandmother and my mother and aunts and uncles, and they have since sold that off, but all the landowners work with me on those horses up there,’ Carter said.
‘[The horses] seldom go out, and I’m up there all the time. I’ve got water tanks, salt blocks, and I check on them all the time.
‘Just through the last storm, I wasn’t able to get up there, but they just barely were across the road from where they normally were.’
Husman told the local newspaper that his post was sarcastic and he just wanted the horses off his property.
‘I just want to clarify that my earlier comment was sarcasm born out of frustration, not a serious attempt to give away horses that aren’t mine,’ he said.
‘This has happened more than once over the last couple of months, and my only real concern is for the safety and well-being of the horses.’
The Daily Mail contacted Husman and Carter for comment.
