Following a new video sent to news organizations that shows the horse being fed something with the man recording the video saying in Punjabi that the guy feeding the horse is giving him “Bhung” (weed), the owner of a horse now believes marijuana may be the reason the animal behaved unusually.
SURREY – Some crazy and wild guests at an Indo-Canadian wedding, forever known for the groom taking a big tumble off an uncontrollable horse, might have taken a few cues from the Hollywood comedy Hangover in feeding the horse some marijuana before the horse went nuts and ruined the Groom’s big day.
Following a new video sent to news organizations that shows the horse being fed something with the man recording the video saying in Punjabi that the guy feeding the horse is giving him “Bhung” (weed), the owner of a horse now believes marijuana may be the reason the animal behaved unusually.
In a nine-second Snapchat video emailed to various news outlets, a man is seen approaching Misty the horse and owner Zsa Zsa Stiasny in a trailer before the wedding, then putting his hand out to feed the horse.
Snapchat allows users to write or draw on videos before posting and this video caption says “feeding the horse weed #thebadguy.”
The man shooting the video and narrating says: “He’s going to go feed the horse some weed … He just gave the horse weed.”
Initially the horse’s owner Stiasny denied anyone fed her horse when asked by CBC news but on Thursday morning, Stiasny told CBC that she had now seen the video and was shocked.
She believes Misty was given marijuana by a man who had asked to feed her horse.
“I thought he was feeding her grass or alfalfa,” she said.
“I think in fact he did feed it weed. It’s possible it contributed to the horse getting all reactive.”
Stiasny believes the video was filmed about an hour before the ceremony and said the alleged marijuana incident could explain why her horse acted up.
Stiasny’s horse Misty was supposed to carry a Sikh groom to his wedding last Saturday. During the procession, the horse appeared to be uncomfortable, eventually bolting from its handler and tossing the groom off its back.
“She was totally out of character, that was not how my horse behaves,” she said.
“Maybe it [the marijuana] did make her go loco.”
The SPCA tells CBC News it has launched a cruelty investigation into the incident.
“We can try to investigate to see who did this,” said senior animal protection officer Eileen Drever.
In a video posted to Youtube, which went viral, making the incident the talk (joke) of the town , the horse seems to be uncomfortable the moment the groom climbs on, circling around its handler several times with the man on its back.
When the handler Stiasny of Equutrail tries to ensure the groom is secure, the horse suddenly bolts away, throwing the groom onto the grass within seconds.
Screams are heard from the crowd as they watch the groom being tossed off the horse.
The groom — who lost his turban in the accident — is seen standing after the incident. He was not seriously injured.
Stiasny earlier told the media Misty has performed at several Indian weddings without incident. At the time she believed the groom may have caused the horse’s reaction.
“When the groom was mounting up I had asked him to remove his sword and shoes before mounting, which I don’t believe he did. And the shoe was sticking inside the horse’s side,” she said.
“Either his shoe or his sword was sticking into her. Unfortunately I’m on the opposite side so I can’t see what he’s doing, so I can’t fix it.”
But other horse trainers are criticizing the incident, calling it “completely preventable.”
“I was mortified,” said Jennifer Girard of Barat Wedding Horses. “It didn’t have to happen, it was preventable.”
Girard said since the video was posted over the weekend, at least one client has called to cancel a horse for an Indian wedding next month over fears a similar incident could occur.
It’s a cultural tradition for some Sikh and Hindu families to have the groom ride a white horse before the wedding ceremony.
Harwant Brar who also rents out horses for Indian weddings, said he was surprised by many things he saw in the video.
“I thought it was peculiar the groom was mounting on the right side — the horses aren’t used to mounting on the right side.”
Brar said the horse was also in an environment with too many variables and the handler should have found a way to calm it down.
“Generally when a horse is running around in circles, we usually let them ride it out. She should have gotten the groom off and walked the horse a bit.”
Stiasny said she is surprised by all the attention the incident garnered, “I’m totally shocked that this even went viral.”
“Next time I’m going to make sure those guys [grooms] take their swords and their shoes off.”
Courtesy CBC News
