Ponies' tails stolen in Kenockee Twp.

KENOCKEE TWP. - It's going to be a long summer for Samson and Levi.

The two miniature horses were found by their owners Thursday with the hair on their tails hacked off.

"They're going to be miserable," Kathie Simasko said of her ponies' inability to swat away flies and insects this season.

Simasko said she was shocked when she found their tails cut off. The Michigan State Police is investigating the incident, and she urged any other horse owners who have or had similar incidents to report it.

She believes the incident may have happened between midnight and 5 a.m. Thursday, when someone came onto their secluded property off Cork Road.

"I just sat here for probably five minutes and was just like, 'What the heck?'" Simasko said, noting there was hair on a portion of the pasture fence, looking as if the ponies had been pressed up against it.

Just a few weeks ago she saw a news report of a similar incident.

"And now here we are," Simasko said.

The Trenton Police Department is investigating an incident where tails were cut off of four ponies at the Children's Pony Ranch at Elizabeth Park. That incident occurred between 3:30 p.m. April 11 and 3:30 p.m. April 12, according to the department's Facebook page.

Simasko said she is glad the ponies were not further harmed or let loose. Her four horses on the back of the property did not appear to have been touched.

"Be vigilant, no question about it," said St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon. "The kind of person who is going to come in there and cut a tail off a horse is probably capable of just about anything in my mind.

"I'm aware of these types of incidents taking place in Wayne and Oakland (counties) in the past, this is our first in this county and we're concerned because we have a lot of horse farms."

It is unknown why the tails were taken, but there is a fake tail market in the horse show industry. Fake tails, which are made out of real horse hair, are braided into a show horse's tail to make it fuller and longer. Depending on the size and color, fake tails can cost $100 to about $600.

"If somebody sees something or hears something, call 911 and we'll have the closest available car respond and hopefully we can catch these folks," Donnellon said.

Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard.