My siblings and I getting a first hand look at Snippy.
Any of us who lived in
Colorado in the late 1960s will probably remember Snippy the Horse. I certainly
do. I was ten years old in 1967 when the news of Snippy hit the air waves.
Snippy was a horse that killed under strange circumstances – still strange to
this day according to several articles. My siblings and I were fascinated by
all the talk of UFOs surrounding the mysterious mutilation of poor Snippy.
We lived in southeastern
Colorado and Snippy was from a farm south of Alamosa, Colorado, so it was close
enough we heard a lot about it. Snippy, a three year old horse was found dead
with all the flesh stripped from his head and neck. An autopsy revealed
unexplainable missing organs. There were unusual signs in the field around him
and several people throughout the area reported seeing what seemed to be UFOs
during the days surrounding this event.
It seems there were plenty
of official investigations but nothing conclusive ever turned up. Snippy’s body
was autopsied and studied and eventually his skeleton became a tourist
attraction. The pathologist that autopsied him shortly after he was found, said
there were no signs of entrance in the body but the abdominal, brain and spinal
cavities were empty.[1] This and the fact that
high radiation levels were found in the area caused the University of
Colorado’s Air Force sponsored UFO study to call in a nuclear physicist, a
psychologist and an animal expert to investigate the area, and talk with area residents about their UFO
sightings.[2]
A few years later, a
veterinarian who assembled the bones insisted that he found a couple of .22
caliber bullet holes in the hind quarter bones. Snippy spent a few years on
the sidewalk in front of the Chamber of Commerce and according to the attached
articles, was in a private museum for a while. She also spent years in an
abandoned house somewhere before her bones were offered on eBay. The seller
wanted $50,000 but an ownership dispute ended the auction.[3]
Poor Snippy – if only she could tell us all
what really happened. As young children we were more than ready to believe in
UFOs and spacemen.
Do you remember this story?
What did you think? Have you heard other such stories? Let me know on the
comments below.
Newspaper Links:
[1]
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, Monday, Oct. 9, 1967, pages 1 and
[2]
Ibid. Thursday, Oct 12, 1967, pages 1 and 6A
