A viral story claims a veterinarian called the police after examining an ultrasound of a horse refusing to give birth. Here is the truth
Claim:
One story tells the true story of a horse named Felicia who refused to give birth and a veterinarian who called the police after viewing the animal’s ultrasound.
Rating:
In March 2024, a strange photo of a massive horse was shared multiple times on Facebook, along with the claim that a horse named Felicia had refused to give birth. According to the story, a veterinarian arrived and saw something shocking on an ultrasound image, leading him to call the police. The most common headline read: “Horse refuses to give birth, when vet sees ultrasound, he calls the police.”
Facebook posts sharing this rumor and photo included a link to an article in the comments. For example, the article was shared on superduperior.com. It started like this:
A special pregnancy
Farmer Ben looked forward to the birth of a new foal, hoping it would bring prosperity to his ranch. However, her horse, Felicia, acted strangely and refused to give birth. Concerned, Ben sought help from a local vet for an ultrasound, revealing something unexpected and leading to an immediate call to the police.
Busy little town
News of Felicia’s unusual pregnancy quickly spread throughout the close-knit community, creating a buzz among locals. Police, seeking to intervene in their otherwise quiet town, responded quickly, realizing the situation required more than just veterinary intervention.
Police intervention
When they arrived, the police helped put a distressed Felicia to sleep and approached Ben saying, “Sir, we need you to come with us, it’s important.” Ben, baffled, obeyed, wondering what he had done wrong and what had been discovered inside Felicia.
This rumor was also shared in the form of a video on the Unknown Facts Facebook page on April 6, 2024, titled “Pregnant horse refuses to give birth, but when vet sees ultrasound, calls the police.” As of this writing, the video has received over 5.5 million views.
https://www.facebook.com/UnknownFactsByGenmice/videos/2298734697170574
However, this was all fiction. A common version of this story ends with the revelation that a “hidden tracking chip” or “illegally implanted chip” was found inside Felicia. According to the story, this device would have allowed one of the horse’s breeders to find and steal Felicia in the future. The police apprehend the breeder and Félicia gives birth to a foal named Siempre. In other words, the story has a happy ending.
This story is an example of what we call gluge. The term is defined by Dictionary.com as “stories, often sent by email, that are purported to be true and uplifting, but are often fabricated and sentimental.”
As for the photo of the severely obese horse, we found its origin after doing a reverse image search on TinEye.com. The image, which was doctored, was one of 36 submissions in a 2011 Adobe Photoshop contest. The creator’s handle was listed as mykalirevon. The rules for the “Obeastity 6” competition asked participants to “take a normal-sized or naturally skinny animal and make it fatter, or take a fat animal and make it even bigger!”
Sources:
“Glurge.” Dictionary.comhttps://www.dictionary.com/browse/glurge.
“Obeastity 6.” Design Crowd2011, https://www.designcrowd.com/community/contest.aspx?id=1672406.
TinEye Reverse Image Search. https://tineye.com/.
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