Claim:
A story tells a true tale 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 picture of a massive horse was shared several 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 in an ultrasound image, leading him to call the police. The most common headline read, “Horse Refuses To Give Birth, When the Vet Sees the Ultrasound He Calls the Police.”
The 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 began as follows:
A Peculiar Pregnancy
Farmer Ben eagerly anticipated the birth of a new foal, hoping it would bring prosperity to his ranch. However, his horse, Felicia, exhibited strange behavior and refused to give birth. Concerned, Ben sought the help of a local vet for an ultrasound, revealing something unexpected and leading to an immediate call to the police.
Small Town Stir
News of Felicia’s peculiar pregnancy spread quickly in the tight-knit community, creating a buzz among the locals. The police, seeking some action in their otherwise quiet town, responded promptly, realizing that the situation required more than just veterinary intervention.
Police Intervention
Upon arrival, the police assisted in sedating the distressed Felicia and approached Ben, stating, “Sir, we need you to come with us, it is important.” Ben, bewildered, complied, wondering what he had done wrong and what was discovered inside Felicia.
This rumor also was shared in the form of a video on the Unknown Facts Facebook page on April 6, 2024, with the title “Pregnant Horse Refuses To Give Birth, But When The Vet Sees The Ultrasound, Calls The Police.” As of this writing, the video had received more than 5.5 million views.
https://www.facebook.com/UnknownFactsByGenmice/videos/2298734697170574
However, all of this was 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, that device would have enabled one of the horse’s breeders to find and steal Felicia in the future. Police apprehend the breeder and Felicia gives birth to a foal named Siempre. In other words, the story ends in a happy manner.
This story is an example of what’s known as glurge. The term is defined by Dictionary.com as “stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental.”
As for the picture of the severely-obese horse, we found where it originated after doing a reverse-image search on TinEye.com. The image, which was doctored, was one of 36 submissions in an Adobe Photoshop contest from 2011. The creator’s handle was displayed as mykalirevon. The rules for the “Obeastity 6” contest told entrants to “take a normal-sized or naturally-skinny animal and make it fat, or take a fat animal and make it even fatter!”
Sources:
“Glurge.” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glurge.
“Obeastity 6.” Design Crowd, 2011, https://www.designcrowd.com/community/contest.aspx?id=1672406.
TinEye Reverse Image Search. https://tineye.com/.
