![\"Veterinarian](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-04-23_13-00-44-174-e1745438475868.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n PAHRUMP,\u00a0 Nevada\u2013\u2013<\/strong>U.S. National Park Service personnel on April 18,\u00a0 2025 discovered the remains of large animal veterinarian Shawn Frehner,\u00a0 56,\u00a0 near the Boulder Islands toward the southern end of Lake Mead.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner,\u00a0 a veterinarian for 28 years,\u00a0 educated at Ohio State University and Brigham Young University,\u00a0 had been controversial on social media for at least six years over alleged rough handling of horses,\u00a0 albeit often horses no other veterinarian would treat.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner was also reputedly the least expensive horse veterinarian making calls in the Las Vegas area,\u00a0 but\u00a0had come under especially intensive criticism since video of him kicking a horse aired on Las Vegas-area television stations several days before he disappeared.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner. (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Shawn Frehner,\u00a0 as he usually had in response to previous allegations from other former clients,\u00a0 had responded in detail online to the most recent attacks.<\/p>\n Prior to the broadcasts of the horse-kicking video,\u00a0 Shawn Frehner appeared to have at least as many defenders among Las Vegas-area horse owners as detractors.<\/p>\n Most of the critics surfacing afterward had no direct knowledge of Frehner or experience with him,\u00a0 and often acknowledged responding only to the video and commentary by horse owner Shawna Gonzelez,\u00a0 who made the video public on Facebook prior to the television pick-ups.<\/p>\n Identifying the remains found at Lake Mead as Shawn Frehner from dental records,\u00a0 the Clark County coroner\u2019s office confirmed his death on April 21,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 without declaring a specific cause of death.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner with the horse he kicked,\u00a0 after the incident.<\/strong><\/em> The identification concluded a nationally publicized search for Shawn Frehner begun on April 6,\u00a0 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe multi-agency search included local authorities as well as the Nevada Department of Wildlife, \u00a0National Park Service, \u00a0and volunteers from Las Vegas-based Red Rock Search & Rescue,\u201d\u00a0 reported Jessica Schladebeck for the New York Daily News<\/em>.<\/p>\n The search focused on Lake Mead after Shawn Frehner\u2019s wallet, \u00a0keys, \u00a0and cell phone were found inside his unoccupied truck at Hemenway Harbor,\u00a0 near the Boulder Islands on the southwest shore of Lake Mead.<\/p>\n The death of Shawn Frehner and the end of the \u201cmissing person\u201d case scarcely ended a controversy going well beyond Frehner himself,\u00a0 also raising issues involving wild horse adoptions,\u00a0 allegedly dodgy unincorporated horse rescues,\u00a0 and veterinary suicide.<\/p>\n Rex Frehner. (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Shawn Frehner is widely believed to have been a suicide,\u00a0 though his father, \u00a0Rex Frehner, \u00a0said in filing a \u201cmissing person\u201d report that that his son did not have a history of medical or mental health conditions and \u201chas never made any threats to hurt himself or anyone else,\u201d \u00a0the Las Vegas-Review Journal <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n The horse-kicking incident came on April 3,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 when Shawn Freyner visited the Woodchips Recovery Ranch in Pahrump,\u00a0 Nevada,\u00a0 operated by Shawna Gonzalez,\u00a0 43.<\/p>\n Gonzalez said she had been a client of Shawn Frehner for about a year.<\/p>\n Shawna Lynn Gonzalez.\u00a0 (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n While Woodchips Recovery Ranch does not appear to have been incorporated nonprofit,\u00a0 it may be operating under the umbrella of Project 4 Humanity,\u00a0 a nonprofit formed by Gonzalez in 2021 at a Las Vegas address.<\/p>\n The video taken by Shawna Gonzalez\u2019s daughter includes,\u00a0 as well as Shawn Frehner kicking the horse in the head,\u00a0 Shawna Gonzalez yelling \u201cOh my God. \u00a0He just kicked him,\u201d\u00a0 and the daughter saying,\u00a0 \u201cOh my God, Mom, he\u2019s choking.\u00a0 He wrapped the rope around his neck three times, and he kicked him in the head.\u201d<\/p>\n Shawna Gonzalez told media that the horse was treated for abrasions to the skull and other injuries, \u00a0and that Shawn Frehner was under investigation for cruelty.<\/p>\n Responded Frehner on Facebook,\u00a0 \u201cI am incredibly sorry for what happened. \u00a0I am not making any excuses. \u00a0I very much do feel bad and I do apologize. \u00a0And I am making no excuses at all.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner. (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI would very much like to explain the situation. \u00a0This horse is about 350-400 pounds and is a wild mustang,\u00a0 actually a psychotic killer type.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been around many of these that are younger and older.\u00a0 They are very violent, and their life normally has a very bad ending. My intention was to get him gelded now, \u00a0and not wait until he was too big to handle.<\/p>\n \u201cThe owner,\u201d\u00a0 Shawna Lynn Gonzalez, \u00a0\u201chad informed me that this was a “horse flip,” along with three others she purchased, \u00a0and four more coming in. \u00a0She told me her intentions were to buy cheap, \u00a0hurry up and get them halter broke, \u00a0give them some training, \u00a0and then hurry up and flip them before she loses money. \u00a0She bought [the horse] for $50 and needs to get it quickly gelded,\u00a0 trained, and off the property, \u00a0so it does not cause her to lose money.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner. (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cShe had no idea how bad this horse was. \u00a0And he was stalled right next to a filly. \u00a0We had already gelded another one on her property who was stalled in the same stall with a filly.<\/p>\n \u201cI initially wanted to not do the horse and to just walk away,\u201d\u00a0 Shawn Frehner said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I just knew that this horse was crazy and incredibly dangerous, \u00a0and would hurt someone and eventually bad things would come to it. \u00a0I really felt that he was small enough that we would be able to handle him with great effort, \u00a0but we could get him gelded.<\/p>\n \u201cThe owners are brand new to horses, \u00a0incredibly naive to the dangers these types of horses present,\u201d\u00a0 Shawn Frehner assessed.\u00a0 \u201cThey have three more feral mustangs on the property, \u00a0and have four more ordered to come in and \u2018horse flip.\u2019\u00a0 They have no ideas of the sex of each horse at all.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner.\u00a0 (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMy thought on the need to get this horse done was, \u00a0I was very concerned how bad he would be once he puts on 200 more pounds and realizes that he is a stud who is going to be coming into his manhood in the next few weeks or month, \u00a0with the time of year and the proximity to the mares.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could not get near the horse,\u201d\u00a0 Shawn Frehner said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd he had a very loose-fitting halter and no lead rope. \u00a0A trainer was able to get that halter on a few days ago, \u00a0by doing a makeshift squeeze chute, and some major effort.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trainer told me this horse was absolutely crazy, \u00a0and very dangerous. \u00a0Another trainer told me the same thing, \u00a0as did two random cowboys, who had seen the horse a few days ago, \u00a0and contacted me today.\u00a0 I did the same thing with the squeeze chute, \u00a0and over the space of about an hour,\u00a0 and lots of squeeze chute and paneling destruction, \u00a0I was able to get several sedatives into this horse.\u00a0 They had little to no effect, \u00a0and he just continued to fight.<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to get drug dosages into the horse, that should have been more than enough to sedate and knock this horse completely unconscious,\u201d\u00a0 Shawn Frehner continued, \u00a0\u201cbut he was almost completely unfazed. \u00a0He continued to run around the stall for several more minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner. (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n When the horse finally did go down,\u00a0 \u00a0Shawn Frehner said,\u00a0 he \u201cstarted flailing his head,\u201d\u00a0 having breathing difficulty.<\/p>\n Frehner said he \u201cthought it wise for my safety to reach over with my foot and hit him on the cheek hard enough to startle him, \u00a0so that he would get up again, or at least start breathing again.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I did that,\u201d\u00a0 Frehner claimed, \u00a0\u201che turned into my foot and I did kick him directly in the chin. \u00a0Again, \u00a0I am not making excuses, \u00a0I’m just telling what happened. \u00a0Fortunately, \u00a0it worked out like I wanted, \u00a0and it startled him and he got up.\u201d<\/p>\n After administering another dose of anesthesia,\u201d\u00a0 Frehner recounted, \u00a0\u201che finally went to sleep. \u00a0I was able to do the surgical procedure and get him gelded,\u201d\u00a0 as well as removing two teeth.<\/p>\n The entire procedure,\u00a0 Frehner estimated,\u00a0 \u201ctook about two and a half hours from start to finish,\u201d\u00a0 plus a follow-up visit the next day.<\/p>\n Shawn Frehner. (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere was a piece of soft tissue that needed to be removed, \u00a0as it would have been a pathway for infection. \u00a0There was no bleeding, and everything else looked normal,\u201d\u00a0 Frehner said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were going to try to sedate and anesthetize the horse again, \u00a0to get the tissue removed,\u201d\u00a0 but Gonzalez \u201cdecided not to have me do it, \u00a0so I left.\u201d<\/p>\n Frehner\u2019s perspective on the horse was affirmed by local carpenter Dustin Newburn.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally owned this horse for a very brief time, \u00a0a few days to a week,\u201d\u00a0 Newburn testified.<\/p>\n ‘I traded all those panels that you see in the video for this horse and a black mare. \u00a0I immediately gave the horse back because I had no business owning this horse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe man is correct: \u00a0that horse is a killer,\u201d\u00a0 Newburn agreed.<\/p>\n Newburn also questioned Gonzalez\u2019s veracity,\u00a0 terming her \u201cvery manipulative.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a web page titled \u201cPublic Comments on Pahrump Business Licensing Highlight Regulatory Failures,\u201d\u00a0 the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission on April 9, 2025 heard a complaint from Tina Von Kuglin,\u00a0 a Pahrump resident who \u201cspecifically criticized the operations of a local animal rescue run by Shauna Lynn Gonzalez, \u00a0who, \u00a0according to her, \u00a0operates without the required conditional use permit and town license.\u201d<\/p>\n (Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Except for the outcome,\u00a0 the last chapter in Shawn Frehner\u2019s life appears to have paralleled a 2024 episode in which Eidan Bereby,\u00a0 identified on various web pages as a Las Vegas tattoo shop operator and poker player,\u00a0 alleged on Facebook that Frehner \u201ccame to my house for a horse procedure. \u00a0He was not wearing any gloves,\u00a0 not sanitary at all. \u00a0Wanted to do a surgery on the grass.\u00a0 The horse came to say hello and nibbled on his jeans and he punched my horse in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n Responded Shawn Frehner,\u00a0 \u201cI told you six times to not let the horse bite as he kept chewing on my pants. He finally bit me and you did nothing about it. \u00a0And no, \u00a0we do not wear gloves when drying up medications and getting things ready at the truck. \u00a0We do that during the procedure.<\/p>\n Merritt & Beth Clifton with Henry the rooster.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYour horse bit me five or six times,\u201d\u00a0 Frehner said.\u00a0 \u201cI told you to please keep your horse off of me,\u201d\u00a0 but the biting continued,\u00a0 according to Frehner,\u00a0 until \u201cI smacked your horse on the side of his muzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Las Vegas horse vet Shawn Frehner found. Social media victim? Suicide?<\/a> appeared first on Animals 24-7<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Beth Clifton collage) Video of Shawn Frehner kicking a fractious horse was aired on local TV stations days before he disappeared PAHRUMP,\u00a0 Nevada\u2013\u2013U.S. National Park Service personnel on April 18,\u00a0 2025 discovered the remains of large animal veterinarian Shawn Frehner,\u00a0 56,\u00a0 near the Boulder Islands toward the southern end of Lake Mead. Shawn Frehner,\u00a0 a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":202702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[77716,4655,16810,10999,74318,10974,14279,16811,36422,7451],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-202701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-frehner","tag-horse","tag-las","tag-media","tag-shawn","tag-social","tag-suicide","tag-vegas","tag-vet","tag-victim"],"yoast_head":"\nVideo of Shawn Frehner kicking a fractious horse was aired on local TV stations days before he disappeared<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nResponded to critics<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
(Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nNationally publicized search<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n“Did not have a history of medical or mental health conditions”<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nShawna Gonzalez<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n“Wild mustang,\u00a0 actually a psychotic killer type”<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n“Stalled right next to a filly”<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n“I was very concerned how bad he would be once he realizes he is a stud”<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n“Started flailing his head”<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nCarpenter agrees<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat did Frehner know when a horse bit him in the ass?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPlease donate to support our work:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
www.animals24-7.org\/donate\/<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n