Authorities find body of Vegas vet linked to horse-kicking video

Authorities have confirmed that the body of Dr. Shawn Frehner, a Las Vegas-area veterinarian who had been missing for nearly two weeks, was recovered near the Boulder Islands in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Clark County (Nevada) Coroner’s Office identified Frehner the day after the National Park Service reported the discovery.

Frehner’s disappearance on April 6 came shortly after a video, originally shared by Shawna Gonzales, circulated online showing a man kicking a horse during a medical procedure in Pahrump. The video, which animal-rights groups later amplified, showed the man, believed to be the 56-year-old Frehner, interacting with a horse, Big Red, and at one point kicking it in the jaw while it was on the ground.

Before the recovery of Frehner’s body was made, Gonzalez filed a criminal complaint last week accusing him of mistreating her horse. While law enforcement never officially confirmed the man’s identity in the video, Frehner acknowledged the footage on social media, defending his actions as a misunderstood attempt to reposition a minimally handled mustang colt during castration.

“I did not blatantly haul off and kick this horse as it appears in the video. That was not my intention at all,” Frehner said at the time on Facebook. “It was done simply to get the horse in a better position so that he could breathe and get up and move so I could again try to anesthetize.”

“I love my job and I love helping people and their horses. I am very sorry,” he added.

In the days following the controversy, Frehner’s family reported him missing after his truck was found abandoned near Lake Mead with his wallet, phone, and keys still inside. There was an extensive search effort involving multiple agencies that took place. An official cause of death has not been made public.

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office had opened an investigation into the original animal cruelty allegations prior to his death. Meanwhile, both supporters and critics of Frehner took to social media to express condolences and reflect on the man behind the headlines — a veterinarian with a long career of serving Nevada’s equine community.