Two of Joe Bright’s children ran into the house screaming that the family’s horses were dead. It was July 30 at 7:53 p.m.

That exact time will be forever etched into Bright’s memory. He lost four equine members of his family that night — Cash, Max, Doc and Snickers. He almost lost a fifth member, Amigo, who belongs to his wife, Lindsey.

The couple’s horses are not livestock. They are part of the family.

Yet that didn’t stop someone from killing the horses by poisoning them with a powerful neurological toxin, according to Bright, who first posted about the killings on social media last week when he decided to offer a reward for credible information regarding the animals’ deaths.

“It is with the heaviest heart that I make this post. We are offering a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction for anyone connected to the murder of our horses! They were found dead yesterday, I can’t go into details as the investigation is still underway,” reads Bright’s July 31 posting on Facebook.

The Budget spoke with Bright via telephone at his ranch near Shawnee on Sunday afternoon.

“Normally, I would keep this private, but I need to get this out there. Someone knows (what happened). You do not do this to a family’s horses. It’s pure malicious evil,” he said.

Bright and Lindsey are newlyweds. They tied the knot July 17, not even a month ago. The horses were a huge part of the ceremony. Lindsey rode Amigo. Bright was on Max and other members of the couple’s family sat atop Cash, Doc and Snickers.

Two weeks later, four horses were dead and Amigo was at Colorado State University where veterinarians were doing everything they could to save his life.

“You don’t buy horses like these. There was no horse treats, no b.s. (involved with catching them). You walked out and that was it. They were there.”

Bright is worried about his kids, ages 5 and 12, who found the expired horses, and the impact that has had on them.

“My 5-year-old, she isn’t doing very well . . . that night the kids were doing what they always did, going out to see the horses, treat them, give them water. That was when my kids ran into the house screaming that they were dead,” Bright recounted. “This was something very serious that the horses were given. There is nothing in the corral, everything is good, it was nothing the horses could have eaten.

“Amigo was a week at CSU in vet care,” he continued. “He has neurological damage, but the extent of that has not been determined yet. Neither has the way the toxin was delivered.

“This was an incredibly personal act of hate,” Bright said.

Amigo has since been relocated out of state in hopes of keeping him safe from whoever committed such an awful act against his horses and his family, he said.

“ . . . We picked Amigo up from CSU. He is ready to come home, very stiff and wobbly. Just plain hurting. Stopped by the ranch to refuel and let him drink and stretch before heading out of state to make sure he’s safe,” he said on social media in an updated post.

Bright said it was gut wrenching watching Amigo trot around his home, calling out to his missing lifelong friends.

The Wyoming Livestock Board is handling the investigation into the killing of the Bright family’s horses.

“Someone knew exactly what they were doing. The case is under investigation, and we have a $10,000 reward up. We hope someone will come forward. Someone knows, has information. We ask anyone who knows anything to please call the Wyoming Livestock Board at 307-777-7515 or contact us personally.”

The Wyoming Livestock Board confirmed the killing of Bright’s horses is under active investigation and no further information will be released at this time.