If you spend enough time scrolling through political social media, you’ve probably seen some version of it. A clip of a police horse "doing its business" right as a motorcade rolls by, or a story about a gift-wrapped surprise left for a cabinet member. It sounds like something out of a satire movie, honestly. But in the high-tension world of American politics, even horse manure becomes a symbol.
People get really fired up about this stuff. Some see it as a hilarious "middle finger" to the establishment, while others think it’s a gross display of disrespect. Usually, the truth is a lot more mundane—and occasionally way weirder—than the memes suggest.
The Bel Air Delivery: When Horse Manure Became a Federal Case
Back in December 2017, things got pretty literal in Los Angeles. A psychologist named Dr. Robert Strong decided he’d had enough of the GOP tax plan. Most people write a letter to the editor or maybe post a grumpy tweet. Strong? He decided to gift-wrap a box of horse manure.
He addressed it to Steven Mnuchin, who was Trump’s Treasury Secretary at the time. He didn't just toss it over a fence, either. He left it at a neighbor's house in Bel Air, near Mnuchin's mansion.
Naturally, the LAPD bomb squad showed up. You can't just leave random packages in fancy neighborhoods without the authorities assuming the worst. They shut down the whole street. Prince Frederic von Anhalt (Zsa Zsa Gabor’s widower) was actually trapped in his house for two hours because of the investigation. He was famously annoyed, telling reporters that people in $50 million homes shouldn't be blocked in like that.
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Strong later told reporters he considered it an "act of political theater." He wanted to point out that the tax bill was, in his words, "bullsh*t." The Secret Service did an investigation, but since it wasn't actually dangerous—just smelly—it mostly ended up as a bizarre footnote in the history of political protests.
Trump and the Horse Manure "Motorcade" Clips
You’ve seen the videos. A line of black SUVs is driving through Manhattan or D.C., and a mounted police horse just happens to let loose right as the lead car passes.
Look, horses are animals. They don't have a political agenda. A 1,200-pound animal is going to go when it needs to go, regardless of who is in the back of the armored Cadillac.
- NYPD and Capitol Police use horses for crowd control because they offer a high vantage point.
- Horses produce between 30 and 50 pounds of manure a day.
- Math says it's going to happen eventually during a long parade or motorcade route.
Social media "sleuths" love to frame these moments as intentional. They aren't. They’re just biological reality meeting high-security logistics. However, for the protesters standing on the sidewalk, watching a horse dump a pile of manure in front of Trump's motorcade is basically like winning the lottery for a viral TikTok.
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The Ohio Farmer's Pungent Masterpiece
In early 2016, an Ohio farmer named Jerry Slanker took things to a different level. He wasn't interested in gift boxes or coincidental timing. He had a lot of cows and a lot of space.
Slanker spent about four hours using a manure spreader to spell out "NO TRUMP" in massive letters across his field. It was visible from the road and from the air. He told local news outlets like WEWS that he just wanted to voice his opinion. It was a classic example of "using what you've got" to make a point.
While not strictly horse manure—it was bull manure, technically—it fits into this weirdly specific sub-genre of agricultural political protest that seems to follow the former president around.
Logistics: Who Cleans Up the Mess?
When these things happen during official events like an inauguration or a parade, there’s actually a very serious plan in place. For the 2017 inauguration, the D.C. Department of Public Works (DPW) had over 300 employees on the ground.
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- The "Pooper Scooper" Teams: These are actual people whose entire job during a parade is to walk behind the horses and clean up immediately.
- Pressure Washers: Once the bulk is gone, flusher trucks come through to sanitize the pavement.
- The Cost: This isn't cheap. Cleaning up after a presidential-level event involves dozens of dump trucks and sweepers.
If you’re ever at a protest or a rally and see a horse, just know that the "gift" it leaves behind is usually gone within minutes if it's an official event. If it's a private protest—like the guy in Bel Air—it ends up in a forensic lab or a evidence locker for a few days.
Why Do We Care So Much?
Psychologically, there's something about manure that levels the playing field. It doesn't matter how many billions you have or how much power you wield; nature is messy. People use horse manure in front of Trump (or any politician) as a way to "de-mystify" the power they hold. It’s the ultimate "earthy" protest.
Is it mature? Not really. Is it effective? Well, we're still talking about it years later, so it definitely leaves an impression.
Actionable Takeaways for Modern Protesters
If you’re looking at these incidents as a way to understand the legalities or the impact of "pungent" protests, here is what you need to know:
- Avoid "Suspicious Packages": Putting manure in a box and leaving it near a high-ranking official is a great way to meet a bomb squad. It triggers an automatic security response that costs taxpayers thousands.
- Public Nuisance Laws: Most cities have strict ordinances about animal waste. If you’re bringing a horse to a protest, you’re legally responsible for what it leaves behind.
- The Viral Factor: If you're looking for "Discover" fame, timing is everything. A horse "acting out" naturally is a meme; you doing it on purpose is a potential misdemeanor.
If you're interested in the logistics of high-profile political events, check out the official Department of Public Works (DPW) cleanup schedules for major cities like D.C. or NYC during parade seasons to see how they handle the literal "bullsh*t" of the job.