In an age where everyone is quick to point out cases of animal cruelty, it's a wonder that a recent incident caught on camera in Texas happened in the first place.
Drivers on a highway outside the town of Corrigan were stunned to see a pickup truck cruising at 70 miles per hour with a live horse in the vehicle's bed.
The animal had its saddle on and was only secured to the truck by a rope, while the driver held its reins through the cab's rear window.
Kerry Costello, one of multiple people who caught the horse on camera, was not impressed.
"(I thought) anything spooks this horse, (and it's) a danger to this horse, this driver, the other people on the road and me and my husband and our two 5-year-olds in our car," she said.
"Even the simple horseman would have never done that. That's money. That's value to them."
While some viewers were outraged by what they saw as a "dangerous" way of transporting the animal, Corrigan police told ABC 13 there was no case against the driver.
Police say they did pull over the vehicle as it was transporting the horse, but let the driver go because he wasn't breaking any laws. The man did get a citation for a defective tail light before officers let him be on his way.
While Texas has laws against transporting or confining an animal "in a cruel manner," police say that's not what the video shows.
Police also shared that the driver called his horse "extremely well trained," and the animal made it safely to its destination at the local stockyards.
They say the driver told them the horse was only loaded in the pickup because another truck that could pull an enclosed horse trailer would not start.
Many online commenters came to the driver's defense, saying that they remember the good ol' days when horses were often hauled from place to place in pickup trucks.
Then again, cars didn't always have seat belts, but these days we know better.
Ami Parbs, who also shared footage of the horse on social media, says she has miniature horses of her own and only wished the animal had eye covers on.
"Not the best scenario but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do," she told Fox 31.
Despite getting the all clear from local cops, the driver may still be punished for hauling the horse. Prosecutors at the Polk County District Attorney's office are reportedly considering animal cruelty charges.
[H/T: Click2Houston, ABC 13, Houston Chronicle]