
A Fouke, Ark., man was arrested by the Miller County Sheriff’s Office last week for sexual misconduct with a miniature horse.

Ryan Danyl McDonald, 37, had been warned July 2 by deputies to stay away from the horse farm in Genoa, Ark., where he was taken into custody Oct. 30. A deputy on patrol noticed a van parked in the woods on the west side of Miller County 70 south of Tennessee Road at approximately 1:30 a.m., according to an arrest affidavit.

At first the deputy thought the van was empty, but shortly after walking around it, he noticed a man hiding in the floor of the back seat. McDonald told the deputies and officers who arrived to assist him that he had fought with his father earlier in the night and was just looking for a quiet place to think and sleep.


When confronted with the previous criminal trespass warning and several plastic bags of whole corn found in a cooler in the van, McDonald reportedly told the deputies he had been “fornicating” with the animals.

McDonald admitted he knew he was banned from the farm. He gave deputies a statement in which he admitted to parking his father’s van near the road where he expected the horses would be.

“I proceeded to walk to a field where there were miniature mares. Upon finding them, I took it upon myself to fondle and later have sex with the animal. Afterward I proceeded back to the van. Upon returning, I noticed a Miller County vehicle approach. I pretended to be asleep,” the report states.

McDonald allegedly gave deputies a cell phone with video recordings related to the animal abuse as well.

McDonald is charged with bestiality and criminal trespassing. Both misdemeanor crimes are punishable by up to a year in the county jail and a fine up to $1,000. McDonald is currently free on a $2,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to court in December before Miller County District Judge Wren Autrey.