What happened to Shergar???

Jeska

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Just interested really to see how many of you believe he was gunned down by the IRA or who believes other theories??

Poor lad, such a tragic end to a lovely horse. I do hope they find his body in my lifetime so the mystery can finally be solved!
 

Sarah W

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There's no definitive answer but lore has it that he freaked out in the horse box a short time after he was snatched and he had to be shot. Other stories have it that he was killed by machine gun and bled to death. Either way it's generally accepted that the IRA were responsible. I guess his bones are buried very, very deep...
 

babymare

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sadly prob sold on and on no papers no passport and in a dog can now - and not being horrid just realistic - RIP shergar gallop in the stars and by god you will beat them xxxx
 

miss_bird

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After speaking to a few gardi who were on the case at the time, my theory is that he was a bit more horse to control than the horse knappers thought and had to be disposed of.
I also hope that in my life ime some oxygen thief gets a concience on their death bed and does tell all
 

Elsbells

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A year or two after this happened, an agriculture student from County Armah stayed with us on the farm for the summer harvest. He told us that the IRA had horsenapped Shergar onto a small cattle trailer in the dark of night and drove him to an isolated farm.

On unloading him he spooked in the dark, reared up and bashed his head so badly, he died there and then.

He also said they dug a hole that night and he's buried there.

I believe this to be true, as the lads family were IRA and had IRA connections.
Apparently, it was common Knowledge in the area that they never meant to kill him but were going to demand a ransom for his safe return.
 
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Jeska

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Yes haha! It popped up on corrie and brought back the storey. its always fascinated me.

I cant believe someone would kill him when he was worth thousands.

I hate unsolved mysteries!
 

Jeska

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A year or two after this happened, an agriculture student from County Armah stayed with us on the farm for the summer harvest. He told us that the IRA had horsenapped Shergar onto a small cattle trailer in the dark of night and drove him to an isolated farm.

On unloading him he spooked in the dark, reared up and bashed his head so badly, he died there and then.

He also said they dug a hole that night and he's buried there.

I believe this to be true, as the lads family were IRA and had IRA connections.
Apparently, it was common Knowledge in.

ooo interesting! Iv not heard this version before! But didnt the kidnappers send a photo of the horse and the days paper 4 days after he was stolen?
 

Fii

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I thought they had found what they thought were his bones!
Or have i been reading too many Dick Frances books?
 

Spook

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I have him!!


Where on earth are the smiley/winkey faces for this forum ey?

Ah Ha.....here they are!!!!!!!

Why won't the little bug**rs work?
 

Jeska

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I thought they had found what they thought were his bones!
Or have i been reading too many Dick Frances books?

Someone found a skull with 2 bullet holes but they found out the horse it belonged to was only 2 and Shergar was 5 so it couldnt have been him.
 
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I have a great nephew of Shergar's. My lads gmaternal grandmother was ZShergar's sister.

I don't believe he was deliberately killed. He was worth far too much in ransom money though I do believe he was dead within a day of being stolen.
 

Fiagai

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I believe that Lord Lucan was last seen riding Shergar into the sunset....

To all the horses that have "disappeared.....
 

sam4321

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There was an interview with a former IRA member who admitted he was part of the team who kidnapped him, so they definately did do it, cant remember his name.... sean something??
 

Trish C

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There was an interview with a former IRA member who admitted he was part of the team who kidnapped him, so they definately did do it, cant remember his name.... sean something??

Not sure that means that they DEFINITELY did do it, they are renowned for sometimes not telling the absolute truth, and have occasionally claimed things that they didn't actually do :D

ETA: my more-knowledgable half says 'Sean O'Callaghan' named another guy (Mallon?) in his book. But it's all very hazy and dubious and Mallon denied it to journalists.
 
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ezililaur

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There was a film about him once.

A bit romanticised. A lad became firm friends with the kidnapped Shergar and for both of them to escape, the lad rode shergar off of a cliff.

I've heard all sorts, including a possible insurance scam.
 

1stclassalan

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Unfortunately Shergar - famous though he was - turned out to be worthless to his kidnappers and a very big problem so was almost certainly killed by them a good while after the crime.

They had thought that the Aga Khan was the owner but Shergar had just been syndicated to around twenty five new owners for his stallion career - they all had to be contacted all over the world and this caused great delay. Besides that, the general concensus was to baulk at paying any ransom because of the obvious risk to other horses all over Ireland.

Also - don't be too keen on thinking of the so called IRA as an army with one voice - they are like most terrorist groupings - merely a bunch of loosely associated bands - and this deed was done by one warlord's blokes who thought it was a great idea but with not much more than that.
 

Miss L Toe

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The whole plot was flawed, the Aga Khan was the least likely owner to give in to blackmail [he is rich beyond our dreams and a religious leader], so he would never have talked to terrorists, or even Derek Thomson [who just had to get involved].
The horse was so distinctive even your gran could pick him out in a crowd, and there is no re-sale value for stud purposes as you have to get your breeding registered before you can race.
Obviously a complete mess from start to finish.
 

HihoGinger

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Unfortunately Shergar - famous though he was - turned out to be worthless to his kidnappers and a very big problem so was almost certainly killed by them a good while after the crime.

They had thought that the Aga Khan was the owner but Shergar had just been syndicated to around twenty five new owners for his stallion career - they all had to be contacted all over the world and this caused great delay. Besides that, the general concensus was to baulk at paying any ransom because of the obvious risk to other horses all over Ireland.

Also - don't be too keen on thinking of the so called IRA as an army with one voice - they are like most terrorist groupings - merely a bunch of loosely associated bands - and this deed was done by one warlord's blokes who thought it was a great idea but with not much more than that.


After speaking to a few gardi who were on the case at the time, my theory is that he was a bit more horse to control than the horse knappers thought and had to be disposed of.
I also hope that in my life ime some oxygen thief gets a concience on their death bed and does tell all

This is the version that I understood to be true, along with him being machine gunned to death due to being VERY difficult to handle.
There was a programme on the telly not so long ago that went into all the whys and wherefores and that was the conclusion they came to, with "confessions" from some of the men involved at the time. One particularly sad thing I do remember was the man saying how long it took them to actually kill him. He said he just wouldn't go down. I do hope that part was for dramatic effect :(

I'd never heard the banged on the head theory before, but I suppose in some ways it's as plausible as the above.

Either way, it's a real shame. I was a pony mad 10 year old when he was taken, and was so upset. He was such a special and distinctive horse. Whatever his end was, I doubt he deserved it.

I really hope that someone does eventually confess, just to put the whole sorry mystery to rest.
 

crazyhorse4727

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I'm from n.ireland, and first of all if any over here talks about how they are assoicated with an organisation then their talking crap, because those who are know not to talk about it!
I haven't actualy looked up much about shergar but was there not a colt found with his dna abit after the ira killed him?
And in saying killed him I've no idea how it happened, but head with the bullet holes was sent either to the owner or the yard owner (guess they where watching godfather) probably more as a scare tactic.
And because there was a law passed during the troubles that ransoms would not be paid, as every knew what would be bought with that money!
So a beyond great horse, had to pay the price. Sad but true!
 

CorvusCorax

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I'd heard they shot him because they thought they could walk off with a nice horsey and get some money and didn't realise how hard it was to handle a pumped-up, scared stallion.
Agree with Crazyhorse, everyone and his dog says they are 'connected' :p :p :p and if they (and you) had that information, it would probably be a good idea to take it to the Gardai.
 
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