DEER LODGE — A prominent Deer Lodge area businessman and rodeo rider is facing intense scrutiny after a video went viral on social media that appears to show one of his horses drowning in a mountain lake while he was riding on it last summer.

“There’s been a lot of hate mail, a lot of death threats that my phone has been going off with death threats,” said Reno Ward.

Ward’s younger sister Terra Ward posted this video on social media alleging Reno Ward drowned his horse. The video has received much attention, and even the Powell County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

“Obviously the video is disturbing in its content but the Powell County Sheriff's Office is taking the matter seriously and it will eventually be concluded with a report presented to the county attorney,” said Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles.

No charges or arrests have been made.

Reno Ward says the June 11 incident was a tragic accident in which the horse panicked when it stepped into deep water.

“It’s a very catastrophic accident and it’s been misinterpreted by the whole world,” said Ward.

The heavily edited video shows people laughing as the body of the horse was being pulled from the water. Ward said this was several hours after the horse’s death and added much in the video is taken out of context.

“We weren’t laughing at a horse’s death. There wasn’t ever any footage when I came up out of the water and, I, for one, happy to be alive when that horse was coming after me pawing. For one, distraught about, like, what happened to the horse, being in disbelief of like, I just lost this valuable pet asset,” he said.

Ward claims the video was posted because of a dispute with a family and designed to ruin his reputation.

“There’s a big fear about, like, my business, like, my employees, like this hurts the lives of everyone around me,” said Ward.