Headscratcher

Is this homophobia or just stupidity? Or both?

A student at Balliol College was arrested and detained in custody for a night after he verbally abused a police horse early on Monday morning.

[...]

Brown was fined for "causing harassment, harm or distress," after he repeatedly called the officer's horse "gay."

[...]

Brown inquired, "How do you feel about your horse being gay?" of one of the policemen, stating that his colleague's [horse] was clearly not gay. After repeated comments on the sexuality of his horse, and despite warnings from the policeman about his behaviour, Brown's offer of an apology to the horse was rejected and he was handcuffed and taken by the officers to the police station.
The arrest was made at 2.20am on Monday morning, and Brown was in a state which he described as "pissed out of my head."

[...]

He remains adamant that the use of "gay" does not cause "harassment, harm or distress," that he had not been swearing or shouting at the officer and that "as far as I am aware, horses are not that sensitive."