Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MONTICELLO — A criminal investigation in Colorado led to the discovery of four malnourished horses in Monticello, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit.
A deputy with the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office in Colorado was investigating a case of animal abuse in the small town of Egnar, Colorado, near the Utah border.
The owner of the horses was "not providing feed, medical needs or farrier needs to his horses. (He) has stated to deputy (Paula) Martinez that he doesn't have the money to properly take care of them," according to an affidavit filed in 7th District Court.
On Dec. 21, the deputy executed a search warrant in Colorado to seize the horses, which she described as "extremely thin and malnourished. Deputy Martinez had a vet evaluate the horses and confirm that the horses needed immediate attention or death would be imminent," the affidavit states.
At that time, only two horses were found and seized. The owner claimed the four others had been stolen, according to the warrant.
On Feb. 24, deputies flew over the unincorporated area of Ucolo between San Miguel and San Juan counties and spotted the horses.
"We were able to locate the four horses and take pictures. We could visually see that the gray mare was in extremely poor condition and the three paint horses looked to be malnourished," the warrant states.
The San Juan County sheriff's deputy who assisted Colorado authorities noted in the warrant, "I have owned horses for over 25 years and in my experience I can agree that the horses are in poor condition and need immediate attention."
According to the return to the warrant, filed on Feb. 25, "All four horses listed in the search warrant were found and were taken as evidence. The four horses included three brown and white paints and one gray mare."
It was not known Thursday whether charges against the horse owner had been filed. Calls made to the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office were not immediately returned.
