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DUCHESNE — You can't blame Sampson for being a little skittish these days.
After all, someone shot the 3-month-old colt in the right front leg with small-caliber bullet earlier this month for reasons his owners can't explain.
"It's totally sickening to me that there are monsters out there doing this," said Christina Kelsey, who owns and operates Desert Springs Farms with her husband, Craig.
Sampson isn't the only horse at Desert Springs to be hurt on July 12 while the Kelseys were away from their home on West Starvation Road. His yearling half-sister, Skips Smart Hollyfox, was injured that day as well, possibly by a grazing blast from a shotgun at close range, according to investigators.
"The hair and the flesh about an inch deep was totally missing," Christina Kelsey said, adding that she suspects the injury may not have been caused by a gun.
"It looks to me like a severely hot surface, like a pipe or something, was laid against her," she said.
The horses were in a large fenced area adjacent to the road when they were hurt. Now they're being kept in smaller corrals to try to protect them and allow their injuries to heal.
"Both of my babies are now injured. Some selfish person has changed everything," said Kelsey, who has been working with horses for three decades.
Five days before the horses were wounded, Kelsey said she called Duchesne County sheriff's deputies to report that someone was shooting in the direction of her farm.
"(Deputies) actually did speak to someone and made it clear to that person that this was against the law," she said.
It's totally sickening to me that there are monsters out there doing this.
–Christina Kelsey, Desert Springs Farms owner
Investigators said Thursday they have no proof the shooting of the Kelseys' horses is connected to the earlier incident.
"We don't have any suspects in the case," Duchesne County Sheriff's Lt. Jeremy Curry said. "We're just looking for the public's help on this."
The injury to Skips Smart Hollyfox's left hindquarter is healing with treatment, Kelsey said. The permanent damage to Sampson's leg — the bullet fractured the growth plate — means he'll never compete as a reining horse, which drastically reduces his future value as a stud, Kelsey said.
There's still a possibility he'll have to be euthanized.
"If his growth plate doesn't heal, his leg won't grow and he'll have to be put down," Kelsey said. "His future is definitely at stake."
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Duchesne County Sheriff's Office at 435-738-2015. Callers can remain anonymous. Kelsey said there is a "large reward" being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
"It's into the thousands of dollars," she said. "I know there's somebody out there who knows something about this."
