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St. David rancher may face animal abuse charges in horse incident
Ainslee S. Wittig/Wick Communications
A St. David rancher could be charged with abuse of horses if a woman who saw the horses the day before he shot them has her way.
But Rex Kartchner said it's a situation of "the best of intentions going sour," adding the palomino was raised on a pasture like the one he was most recently on.
Lydia Mangen, of St. David, explained, "I'd seen these two horses from a distance on and off for the last six months. This rancher had the option of selling them at the Robertson's Horse Auction - they were still doing auctions (during that time frame). They were going to the slaughter plant in Mexico, but he could have done that. Or he could have shot them months ago. That's legal. But he didn't take those options. Instead they starved and suffered. He didn't have a problem shooting them the day after someone wanted to save them."
Mangen took pictures of the horses on March 19 when she saw them near Horse Ranch Road and Highway 80. She brought them hay and they both ate.
"They did not have trouble chewing and they were not choking. They had water available, but no food. There was grass, but with no nutritional value," she said. "They were starving. I could tell they were beginning to shut down. I was three feet away when the palomino noticed I was there."
That day, Mangen posted the photos on Craig's List because she knew of a woman who had sold her horses and then heard the buyer could have been taking them to slaughter, and she wanted to find them.
The posting on Craig's List prompted a huge number of responses, mostly from people wanting to help the horses.
"Many of the responses from the Phoenix area were warnings that no one will do anything about it," she said.
The next day, when she set out to feed the horses, she saw the rancher's vehicle and stopped. Then she heard a gunshot. She heard the rancher making a lot of noise, and she took a photo with her cell phone as he was leaving in his truck.
"He shot the Chestnut, and he dragged her out away from the pen into the desert. He led the Palomino out and shot her in the head. He probably either saw me the day before or saw the hay," Mangen said.
As awful as the situation sounds, Kartchner said he raised the palomino from a colt, and he would "never do anything to harm them."
He said the palomino was 24 to 25 years old and the chestnut was "almost as old. My idea was to put them out to (the 40-acre) pasture and let them take it easy the rest of their lives."
He said he saw the horses several weeks before Mangen saw them, and he said, "they looked fine - there was no indication that they were starving. The last thing I had in my mind was that they would go hungry."
"I was horrified when I saw the condition they were in (when he saw them March 20). I couldn't believe they went downhill that fast. I didn't foresee any problem there. At that point, one was already down, and the most humane thing for me to do was to put them down. It still breaks my heart to think about it," Kartchner said.
He said, "I would typically be moving into a time where I'd start supplementing, but they hadn't been there a year yet."
Mangen said that when she moved to the area, she was warned by the state that the land could not sustain a horse. These two horses were on state land, and the rancher had a grazing lease for his cattle.
Mangen wants people to know they can't treat horses this way.
"Those days of ranchers doing whatever they want and no one will see are over. They have to know they can't get away with this. I know the slaughter house is not a great solution, but it's better than starving to death," she said. "It would be good if there were euthanasia clinics available" for ranchers to learn better options.
Arizona Department of Agriculture Livestock Officer Brad Cowan said he has finished investigating the situation and would be bringing the case within several weeks to the Cochise County Attorney's Office for them to determine whether Kartchner will be charged with any crime.
"I'm not concerned about any other animals in his care at this point," Cowan said.
Kartchner said, "It hurts me more than anybody, but I am the one responsible. I'm not making excuses and whatever happens, happens. It was a situation of being unaware of the deteriorating condition. I had no intention of harming these horses. The grass just didn't cut it. I certainly didn't want for them to starve to death."
"If I were in that situation again, I'd do it differently," he said.
A St. David rancher could be charged with abuse of horses if a woman who saw the horses the day before he shot them has her way.
But Rex Kartchner said it's a situation of "the best of intentions going sour," adding the palomino was raised on a pasture like the one he was most recently on.
Lydia Mangen, of St. David, explained, "I'd seen these two horses from a distance on and off for the last six months. This rancher had the option of selling them at the Robertson's Horse Auction - they were still doing auctions (during that time frame). They were going to the slaughter plant in Mexico, but he could have done that. Or he could have shot them months ago. That's legal. But he didn't take those options. Instead they starved and suffered. He didn't have a problem shooting them the day after someone wanted to save them."
Mangen took pictures of the horses on March 19 when she saw them near Horse Ranch Road and Highway 80. She brought them hay and they both ate.
"They did not have trouble chewing and they were not choking. They had water available, but no food. There was grass, but with no nutritional value," she said. "They were starving. I could tell they were beginning to shut down. I was three feet away when the palomino noticed I was there."
That day, Mangen posted the photos on Craig's List because she knew of a woman who had sold her horses and then heard the buyer could have been taking them to slaughter, and she wanted to find them.
The posting on Craig's List prompted a huge number of responses, mostly from people wanting to help the horses.
"Many of the responses from the Phoenix area were warnings that no one will do anything about it," she said.
The next day, when she set out to feed the horses, she saw the rancher's vehicle and stopped. Then she heard a gunshot. She heard the rancher making a lot of noise, and she took a photo with her cell phone as he was leaving in his truck.
"He shot the Chestnut, and he dragged her out away from the pen into the desert. He led the Palomino out and shot her in the head. He probably either saw me the day before or saw the hay," Mangen said.
As awful as the situation sounds, Kartchner said he raised the palomino from a colt, and he would "never do anything to harm them."
He said the palomino was 24 to 25 years old and the chestnut was "almost as old. My idea was to put them out to (the 40-acre) pasture and let them take it easy the rest of their lives."
He said he saw the horses several weeks before Mangen saw them, and he said, "they looked fine - there was no indication that they were starving. The last thing I had in my mind was that they would go hungry."
"I was horrified when I saw the condition they were in (when he saw them March 20). I couldn't believe they went downhill that fast. I didn't foresee any problem there. At that point, one was already down, and the most humane thing for me to do was to put them down. It still breaks my heart to think about it," Kartchner said.
He said, "I would typically be moving into a time where I'd start supplementing, but they hadn't been there a year yet."
Mangen said that when she moved to the area, she was warned by the state that the land could not sustain a horse. These two horses were on state land, and the rancher had a grazing lease for his cattle.
Mangen wants people to know they can't treat horses this way.
"Those days of ranchers doing whatever they want and no one will see are over. They have to know they can't get away with this. I know the slaughter house is not a great solution, but it's better than starving to death," she said. "It would be good if there were euthanasia clinics available" for ranchers to learn better options.
Arizona Department of Agriculture Livestock Officer Brad Cowan said he has finished investigating the situation and would be bringing the case within several weeks to the Cochise County Attorney's Office for them to determine whether Kartchner will be charged with any crime.
"I'm not concerned about any other animals in his care at this point," Cowan said.
Kartchner said, "It hurts me more than anybody, but I am the one responsible. I'm not making excuses and whatever happens, happens. It was a situation of being unaware of the deteriorating condition. I had no intention of harming these horses. The grass just didn't cut it. I certainly didn't want for them to starve to death."
"If I were in that situation again, I'd do it differently," he said.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
Dyane Renmo wrote on Apr 24, 2009 6:28 PM:
" I am aghast at what this man did. He should be fined heavily and not allowed to own horses ever again. I drove by those horses twice daily to and from work. Now that I have read this and know what this cruel incensitive individual did it is sickening. Shame on him. "
AG Walker wrote on Apr 20, 2009 2:26 PM: