More from court on Tuesday
It seems the trail will last until Thursday ior Friday. I think the Heydon's are testifing today. They are pleading ignorance of horse care, even though the oder Heydon told me he grew horses and knows all about them. (But he told me he had NO NEED for them after the ride) He said he would return them to me better than I adopt them to him. NOT! 'cause there was no way I would let him adopt a cockroach!
Cheryl
>Good Evening Willing Servants!
It was another good day for the home team! We heard a TON of excellent testimony from several people. Sooooooo these are the highlights from the 14 pages of notes I took….
First was Shawn Shitell (? on spelling…I’m hooked on fonics) He worked on the FS trail crew. And reported to his boss that the Heydons horses were in poor condition and they were “ill prepared” for their wilderness adventure. He testifies that there is very little forage at that elevation for horses but “if horses are hungry, they’ll eat anything.” Elder Heydon reported to him that “the horses had taken a tumble a ways down the trail.” Hhhhuuummm…I wonder what happened. If the horses could only talk…
Then we hear from Deputy Moles. He was FANTASTIC! He did not give an inch on cross examination…not even a little bit. He’s been in law enforcement for 7 years. Spent 8 yrs on a hunting ranch and has always owned horses and spent 3 yrs packing. He said the horse sores were from ill fitting equipment and not enough padding. He testified that their feet were so sore that none of them wanted to take a step. The hooves had been trimmed improperly and the shoes had just been haphazardly nailed on without proper fitting. He said that “they didn’t just get that way overnight…but it was from day after day after day after day of continuous use and he said to use a horse in this manner was TORTURE! He said it was a “total disregard for the health and welfare of an animal and that they were definitely abused.” He could not have been any clearer when he testified: “They should have left their equipment in the woods….walked the horses out…and taken them immediately to a vet. He also said” they’ll eat their own dung sometimes before they’ll eat bear grass”. He said it was a gross deviation of appropriate care for the horses. And on cross examination he was able to report to Haydons attorney that he has packed 100’s of horse into the wilderness. He did not cut them one inch of slack. He is our hero and he deservers out thanks and our respect. He demonstrated himself as a knowledgeable horseman today! And you would all be proud of him.
Next we had Dr Andy Cross testify. He evaluated 1 horse, Diamond, on Aug 4th. Reading straight from his report he said the horse was “literally skin and bones.” “He was 150 -200 # underweight.” “He had pressure sores on his withers and a second sore at the base of his spine or the back of a saddle.” “He had a veracious appetite for green grass.” “He asked the Heydons how long it had been since the horse had worn a saddle to which they answered “30 days.” Interestingly, it was a friend of Dr Cross’s who referred the Heydons to Dr cross in the first place when he ran into them at the trail head …and he reported to Dr Cross that the horse was saddled at that time…less than 48 hours prior. Huuummm…caught in another lie. Dr Cross agreed that the horses had been neglected and not received proper nutrition.
Then came Dr Gleason’s testimony. I’m proud to say THAT’S MY VET! Another hero for the home team! Ha gave a lot of powerful testimony but some of the highlights were…Q. “Dr Gleason…did you work any miracles for these horses?” To which he responded…”No, not really. I gave them pretty basic care and I made sure they were fed and watered.” Yeiks! Can it really be so easy? You mean you just need to feed and water a horse to keep it healthy?! And then when he was asked if he felt the horses care was a gross deviation from care necessary to sustain a horse comfortably…blah…blah…blah…some fancy words that are used in the statue….Dr Gleason said “If there is something stronger than a gross deviation…that would be my choice.” It was great…and it was powerful…and he didn’t mince words.
Then Bill Goslin testified. He works for the FS. He had interaction with the Heydon on 2 occasions and multiple phone calls with them. He saw the condition of their stock. He tried to educate them about proper packing techniques. I don’t know…I wasn’t there…but it really seems to me that the FS Rangers should be required to enforce proper care and humane treatment of the animals in the back country. Seems to me like a ball was seriously dropped here. Opportunity presented itself…but was not taken.
Then we heard Char Springer from the BRHA give a short testimony about the condition of the horse when they were checked in. A repeat of earlier info….Very sore feet, rub and raw places from ill fitting equipment, ulcers in eyes. Body scale 1.5. She was asked if the Heydons had ever offered to help with the costs associated with keeping and re habing the horses. The answer was “No.”
Then we heard from Dr Brophy who was an impartial vet who had not actually treated the horses but evaluated the case based on the pictures and records from the different vets that had directly examined the horses. He said “I’ve never saw that much injury AND debilitation in one group of horses.” He said “absolutely the horse were malnourished.” He said it was a “Gross Deviation…blah, blah...” He said the blood work indicated that Able was suffering from “Severe tissue damage” He said he was available to treat animals in the wilderness and that he has done it quite a bit of it in the past. He said “The poor condition was caused fro over word and malnutrition.
The prosecution rested at 3 pm.
AND THEN CAME THE TESTIMONY DR. DICK RICHARDSON. I guess I’ll need to apologize to any of you who use him for a vet…but my gracious sakes alive….Dick Richardson should run for some office…because the only other time I’ve ever heard more double speak is when it’s coming out of the mouth of a politician! That man was something to watch and listen too! One minute he was ripping Dawn Merrill to shreds for bringing the horse to him on a Sun night when “all she was concerned with was punishing those terrible men and they would never get there horse back” and then the next minute he’s saying what a wonderful job she did in taking care of the horse. His main interest on Sun night was “how the horse would be disposed of”. His words and I quote. He kept referring to the Horses…when all he ever saw was ONE horse…Able. He said he wasn’t that bad off…but yet he “Fed the horse himself because he didn’t trust his staff to feed him properly” he miss quoted Dr Cross and put words in his mouth that he simply didn’t say. He totally threw Dr Gleason and the BRHA under the bus claiming that the way they re introduced feed was to blame for ALL Ables problems. He said that the grass gains nutritional value the higher you go…when everyone else testified to the opposite. He was kind of forced to make some statements that ultimately helped us. “Most people who use their horses hard, shoe them.” “Most people who pack in to the back country anticipate needing extra shoes” “No good cowboy would want their horse to look like that”: Then he was asked if he was biased against the BRHA…and he said “no, definitely not.” Then Attorney Bell asked him if he remembered leaving him a message on his voice mail Aug 29th. It said “ Hi John, this is Dr Dick Richardson. These guys from GA don’t deserve felony charges. The Human Society people are worked up into frenzy and they need to have their wings clipped.” Then when he was asked “Do you feel the defendants cared for Able in an appropriate manner?” He said “I don’t have enough information to make that determination. But then Atny Bell read him his very own quote from a newspaper article published in the Missoulian back in Aug which stated something to the effect “ I don’t think the horse is terminal and I think he will survive…but it is obvious that he suffers from over use and malnutrition.”
Yeiks and double yeiks! We were all kinda scratching our heads and going….What ?????
Please forgive any spelling errors and grammar mistakes and I’m sorry if this is a bit hard to follow. My brain is racing and I just wanted to get as much info out to you as I could tonight!
Good Night!<
Theresa
It seems the trail will last until Thursday ior Friday. I think the Heydon's are testifing today. They are pleading ignorance of horse care, even though the oder Heydon told me he grew horses and knows all about them. (But he told me he had NO NEED for them after the ride) He said he would return them to me better than I adopt them to him. NOT! 'cause there was no way I would let him adopt a cockroach!
Cheryl
>Good Evening Willing Servants!
It was another good day for the home team! We heard a TON of excellent testimony from several people. Sooooooo these are the highlights from the 14 pages of notes I took….
First was Shawn Shitell (? on spelling…I’m hooked on fonics) He worked on the FS trail crew. And reported to his boss that the Heydons horses were in poor condition and they were “ill prepared” for their wilderness adventure. He testifies that there is very little forage at that elevation for horses but “if horses are hungry, they’ll eat anything.” Elder Heydon reported to him that “the horses had taken a tumble a ways down the trail.” Hhhhuuummm…I wonder what happened. If the horses could only talk…
Then we hear from Deputy Moles. He was FANTASTIC! He did not give an inch on cross examination…not even a little bit. He’s been in law enforcement for 7 years. Spent 8 yrs on a hunting ranch and has always owned horses and spent 3 yrs packing. He said the horse sores were from ill fitting equipment and not enough padding. He testified that their feet were so sore that none of them wanted to take a step. The hooves had been trimmed improperly and the shoes had just been haphazardly nailed on without proper fitting. He said that “they didn’t just get that way overnight…but it was from day after day after day after day of continuous use and he said to use a horse in this manner was TORTURE! He said it was a “total disregard for the health and welfare of an animal and that they were definitely abused.” He could not have been any clearer when he testified: “They should have left their equipment in the woods….walked the horses out…and taken them immediately to a vet. He also said” they’ll eat their own dung sometimes before they’ll eat bear grass”. He said it was a gross deviation of appropriate care for the horses. And on cross examination he was able to report to Haydons attorney that he has packed 100’s of horse into the wilderness. He did not cut them one inch of slack. He is our hero and he deservers out thanks and our respect. He demonstrated himself as a knowledgeable horseman today! And you would all be proud of him.
Next we had Dr Andy Cross testify. He evaluated 1 horse, Diamond, on Aug 4th. Reading straight from his report he said the horse was “literally skin and bones.” “He was 150 -200 # underweight.” “He had pressure sores on his withers and a second sore at the base of his spine or the back of a saddle.” “He had a veracious appetite for green grass.” “He asked the Heydons how long it had been since the horse had worn a saddle to which they answered “30 days.” Interestingly, it was a friend of Dr Cross’s who referred the Heydons to Dr cross in the first place when he ran into them at the trail head …and he reported to Dr Cross that the horse was saddled at that time…less than 48 hours prior. Huuummm…caught in another lie. Dr Cross agreed that the horses had been neglected and not received proper nutrition.
Then came Dr Gleason’s testimony. I’m proud to say THAT’S MY VET! Another hero for the home team! Ha gave a lot of powerful testimony but some of the highlights were…Q. “Dr Gleason…did you work any miracles for these horses?” To which he responded…”No, not really. I gave them pretty basic care and I made sure they were fed and watered.” Yeiks! Can it really be so easy? You mean you just need to feed and water a horse to keep it healthy?! And then when he was asked if he felt the horses care was a gross deviation from care necessary to sustain a horse comfortably…blah…blah…blah…some fancy words that are used in the statue….Dr Gleason said “If there is something stronger than a gross deviation…that would be my choice.” It was great…and it was powerful…and he didn’t mince words.
Then Bill Goslin testified. He works for the FS. He had interaction with the Heydon on 2 occasions and multiple phone calls with them. He saw the condition of their stock. He tried to educate them about proper packing techniques. I don’t know…I wasn’t there…but it really seems to me that the FS Rangers should be required to enforce proper care and humane treatment of the animals in the back country. Seems to me like a ball was seriously dropped here. Opportunity presented itself…but was not taken.
Then we heard Char Springer from the BRHA give a short testimony about the condition of the horse when they were checked in. A repeat of earlier info….Very sore feet, rub and raw places from ill fitting equipment, ulcers in eyes. Body scale 1.5. She was asked if the Heydons had ever offered to help with the costs associated with keeping and re habing the horses. The answer was “No.”
Then we heard from Dr Brophy who was an impartial vet who had not actually treated the horses but evaluated the case based on the pictures and records from the different vets that had directly examined the horses. He said “I’ve never saw that much injury AND debilitation in one group of horses.” He said “absolutely the horse were malnourished.” He said it was a “Gross Deviation…blah, blah...” He said the blood work indicated that Able was suffering from “Severe tissue damage” He said he was available to treat animals in the wilderness and that he has done it quite a bit of it in the past. He said “The poor condition was caused fro over word and malnutrition.
The prosecution rested at 3 pm.
AND THEN CAME THE TESTIMONY DR. DICK RICHARDSON. I guess I’ll need to apologize to any of you who use him for a vet…but my gracious sakes alive….Dick Richardson should run for some office…because the only other time I’ve ever heard more double speak is when it’s coming out of the mouth of a politician! That man was something to watch and listen too! One minute he was ripping Dawn Merrill to shreds for bringing the horse to him on a Sun night when “all she was concerned with was punishing those terrible men and they would never get there horse back” and then the next minute he’s saying what a wonderful job she did in taking care of the horse. His main interest on Sun night was “how the horse would be disposed of”. His words and I quote. He kept referring to the Horses…when all he ever saw was ONE horse…Able. He said he wasn’t that bad off…but yet he “Fed the horse himself because he didn’t trust his staff to feed him properly” he miss quoted Dr Cross and put words in his mouth that he simply didn’t say. He totally threw Dr Gleason and the BRHA under the bus claiming that the way they re introduced feed was to blame for ALL Ables problems. He said that the grass gains nutritional value the higher you go…when everyone else testified to the opposite. He was kind of forced to make some statements that ultimately helped us. “Most people who use their horses hard, shoe them.” “Most people who pack in to the back country anticipate needing extra shoes” “No good cowboy would want their horse to look like that”: Then he was asked if he was biased against the BRHA…and he said “no, definitely not.” Then Attorney Bell asked him if he remembered leaving him a message on his voice mail Aug 29th. It said “ Hi John, this is Dr Dick Richardson. These guys from GA don’t deserve felony charges. The Human Society people are worked up into frenzy and they need to have their wings clipped.” Then when he was asked “Do you feel the defendants cared for Able in an appropriate manner?” He said “I don’t have enough information to make that determination. But then Atny Bell read him his very own quote from a newspaper article published in the Missoulian back in Aug which stated something to the effect “ I don’t think the horse is terminal and I think he will survive…but it is obvious that he suffers from over use and malnutrition.”
Yeiks and double yeiks! We were all kinda scratching our heads and going….What ?????
Please forgive any spelling errors and grammar mistakes and I’m sorry if this is a bit hard to follow. My brain is racing and I just wanted to get as much info out to you as I could tonight!
Good Night!<
Theresa
I think they should take the Heydons out and hang them, after a fair trial of course. And let the rescued horses watch.
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