Rescued horses on path to recovery

Scarred skin on the side of Vinny’s head shows where his left ear used to be.

A Rottweiler tore off the 4-monthold pony’s ear at a horse rescue in Park County, where animal control officers say they found four dead horses and many live ones in bad shape.

Today, Vinny has a new home at a rescue 10 miles south of Fountain, where volunteers gave him his new name in honor of eccentric Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who cut off his left earlobe.

Vinny and about three dozen other horses from Park County live at the DreamCatchers Equine Rescue, where they’re gaining weight and recovering from a previous life of neglect, Dream-Catchers president Julie DeMuesy said.

Park County officials asked her to take in the animals.

“I said, ‘I cannot not,’” DeMuesy said.

The horses came from the Flying Ah horse rescue ranch in Jefferson, a tiny community about 15 miles northeast of Fairplay on U.S. Highway 285.

That’s where owners Carol Martin and her husband, Keith Synnestvedt, surrendered three dozen horses to the Park County Sheriff’s Office in late December and early January, said Park County animal control officer Matthew Sexton.

They face several counts of animal cruelty, Sexton said.

Not all horses could be saved. Four dead horses were found on the property, and a fifth had to be euthanized, he said.

“A local rancher who drives through the area tipped us to the fact that the horses were dead,” Sexton said.

The living horses had no shelter from the area’s snow and wind, she said.

“About 30 percent of the herd ranged in condition from moderately thin to emaciated,” Sexton said.

Two horses were living inside Martin’s house — Vinny and a female named Flagg. Martin said she moved the horses into her large, concretefloored house to protect them from the cold.

The dog attacked Vinny outside before Martin moved him indoors, she said.

The other horses were in bad shape before they got to Martin’s rescue, she said.

“I don’t think they have any basis for cruelty charges because they would have to prove that we were intentionally cruel,” Martin said.

The rescue, which moved to the Jefferson property in April, hadn’t yet built winter shelter for the animals. When the season’s first big snow came, Martin was caught off-guard, she said.

Martin said she fed the horses enough food.

“No horse ever went without a meal,” Martin said.

DreamCatchers’ DeMuesy said when she picked up some of the horses in Park County, she saw only four bales of hay and a horse eating a bag of dog food.

A male named Apollo weighs 600 pounds, DeMuesy said. He should weigh 900 to 1,100 pounds, she said.

Several of the surrendered horses are pregnant, and De-Muesy said she’s disturbed by what she calls “indiscriminate” breeding at the Park County ranch.

“You can’t be a rescue and a breeder. The two don’t go hand in hand,” DeMuesy said.

Flagg, who had also been living in the house, suffered from a urinary tract infection that caused her to bleed internally.

“She’s kicking her heels up now,” DeMuesy said.

Sunday afternoon, Vinny relaxed alongside Flagg on a bed of straw inside a red barn protecting them from the wind.

“It’s healed a lot. You should have seen that a couple weeks ago,” DeMuesy said of Vinny’s ear.

TO HELP

DreamCatchers Equine Rescue 19065 Wigwam Road Pueblo, CO 81008 382-4166 www.dreamcatchersequinerescue.com

The rescue always needs hay, horse feed and volunteers, president Julie De-Muesy said.