Echo Valley Ranch - next to starve animals

Property is managed by the owner of Bailey Feed. He forgot to feed the horses. This past fall I stopped and admired the horses and they were not malnourished. I can't believe after looking at the pictures the owner thinks the horses are fine.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30 ... etail.html

The horses
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sha ... :802985819

This just makes me sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The fact that in the interview he said they were sick please if they are sick then what is the illness and why are so many sick?

I also read that they were saying it was because it is winter and horses drop weight during the winter. This can be somewhat true but they do not drop that much weight and if they start dropping a lot of weight there is probably a reason.

Dude you own a feed store why not try giving them horses some grain and the proper amount of hay. If there are horses that push the others out and eat their hay it is your responsibilty to make sure you do something about it so that the horse gets their proper share.

Last but not least if you can not properly take care of your horses then give them to someone who can and quit making excuses their is no shame in making sure that the animals are taken care of.

Yes, I am a horse owner and mine are fat and happy and they live in a herd environment horses that are that skinny is not right.

I don't see any pics VA on that link you posted.

What is the difference sick and starving? Really? And if they were sick and not getting care that is neglect too. Why is this a controversy? One of the horses died. Why is there any doubt? Yes seize those animals and ask questions later! And the people in this town that are making fun of this and saying they are not starved are making me sick. What is your evidence? Take care of your animals.

Horses do not get this skinny overnight if the horses are hard keepers then it is up to the owner to stay on top of the situation.

I guess we will see how this plays out hopefully the little guy at the vet recovers and now that the spotlight is on them the others get the care they need which they were not getting before.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp;jsessionid=315DBD87D600F277BD1A67F8274C331E.ecom304_main?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Images&_requestid=440970

Hopefully this link works

Some of the facts

Little big guy and the horse that died came from Routt County.
They where in terrible condition when they got to the ranch.
Little big was improving just like he did after the rescue traumatized him in the move. And yes he will eat anything you put in front of him.
The other horse didn't make it.
They where NOT regular boarders at the ranch.

As to the pictures they are a lot of pictures of the same horses.
1-20 are the same little big guy
21-30 are 4 horses that have been struggling and skinny
And the black one is 30 plus years old and he has always been skinny.
He has the run of the place most of the time not in with the other horses so he gets all the food he wants.Yes I know he is in a pen its winter.

Out of all the horses that I have seen at the ranch (I am a neighbor) these 4 have had a hard time. Also they have been getting extra feed and water in a pen so they are being taken care of.
There are at least 4 horse owner boarders out there that help with the feeding do you really think they all don't feed the horses.

The ranch has some of the most beautiful reg Drum mares one that foaled last year.

I think some of you should think about some of the things you are saying before you assume the worst.

After all the negative stuff that has been said on here why would you assume that the owner/care taker would talk on TV so his words could be taken out of context and made to look worse.

Park Co has a reputation for taking animals away from there owners why if the situation is so bad do you think they are still there.
Oh wait maybe they are sick and are being taken care of.

V_A wrote: Property is managed by the owner of Bailey Feed. He forgot to feed the horses. This past fall I stopped and admired the horses and they were not malnourished. I can't believe after looking at the pictures the owner thinks the horses are fine.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30 ... etail.html

The horses
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sha ... :802985819

He didn't forget to feed the horses THEY HAVE BEEN SICK

All I am saying is put the animals first and if officials are wrong fine, but an investigation is in order. The animals should be looked at and taken out of the situation to find out what is going on. This does not happen quickly. If there is any doubt I take the animals protection first.

If they are sick that does not change my opinion on it.'

Edited to add- Horses take a tremendous amount of food, time and money to keep healthy. Many owners get in over their heads and this happens frequently in that they don't know that there is something wrong sometimes until it is too late and some do not know what they are doing. I am not saying that this is the case here but I am saying the animals suffer because of owners that are having difficulties. In these situations they have to investigate. I don't know why they seem to keep happening in Park County.

My question is how long have the horses been there and why if they are that skinny they do not have hay and water 24/7?

Being that skinny they are struggling just to stay warm let alone gain weight and any horse owner should know that if there is not fat on there bones they need food available all the time and a warm place to stay or blankets.

I keep hearing things that they are sick what is the sickness?

I will be happy to help feed these guys but want to make sure they are being fed all the time and if it is a sickness that is keeping the from gaining weight again what is the sickness.

And so sorry to say that horses should never be that skinny because of their breed and I ask that unless you have facts that you can post that this particular breed becomes grossly skinny during the winter months that you back off of that topic because it is a stupid comment.

Those pics are not working for me for some reason. Just FYI.