Horse neglect - 3 found dead, 11 seized - Jefferson, CO

Saturday, Dec 22, 2007

County: Park

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 2 files available

Defendants/Suspects:
» Carol Martin
» Keith Synnestvedt

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

After getting several complaints, the Park County Sheriff's Office has investigated allegations of animal abuse and charged two people with animal cruelty.

Deputies say Park County Animal Control visited the home of Carol Martin and Keith Synnestvedt and initially found horses that needed nourishment and were in "inadequate body condition."

Animal Control at that time worked with the two to create a plan of action to get the horses back in good health.

However, on December 22 Animal Control received a complaint that a horse had died. When officers visited the home again, they found three dead horses and another horse which was dying. A local veterinarian was contacted and put down the dying horse.

Deputies say 11 other horses were taken from the home and sent to a horse rescue center near Pueblo.

Martin and Synnestvedt were both charged with seven counts of cruelty to animals.

Deputies say other horses still live at the home and officers are making weekly checks on their welfare.

Case Updates

The owners of the Flying Ah Ranch in Jefferson will be sentenced on June 4 for their role in the neglect of a number of horses. Carol Martin and Keith Synnestvedt had been facing charges on 22 counts of cruelty to animals, a class one misdemeanor. They agreed to plead guilty to one count and all other counts were dropped. It was agreed upon at an April 9 pre-trial conference that Martin and Synnestvedt, as part of a plea deal, would have 24 months unsupervised probation, would not be able to open another horse rescue and that animal control would be able to enter onto their property without notice to inspect the condition of their animals. "Under the terms of our probation, we cannot run a rescue or own horses," Martin said. Martin and Synnestvedt were allowed by the court to keep their four pet dogs and parrot. Their attorney, Fairplay-based Ed Hartshorn, said a pre-sentencing investigation will be conducted before the June court date. The pre-sentencing investigation is an "opportunity for someone - usually a probation officer - to investigate and make a recommendation regarding sentencing," Hartshorn said. Park County Sheriff's Animal Control officers became involved in an investigation at the Flying Ah Ranch after incidents of animal neglect were reported. A total of 35 horses were taken from the rescue last December. Most of the animals were taken to another horse rescue facility in Pueblo, where 25 of them were up for adoption in early March. Vinny, a young horse that was taken from the Flying Ah Ranch, recently died, according to Lisa Papi with the DreamCatchers Equine Rescue in Pueblo, where many of the horses went. Vinny had been staying inside Martin and Synnestvedt's house when the horses were seized. Martin said she and her husband decided to agree to the plea deal because they couldn't afford the expense of a trial. Martin plans to continue to work toward animal rescue causes in the future, but she said she wouldn't be operating an animal rescue. "We have no intention of doing that kind of rescue work," she said.

Source: The Flume - April 18, 2008 Update posted on Apr 18, 2008 - 1:04PM

All of the horses have been removed from The Flying Ah Ranch near Jefferson as of Jan. 15, according to a Park County Sheriff's Office press release. A total of 35 horses were voluntarily surrendered by ranch president Carol Martin after Park County Animal Control officers investigated allegations of animal neglect. On Dec. 26, 12 horses were voluntarily surrendered to Animal Control officers. Ten more horses were seized on Jan. 9, including a 4-month-old foal and a 2-year-old filly. Both animals were living in the Martin house, according to the release. The filly was left in a veterinarian's care while the rest of the horses were taken to a horse rescue facility in Pueblo. The remainder of the animals were taken on Jan. 15. "I don't think they are bad, evil people," said Park County Undersheriff Monte Gore. He believes Martin was trying to build body mass on the horses, but too many horses were placed in the ranch's care while it lacked the resources to handle a herd of that size. Martin said many of the animals in her care came to her in terrible conditions, but they all were given enough to eat. She said she voluntarily surrendered the horses because she felt it was in the best interest of the animals on her ranch. "The cold weather conditions aren't getting any better. The best thing for the horses is to get them to where it's warm," she said. A necropsy conducted on four dead horses picked up on Dec. 26 revealed that the animals had died of starvation. Martin said starvation can be caused by a number of things, including sickness. One of the horses had been suffering from cancer, and two had been recovering from surgery. It didn't necessarily mean the animals died because of lack of food, she said. Animal Control officers used the Henneke body condition scoring system, which is based on "visual appraisal and palpable fat cover on six major points of the horse. It is based on a scale of one through nine, with nine being the highest", according to the release. "The foal scored a 1.5 body score, which is noted as 'extremely thin'. The 2-year-old filly also scored a 1.5, and Martin's veterinarian is unable to determine what is wrong with the filly. All horses that were seized scored a 3.5 or less." Those horses were transported to the same facility. "Animal Control loaded them up today and took them to a horse rescue in Pueblo," Gore said. The animals would have been taken sooner, but nasty weather kept Animal Control from getting to the ranch to take the animals. At 8 a.m. on Jan. 15, the county's Road and Bridge Department was working on plowing the roads so the sheriff's office could get equipment to the ranch, he said. "They put a lot of time and effort to plow us a trail out there," he said. Gore left open the possibility of more charges for Martin and her husband, Keith Synnestvedt. They are currently facing seven counts of animal cruelty. "This is a continuing investigation," he said. Even though more charges might be on the way, there isn't much the Sheriff's Office could do to keep The Flying Ah Ranch from accepting more horses in the future. "It's not a regulated industry," Gore said. "From our standpoint, there isn't a whole lot we can do." Gore believes Animal Control plans to monitor the ranch if it stays open. Martin has been cooperating fully with Animal Control officers, he said. As to whether or not The Flying Ah Ranch will continue, Martin said she wasn't sure yet. "We will continue in one form or another, and we're trying to figure out how to restructure," she said. "I will definitely, personally continue to work for legislation that protects horses and horse welfare," she said.

Source: The Flume - Jan 18, 2008 Update posted on Jan 18, 2008 - 2:13PM

References

• « CO State Animal Cruelty Map
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