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Case Snapshot

Case ID: 17443

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: horse

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Attorneys/Judges

Judge(s):

Blaire Jones

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Dead and emaciated horses found
Farmington, MT (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 3, 2011
County: Carbon

Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged:
» Jack Martin
» Terry Martin

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A Carbon County couple, claiming decades of experience in breeding horses, faces multiple felony counts of animal cruelty for allegedly starving half the estimated 63 horses on their ranch north of Bridger.

Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon Friday filed 26 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty against Jack and Terry Martin, who bought a 253-acre ranch along Sand Creek between Bridger and Fromberg after moving from Washington state three years ago. At least six horses have been found dead on the ranch, and another was humanely shot by authorities, according to the complaint. Veterinarian Rebecca Cody from Beartooth Veterinary Clinic in Bridger said none of the surviving horses were healthy.

If convicted on all 27 counts, the Martins could face a maximum of 53 years in prison and $66,000 in fines.

"This is a very significant case in that so many horses are in such bad shape," Nixon said. "It is my belief that none of the horses examined were healthy by veterinarian standards. We're charging on the truly desperate horses."

In August 2009, Carbon County charged the Martins with two misdemeanors counts of animal cruelty, but the charges were later dismissed.

The Martins initial court appearance on the most recent counts is set for Friday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 a.m. in Red Lodge.

Last November, Carbon County Sheriff's Deputy Jon Croft said he toured the Martin's ranch to investigate a complaint that their horses were starving. But the deputy halted the visit when he saw Jack Martin carrying a rifle and wearing what appeared to be sagebrush on his head.

"I knew from previous experience with the Martins that they had access to multiple guns," Croft said in an affidavit supporting the charges. "I was unable to determine if the horses were starving at that point."

On Jan. 25, 2011, sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Niebauer, responding to another complaint about a dead horse, said he saw about 70 horses on the Martin's property with no grass, no other feed or water, and signs that the horses were eating sagebrush.

The following day, Cody and two Montana Department of Livestock inspectors saw a dead horse in the Martin's barnyard and one in the middle of a pasture. Another horse in a pen was unable to get up, court records state, and they saw an unidentified person dragging a round bale of "very poor quality hay" out to the pasture.

On Jan. 28, a neighbor, Shannon Stovall, who by then had lived next to the Martins for four months, said there was little to no food for the huge number of horses and that numerous animals were laying flat, unable to get up.

After obtaining a search warrant Feb. 3, one horse was shot and examined by Cody who said it was "severely emaciated" and had an "extremely high" level of parasites. The vet said the horse's fat level in its femur bone was less than 2 percent, when the normal range is between 69 and 99 percent.

Four more dead horses were found on Feb. 3, according to the charges.

On Feb. 4, someone donated several loads of hay, but the Martins didn't feed the hay properly.

"Even after hay was provided to the Martins, the last horse that died didn't have apparent access to hay and died only with manure in its stomach," Nixon said.

A second search warrant was served Feb. 11 and Cody evaluated 55 horses, concluding that none were in good health and 30 were very thin and emaciated.

The horses have been eating donated hay for the last two weeks, a relief effort coordinated by the Beartooth Humane Alliance of Red Lodge.

In an interview with The Billings Gazette Friday, Terry Martin again denied the horses were starving. After reading most of the charges, she said, "We're not guilty. We didn't have a problem feeding them."

The Martins moved to Montana after Jack was injured in a logging accident, Terry said, and they paid $500,000 in cash for the ranch along Sand Creek.

"I take care of my animals. They're my life," she said. "I'd never hurt an animal. I don't even eat meat. I'm a vegetarian."

Terry Martin said she worked as a horseshoer, as well as assisting veterinarians in Washington. The mare that was shot was one of her best breeding mares and was "just a little thin" because her colt hadn't been weaned, she said.

The Carbon County horses will continue to stay on the Martin property and be fed by volunteers. About 10 tons of hay bound to feed hungry horses in Yellowstone County was diverted to help the Carbon County horses, said Justin Mills, executive director of the Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings. Another seven tons of hay is stored at the NILE ready to haul to Bridger, he said.

On Jan. 21, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito charged James Leachman of Billings with 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty for abusing some of an estimated 700 horses he keeps on the Crow Indian reservation 16 miles east of Billings. Leachman has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Yellowstone County used misdemeanor counts, Twito said, because Leachman's horses are scattered over 20 miles, making feeding difficult and Justice Court cases move faster, so there would be a quicker resolution for the horses. Also, the misdemeanor charges can be upraded to felony charges later on, he said.

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