2 miniature horses shot in pasture Greeley, CO (US) Incident Date: Tuesday, Mar 21, 2006 County: Weld Local Map: available Disposition: Open Person of Interest: Adult

Case ID: 7814 Classification: Shooting Animal: horse View more cases in CO (US) Login to Watch this Case

Sheriff's deputies are looking into who shot two miniature horses in a rural area of Weld County. The horses were part of the Many Games Petting Zoo and were used in pet therapy at nursing homes and schools. The horses, Friday and Harriet, were shot with a 20-gauge shotgun at about 3 p.m. March 21, 2006 in the 25000 block of County Road 45, between Kersey and Greeley. Friday, a paint horse, suffered 27 pellet wounds while Harriet, a buckskin, had 36 wounds. "They were both shot in the neck and the side. And in the front, they were hit in the neck and their front legs. Their legs were shot out from underneath them," said horse owner Kandace Diekman.

Diekman said she watched in horror as she saw a man open fire on her horses and then run away. "As I was carrying them into the trailer, there was blood all over me and blood all over them," Diekman said. A car with two occupants was seen leaving the area around the time of the shooting but deputies weren't able to get good leads on that information. The horses were out of their pen and on an adjacent property when the incident occurred. "They are really used to people, so I'm afraid whoever shot them, that (the horses) ran towards them, and then they were shot. They're pretty scared now. They don't even want to be around me and I've been around them since they were born," Diekman said. Diekman believes her neighbor's hired hand shot the horses. "I'm not angry anymore. Whoever did it -- it's already a forgiven deal. I just want to know who did it, so they don't do it so someone else's animals," Diekman said.

Both horses were treated at Countryside Vet Clinic in Greeley and are currently back home. Friday is expected to make a full recovery, but things don't look so good for Harriet. She is pregnant and due to her injuries, it's not yet known if she will be able to deliver her foal or survive the delivery.

Depending on what happens to the horses, charges could range from cruelty to animals to reckless endangerment. Investigators spent the day talking to the neighboring rancher and the hired hands that were on his property at the time of the shooting, but they still don't know who shot the horses.

If you have information on this case, please contact:
Weld County Sheriff's Office
970-356-4015

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References

The Denver Channel - March 22, 2006

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