Mustang Madness
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In the sandy hills of Nebraska the herd grew thin, that was in October, come up to the
task of survival, by December the mares who had tried to foal were on a downhill
slide, many laid down and never got up, still no food, no relief, the water is all frozen,
the ground all hard as iron.
By January all hopes of grass were gone and dried, the yucca wasn't edible, though
some tried it. The tractor came, but it wasn't for relief, it came to drag away the dead
and dying, mares followed the foals as they were dragged to the ravines and covered
up with old hedge posts. Young foals followed their mothers to where the cold hard
man laid them in rows or piled then one atop the other. This became the macabre
scene, daily the once majestic herd lost a few members. Still no relief.
February blew in wet cold snowy. Little water the food almost gone. The herd stands
in numb silence, not a stomp of hooves, not a bite on the neck to excite. They stand
as sullen as the victims that lay in the snow. The tractor comes, who is next, surely
someone will come....
March blows in... in the middle of the month the winds come down from the mountains
and chase themselves in this frozen wasteland.
April rolls by and with it the 3 day blizzards wreak their havoc on these old hills. More
die...the thin ones to weak to rise, become structures for snowdrifts to build upon, still
the tractor comes...
The hills come alive, engines growl, people come, they feed the herd, they count,
they shudder, they leave teary eyed. They gather the remainders and finally food for
the herd that was forgotten... their are angels amongst us.
The herd is smaller now, 100 lost souls now sleep in the cold hard hills, 200 and
some remain, they are loaded and hauled to relief.......................
These words were written by an observer. A person that witnessed the pain
and suffering in these horses eyes. A person that spent weeks of his time
working to help save these horses from the grip of death.
task of survival, by December the mares who had tried to foal were on a downhill
slide, many laid down and never got up, still no food, no relief, the water is all frozen,
the ground all hard as iron.
By January all hopes of grass were gone and dried, the yucca wasn't edible, though
some tried it. The tractor came, but it wasn't for relief, it came to drag away the dead
and dying, mares followed the foals as they were dragged to the ravines and covered
up with old hedge posts. Young foals followed their mothers to where the cold hard
man laid them in rows or piled then one atop the other. This became the macabre
scene, daily the once majestic herd lost a few members. Still no relief.
February blew in wet cold snowy. Little water the food almost gone. The herd stands
in numb silence, not a stomp of hooves, not a bite on the neck to excite. They stand
as sullen as the victims that lay in the snow. The tractor comes, who is next, surely
someone will come....
March blows in... in the middle of the month the winds come down from the mountains
and chase themselves in this frozen wasteland.
April rolls by and with it the 3 day blizzards wreak their havoc on these old hills. More
die...the thin ones to weak to rise, become structures for snowdrifts to build upon, still
the tractor comes...
The hills come alive, engines growl, people come, they feed the herd, they count,
they shudder, they leave teary eyed. They gather the remainders and finally food for
the herd that was forgotten... their are angels amongst us.
The herd is smaller now, 100 lost souls now sleep in the cold hard hills, 200 and
some remain, they are loaded and hauled to relief.......................
These words were written by an observer. A person that witnessed the pain
and suffering in these horses eyes. A person that spent weeks of his time
working to help save these horses from the grip of death.
Click on the links below to learn more about this story
Published Tuesday April 28, 2009
No more deaths after horse rescue at ranch
BY LYNN SAFRANEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Although sheriff's deputies counted 74 dead horses and burros at the 3-Strikes Mustang
Ranch, not another horse perished once help arrived.
In all, volunteers safely moved 211 horses, burros, mules, foals and a pony last week from
Jason Meduna's ranch near Alliance, Neb., to the Morrill County Fairgrounds.
Meduna, 42, was arrested April 18 on a warrant charging him with one count of felony
animal abuse. He is free on bail and his case remains under investigation.
The Morrill County Sheriff's Office has released a timeline of events on the ranch with new
details about the conditions that investigators and horse rescue volunteers found when
they arrived.
On the day Meduna was arrested, investigators were confronted with approximately 170
emaciated horses filling the ranch's corrals.
Sheriff's deputies also came across two young horses that had died within the previous 24
hours. A necropsy revealed that the horses died from starvation and parasitic infestation.
Most of the 74 dead horses and burros were found in two large pits at the ranch.
Meduna is responsible for burying them, said Morrill County Sheriff John Edens.
Volunteers had brought some hay to feed to the surviving horses, but their efforts initially
were thwarted by rain that made the roads nearly impassable. The next day, large round
bales were delivered.
Volunteers from two horse rescue groups, Habitat for Horses of Texas and Lifesavers Wild
Horse Rescue of Lancaster, Calif., and other community volunteers moved the 211 living
but sickly animals to the fairgrounds over three days.
In addition to the contributions of the volunteers, trailers, fuel and hay also were donated to
help the 3-Strikes horses. Local businesses offered donations and discounts.
Three veterinarians, including Tom Furman of Alliance, who led the horses' move, and
eight veterinary students from the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University on
Saturday photographed and examined the horses, and treated them for parasites.
None had to be euthanized.
No more deaths after horse rescue at ranch
BY LYNN SAFRANEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Although sheriff's deputies counted 74 dead horses and burros at the 3-Strikes Mustang
Ranch, not another horse perished once help arrived.
In all, volunteers safely moved 211 horses, burros, mules, foals and a pony last week from
Jason Meduna's ranch near Alliance, Neb., to the Morrill County Fairgrounds.
Meduna, 42, was arrested April 18 on a warrant charging him with one count of felony
animal abuse. He is free on bail and his case remains under investigation.
The Morrill County Sheriff's Office has released a timeline of events on the ranch with new
details about the conditions that investigators and horse rescue volunteers found when
they arrived.
On the day Meduna was arrested, investigators were confronted with approximately 170
emaciated horses filling the ranch's corrals.
Sheriff's deputies also came across two young horses that had died within the previous 24
hours. A necropsy revealed that the horses died from starvation and parasitic infestation.
Most of the 74 dead horses and burros were found in two large pits at the ranch.
Meduna is responsible for burying them, said Morrill County Sheriff John Edens.
Volunteers had brought some hay to feed to the surviving horses, but their efforts initially
were thwarted by rain that made the roads nearly impassable. The next day, large round
bales were delivered.
Volunteers from two horse rescue groups, Habitat for Horses of Texas and Lifesavers Wild
Horse Rescue of Lancaster, Calif., and other community volunteers moved the 211 living
but sickly animals to the fairgrounds over three days.
In addition to the contributions of the volunteers, trailers, fuel and hay also were donated to
help the 3-Strikes horses. Local businesses offered donations and discounts.
Three veterinarians, including Tom Furman of Alliance, who led the horses' move, and
eight veterinary students from the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University on
Saturday photographed and examined the horses, and treated them for parasites.
None had to be euthanized.
Mustang Madness
MORRILL COUNTY, Neb. - The Sheriff's office has documented 74 horses
and burros died on 3-Strikes Ranch just outside of Alliance, Nebraska. The
ranch's owner is accused of starving the animals to death.
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The findings come after the two Morrill County Sheriff's deputies canvassed
the ranch with four wheelers after obtaining a search warrant on April 21.
The ranch owner, 42-year-old Jason Meduna was arrested 4 days prior for
one count of animal cruelty for the death of a three-year-old filly.
Following his release from jail, Meduna relinquished the rights to his
horses, to Habitat for Horses and Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue. The
horses were then removed from his property.
Meduna told 9NEWS he had around 300 horses in his care in January. The
Morrill County Sheriff's office says rescuers removed 211 horses, burros,
and mules.
Around 200 of Meduna's horses were purchased from the Bureau of Land
Management. According to BLM records, Meduna bought his first 30 head in
2005 for $50 each, and the rest were $10.
Jodi Messenich with Zuma's Rescue Ranch in Littleton says it appears
Meduna got in over his head.
"He took on more than his land could handle without hay for the winter," She
said.
Meduna says a harsh winter and drought conditions have taken a toll, but
he's done everything he could to feed his horses. "We made our own hay,
we'd buy hay, we used an excessive amount of hay this year. My wife was
working two full time jobs so that we could make sure everything was well
maintained with the horses," said Meduna.
The BLM performed two inspections of the ranch in 2008, the last one in
August and reported the horses in good condition. However, when an
inspector returned to the ranch on April 14th he found 175 horses corralled
did not have enough feed, and the ranch land was overgrazed.
"I know it's not that," said Meduna of why his horses are dying. "I really don't
care what people are saying, what I care about is hey, maybe we ought to
focus on the problem."
Meduna says the horses that are still alive aren't starving, they're sick. He
believes someone has poisoned them. Test results are now being
processed to see if that could be true.
For now, the county is seeing that Meduna's horses get the care they need.
On Saturday the animals, which are being held at the fairgrounds in
Bridgeport about 55 miles south of 3-Strikes Ranch, were photographed,
examined, and had blood drawn.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau donated 12 tons of hay to feed the animals. No
word yet on when the horses will be moved or where they will go.
9news.com
Colorado
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