Boulder authorities say they have solved the mystery of the 33 equines that vanished from a Niwot horse property earlier this month after animal-control officers began investigating the property owner for animal abuse.
In March, the officers removed seven of the 47 horses on Marcy Trescott-Helmick’s 4 acres because the animals were underweight and living in deplorable conditions, said Boulder Sheriff’s Sgt. Heidi Prentup.
“There was no dry place for them to lie down. The stalls were full of feces and urine,” Prentup said. “They hadn’t been cleaned all year, throughout the winter.”
The officers left 13 horses they had concerns about on the property under a “notice of warning,” which gave strict instructions for their care, Prentup said. The officers found that the 27 remaining horses were living in acceptable conditions.
But when officers arrived at Trescott-Helmick’s home last week to check on the horses, all but seven had vanished. The officers confronted Trescott- Helmick as she left the property, hauling one horse in a trailer, Prentup said. Trescott-Helmick refused to say where the other horses were.
Prentup said authorities have since learned the animals’ location, although she declined to say where. She said the horses have grass and hay available to them.
“We didn’t have any problem with her taking them off the property,” Prentup said. “They’re definitely better off now where they are than when they were on the property. The issue was her not telling us where she was taking them.”
Trescott-Helmick, 57, now faces a felony evidence-tampering charge, in addition to a misdemeanor cruelty-to-animals charge. Neither she nor her attorney returned calls for comment.
The seven horses that officers removed from the property are being cared for at Colorado Horse Rescue in Longmont.
“They’re doing really well,” said shelter director Hildy Armour. “Some of them have reached their optimum weight.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
