A Jefferson County horse owner had one of his animals, appearing emaciated and with a rope tied around its neck, dragged behind a truck in an attempt to make it stand up, according to court documents.
A dozen horses, most appearing neglected and weak, were seized Wednesday when authorities served a search warrant on the property of John McCulley at 12601 W. 82nd Ave.
It’s the second time in two years that horses have been removed from his care.
In June 2007, Jefferson County authorities raided the ranch and seized 26 horses that they said were malnourished and neglected.
A search warrant wasn’t used in the 2007 case, and horses taken at that time were returned to McCulley in August 2008 in a “healthy condition,” according to court documents.
An animal-cruelty case against McCulley, stemming from the 2007 seizure, is ongoing. Prosecutors, however, can’t present evidence gathered during that seizure because of the lack of a search warrant, according to a district judge’s ruling in the case.
But the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office says new felony charges could stem from this week’s seizure.
Earlier this month, on May 9, a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy was sent to McCulley’s ranch on a report of a horse “down in the pasture.”
A woman who called the Sheriff’s Office, and a neighbor of McCulley’s, told investigators they watched McCulley, 43, tie a rope around the neck of a horse named “Blue.” They heard him telling the animal: “Get up, come on, you can get up” as he pulled the rope.
Blue didn’t stand and McCulley tied the rope to a pickup truck and Blue was dragged “across the pasture,” according to the affidavit.
When Deputy Margaret Hastie arrived at the property, she found Blue, alone, lying on the ground.
In the affidavit Hastie described Blue as being “emaciated, with his left hip bone sticking out and his spine and ribs clearly visible.”
“Blue struggled to breathe and his nostrils were flared and red,” when Hastie found him. The horse’s front hoof was bloodied and appeared to be injured, the affidavit said.
McCulley couldn’t be reached for comment today, but according to the affidavit he told deputies Blue was 43 years old and set to be “put down.” He said Blue had gotten “tangled up in a gate” and had been thrashing in an attempt to free himself.
McCulley’s veterinarian couldn’t euthanize Blue that day because he was on an emergency call, according to the affidavit, so deputies watched as the owner “put down the horse himself” by shooting it.
On May 11, investigators — along with animal-control officers and two veterinarians — served a search warrant on the property and seized Blue’s body. The vets observed and examined other horses there.
Investigators said hay on the property was in extremely short supply and what was on hand was moldy and not suitable as adequate feed.
A vet said a “case for neglect” could be made based on several horses appearing to be malnourished and neglected, according to the affidavit.
“Almost all of the horses’ hooves were jagged and flat and did not appear to have been trimmed or shoed” for some time, the affidavit said.
Several horses also had a “thick, pussy discharge coming from their eyes,” and the affidavit described the animals as being “filthy.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
