NAVAJO COUNTY – The USDA Forest Service is investigating another deceased horse that was reportedly found near Porter Mountain Road in the Lakeside Ranger District. The remains are described as “presumably privately owned,” according to a July 19 press release from Public Affairs Officer Jeffrey Todd of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. It is still unclear whether the animal was not a wild horse; rather one that was privately owned. The cause of death has not yet been determined either.
A disturbing picture posted on a Facebook account shows a dead horse strapped to a tree by its hind hooves. His front hooves are also tied together with a yellow come-along style strap. The image is too graphic to be published and there is still no confirmation that the horse in the Facebook photo was the one found near Porter Mountain Road.
Properly euthanizing and disposing of or burying a dead animal of this size can be expensive. The Independent reached out to a local horse lover who reported that sometimes when a sick horse needs to be euthanized, a horse owner puts the horse in a horse trailer before setting it down. Because some horses weigh more than 1,000 pounds, while the dead animal is still in the trailer, when the horse trailer is pulled away, the dead animal will be tied or strapped to a tree, leaving the carcass behind. Hopefully it remains to be seen whether this was the reason this horse was found in this condition. If the Porter Mountain carcass is indeed the one on the Facebook picture, hopefully investigators will provide an answer as the case progresses.
Forestry officials say the investigation is very early and it is unknown whether authorities currently suspect a link between the recent death and the dozen dead horses found shot on the mountain in recent years. The Independent has written extensively on the many gunshot wound horse carcasses found in nearby forests, and readers have not shied away from expressing frustration that the authorities have so far failed to make arrests or convictions for these horrific incidents achieved.
Anyone with information on this recent horse death is encouraged to call the Navajo County’s WeTip hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (1-800-782-7463).
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