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Leachman charged with animal cruelty

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Leachman Horses to be Removed
February 14, 2011 09:07 :: 133 Views


The following article is from Tri-State Livestock News:

Hundreds of privately owned horses roaming the Crow Indian Reservation east of Billings, MT, are scheduled to be removed according to a Feb. 2, 2011 solicitation notice posted by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The action comes in response to on-going infractions and complaints involving horses owned or managed by James H. Leachman.

Although the plight of the horses caught the public's attention in late January 2011, neighboring ranchers and law enforcement agencies have been dealing with the situation for months, and in some cases, years. Approximately 700 animals – some suggest the number may be as high as 900 – have been roaming pastures, fields and Conservation Reserve Program acreage, competing for forage with other livestock and wildlife.

A series of news reports brought the condition of the horses into question prompting emergency feeding directed by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and organized by the Billings-based Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE). Initial reports suggested 450 horses owned by Leachman were in danger of death from starvation and dehydration on the property known as the Home Place Ranch.

In a statement released Jan. 28, Leachman laid the blame for the circumstances on the ranch's new owners for moving the horses without his authorization; confining them in pastures without adequate forage. In a Feb. 7 phone interview, Leachman said there are approximately 150 aged mares in the herd that are thin. But, he maintains, if they had been left to roam, their conditions wouldn't have been compromised.
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Here's what a Nebraskan got when animal cruelty to horses was charged.

http://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/jury-finds-jason-meduna-3-strikes-rancher-guilty-on-most-counts/
 
Someone asked a question which got me wondering what has happened in this 'saga'.

Does anyone have any FACTS?

You know, those troublesome things with which some people just hate to be confronted!!!

Quickly reading through this thread sure shows how quick too many of us are to condemn someone before have ANY facts, though.

How eager we are to share 'dirt' on someone most likely not known well enough to have the facts in the matter, either! It may be entertaining, and certainly is interesting, and often very 'creative', to hear or read what some people 'know' about others' business and life!!!!

Maybe we need to recall and practice: "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

mrj
 
mrj said:
Someone asked a question which got me wondering what has happened in this 'saga'.

Does anyone have any FACTS?

You know, those troublesome things with which some people just hate to be confronted!!!

Quickly reading through this thread sure shows how quick too many of us are to condemn someone before have ANY facts, though.

How eager we are to share 'dirt' on someone most likely not known well enough to have the facts in the matter, either! It may be entertaining, and certainly is interesting, and often very 'creative', to hear or read what some people 'know' about others' business and life!!!!

Maybe we need to recall and practice: "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

mrj
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:agree: TOTALLY
 
LazyWP said:
mrj said:
Someone asked a question which got me wondering what has happened in this 'saga'.

Does anyone have any FACTS?

You know, those troublesome things with which some people just hate to be confronted!!!

Quickly reading through this thread sure shows how quick too many of us are to condemn someone before have ANY facts, though.

How eager we are to share 'dirt' on someone most likely not known well enough to have the facts in the matter, either! It may be entertaining, and certainly is interesting, and often very 'creative', to hear or read what some people 'know' about others' business and life!!!!

Maybe we need to recall and practice: "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

mrj
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:agree: TOTALLY
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Here Maxine--an update and some more info so you can figure out the "facts"....Also since the original post- Leachman has been charged with additional counts of animal cruelty....

Crow roundup of horses smooth operation

By JAN FALSTAD Of The Gazette Staff The Billings Gazette | Posted: Monday, March 21, 2011 5:00 pm | (40) Comments

Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font size.
LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff
A large band of horses formerly owned by James Leachman of Billiings is driven toward holding pens where the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Crow Tribe will identify them and sell them. The 700 horses have been trespassing on tribal lands and private ranches and were impounded by the BIA.

In a colorful roundup on Monday morning, about 50 Crow horsemen spent the day gathering about 700 horses in bands of 80 to 200 and driving them through a gap in the rimrocks toward their last home before they are sold.

The mares and colts trotted, galloped, snorted and whinnied, but willingly followed the lead rider into the wooden pens.

Jay Stovall, 71, who grew up on this land and now owns the former Leachman Cattle Co. ranch 16 miles east of Billings, said the sight was thrilling.

"I've never seen these many horses running out here. This is something to see," he said. "What's important is that the Crow Tribe is handling those horses and doing a wonderful job of it."

Crow Tribal Vice Chairman Calvin Jefferson said everything went smoothly.

"They will be here for about another five days, leaving it for the owner to come and stake claim, give him a chance to redeem them," he said.

Edward Parisian, regional director of the Rocky Mountain region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said James Leachman of Billings will legally have five days to redeem his horses, if he can pay the costs associated with their care and roundup and the damage that they have caused to the rangeland.

Last year during his bankruptcy hearing, Leachman said he was broke.

With the help of two months of eating 150 tons of donated hay, the horses came back from the brink of starvation last winter. Leachman has pleaded not guilty to 14 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, carrying a maximum penalty of seven years and $7,000 in fines. His jury trial is scheduled for June 3.

Beginning Thursday, the horses will be sorted by age and gender, identified and have temporary neck bands attached.

The Leachman leg bands, some of them now too tight, will be cut off and their brands inspected.

The horses have been roaming on the Home Place Ranch 16 miles east of Billings, tribal lands and neighboring ranches for several years.

The BIA impounded the horses in early March after serving Leachman with a legal notice that his horses were trespassing on tribal lands and neighboring ranches. In late December, Shepherd veterinarian Jeff Peila first warned that hundreds of the horses trapped in one pasture with no grass were on the verge of mass starvation.

Seven horses were found near death, and four were shot on the recommendation of Peila.

With a smile on his face on Monday morning, the veterinarian said there was only one brown mare so far who needed his help and was limping, apparently with a hoof abscess.

"But there would have been a third of them dead and the rest wouldn't have been strong enough to sell if they hadn't been fed," he said.

The Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings collected about 500 tons of donated hay and more than $55,000 in cash donations and has been feeding the horses for two months with the help of the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.

The BIA is paying the tribe $45,000 to round up the horses and feed them until a March 31 sale that could be moved to April 2 and 3.

Memories of the roundup will stay with Jason Shigley, who was shooting video for the Crow Tribe to document the day.

"This is a historic event," he said. "The Crow people are horse people. Everything that has to do with the horse is in our makeup."
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Again, it's interesting reading. How factual it is, who knows??? Looks like the tribe, among others will have a nice lien against the horses.

I have heard from people who saw the horses early on that they were NOT in such bad shape as claimed, actually about par for range run horses in a tough winter, with a few possible exceptions such as those few with the bands mentioned. How much grass they had left, how many actually were Leachmans, and how many were Indian ponies, I haven't seen accounted for.

Still, people have been influenced by the innuendo and rumor about Leachman from BEFORE he came to MT, and the claims of business misdeeds by people who probably have no more actual knowledge of his business problems than I do, which would fit in a mighty small thimble! And I do not claim to know the guy beyond the fact that some astute ranchers believe him to be a near genius at cattle genetics.

Again, those who would cast the first stone should consider the consequences.
 
MRJ, usually where there is smoke, there is fire. Especially with
Jim Leachman. I wish this weren't true about him, but I'm afraid
it is. There was a picture on the front page of the Billings Gazette
yesterday that showed two mares, one didn't look so bad, but
the other one, her neck was thin and poor...a sure sign of a
horse in bad shape.

And remember, these horses you see now
have been fed hay for 2 months. According the veterinarian
they are doing considerable better than before they were fed hay.
I'll agree that not ALL of the horses looked to be starving,
but one pasture full is too many.

According the the Billings Gazette, Jim Leachman legally has
5 days to regain his horses. Beginning Thursday, the horses will
be sorted by age and gender, indentified and have temporary
neck bands attached.

(This next paragraph really bothers me): The Leachman
leg bands, some of them now too tight, will be cut off and
their brands inspected. (Jim Leachman put those band on
and he knew what could happen with them and yet he
did nothing.) :mad:

Here's a link to the video of the Indians bringing the horses in:

to view a video of the roundup, clikc the link in
this (Tues. Mar. 22) story at www.billingsgazette.com

(I just typed in Leachman Horse Roundup in the search button
at the top.)
 
Leachman Horses to Sell this Weekend
general admin posted on March 28, 2011 08:46 :: 45 Views


The following article is from KTVQ, Montana's CBS affiliate in Billings:

By David Jay

It's been almost two months since the plight of hundreds of neglected horses east of Billings hit the news.

After a massive effort by the Crow Tribe and NILE, 820 horses have been rounded up on the old Leachman property.

That's the number from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), a week before the horses go to auction.

The BIA, veterinarians and volunteers count the horses and get them ready for sale.

"Tagging, cutting off the bands off of the horses, and sexing the horses, so that we have a pretty good accurate count of what we have, said Ed Parisian, a regional director for the BIA.

Ninety percent of the 820 horses belong to the former owner of the land. James Leachman.

"We do have some horses with other brands and brand inspectors will identify that," Parisian said."Of course, they're on trespass because they're on trust land."

The horses have drawn donations and help from the BIA, the Montana Board of Livestock, the Yellowstone County Sheriff's office, the NILE and numerous volunteers.

In January, some horses died and others lacked food, but those now seem to be much healthier.

"Most of the horses are in pretty good shape," Parisan said. "They've been getting fed for some time. There's a few that have some concerns on. One yesterday had a leg band imbedded, that was pretty much imbedded into the leg."

"I really don't know what to expect. I hope a lot of people that might be interested come out and look at the horses and put a bid in for one."
James Leachman and the other owners have until Tuesday to get their horses back.

If they do not respond, then the horse sale will take place next Saturday and Sunday.

The sale is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, starting at 9 am.

The sale will take place on the old Leachman Ranch property at 1722 Barnes Road.
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I downloaded the sale list-there's going to be some interesting cayuses there not sure just how to figure out exactly whose who but over hafe have an ID number brand. It says the old Derek Hancock stud is still there even. I can't believe old Jim hasn't come up with some way to pull the ashes out of the fire.
 
We have a Hancock bred cow horse I really like. He is tough and his biggest problem is that he is so cowy it is hard to get him past cows to the gate so you can get into the pasture with the cows.
 
The odd one likes to buck so that's a bonus-I have a pasture just for them lol. The ones I've seen tend to be good strong horses-I don't know what's tougher on a horse a long day when it's hot or pushing mud on those cold days back in some muskkeg. I think the tiredest I ever got was gathering four loads of cows with two buddies in the muskkeg across the Beaver River from Beauval. Nothing like being 50 feet from a cow and having to ride two miles to get around to her lol.
 
Did anybody else hear this?
Jim Leachmans son bought around 70 of the horses.

Here's the link. Have to scroll down a bit.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20110410/NEWS01/104100315/1002/news01/ACROSS-BIG-SKY
 
Another article about Jim Leachman paying $35,000 for 60-70 head of his horses...
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_32906165-b7bb-53e6-918c-b18604f2d4e5.html

Northern Rancher could you post some pics of the horses you bought?. thanks
 

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