DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY/HORSES

Dear horse-loving friends,

Most of you have heard about the New Mexico rancher, Kit Laney, whose cattle has been impounded and sold by the United States Forest Service. During this process Kit was arrested and jailed. On March 26 his wife Sherry visited him in jail, many miles away from the ranch. When she returned, she discovered 14 of her horses gone. Ten older horses, some retired, and 4 freshly gelded colts. These horses were kept close to the ranch house in order to feed them and to exercise the colts. When Sherry Laney contacted the USFS she was told she could have her horses back for $650 a piece.

While it is not our intention to debate the legitimacy of the taking of horses off of private land by the USFS, what we would like to bring to your attention are the conditions the impounded horses are kept in.

A first hand account by Marie Lee, Sherry Laney's sister, reads like this:

..."With the understanding that the USFS had impounded some of my horses, I went to inspect them. When I arrived at the temporary corrals set-up by the USFS at the Me-own, Kathy Van Camp (USFS) armed with pepper spray and a frown, informed me that I could not view my horses until the brand inspectors arrived. The USFS personnel then proceeded to stand guard between me and the horses in the corrals. Catron County Sheriff Cliff Snyder and my sister Sherry Laney showed up and Kathy Van Camp (USFS) told Sherry that if she stepped between her and the corral, she would arrest her. Meanwhile, looking over Kathy's shoulder, I noticed my horse, Jasper, standing there with his head drooping. He looked very sick. Eventually, the inspectors arrived and entered the corral. By then Jasper was laying down in the mud. He wouldn't even get up when they inspected him. Finally, I was allowed to enter the corral. The mud and manure were ankle deep. The watering system for these 14 horses is a small trough (around 100 gal.) and at the time was about 3/4 empty. The USFS personnel had thrown hay in this muck for our 14 head of horses, consisting of 10 older horses and 4 freshly gelded colts. One of these colts was swollen in the belly. Jasper had finally stood back up. As I was taking pictures of him, I noticed his sheath was swollen and had a large scab on it. Russell Ward, USFS Ranger, informed me that the vet had been called out. When asked, Russell did not know what the vet had diagnosed on Jasper. Another horse had colic and Russell said was given Banamine. I noticed this particular horse was still having problems urinating. I was allowed to haul 4 horses off. When I unloaded my horses, they rushed to water and proceeded to drink as if they had not had any water in a while. I fully believe Jasper would have died under the care of the USFS rangers if he was left in there much longer..."

The Me-own in the Gila National Forest is a very remote area with no water and the current weather conditions (sleet and rain, night time temperatures around freezing) make it very difficult to haul feed and water over many miles of rough dirt roads.

As reported by the USFS, Laney's cattle (which the USFS does not own) was sold last week. The USFS has declined to name the contract cowboys rounding up cattle and horses, and the sales barn which accepted the cattle. They have also refused to answer FOIA requests. Word has it that the cattle was sold in Guyman, OK. Witnesses told of mother cows with tight bags, i.e. udders not sucked, standing bawling in the temporary corrals in the Gila National Forest. Evidently, the USFS in its infinite wisdom has agreed to pay the contractors only for mature animals rounded up, therefore calves unable to travel far were left behind in the rugged terrain. The USFS plans on selling the remaining cattle as well as the horses in question.

The reason why many of the impounded 14 horses are older (late teens and early twenties) is because Kit and Sherry Laney believe that horses who worked hard on their ranch deserve retirement.

Please help us do two things:

1. Demand better conditions for the horses held in the temporary corrals at Me-own in the Gila National Forest, and

2. Inform the people at your local livestock sales barns about this situation.

Please call or fax your message (you may use any portion of this text) to the following:

US Senator Pete Domenici
Tel. 202 224 6621 (D.C.)
Fax 202 228 3261 (D.C.)
Tel. 505 526 5475 (Las Cruces, NM)
Fax 505 523 6589 (Las Cruces, NM)

US Senator Jeff Bingaman
Tel. 202 224 5521 (D.C.)
Fax 202 224 2852 (D.C.)
Tel. 505 523 6561 (Las Cruces, NM)
Toll free in NM only 1 800 443 8658
Fax 505 523 6584 (Las Cruces, NM)

US Congressman Steve Pearce
Tel. 202 225 2365 (D.C.)
Fax 202 225 9599 (D.C.)
Tel. 505 522 2219 (Las Cruces, NM)
Fax 505 522 3099 (Las Cruces, NM)

USFS Silver City, NM Tel. 505 388 8201
Marcia Andre, Supervisor Fax 505 388 3204

Anyone wishing more information about this case can find it by typing "Kit Laney" into the search field of any search engine.

Please forward this information to all your friends. Thank you for your help.

Monika Helbling, rabbitbrushranch@yahoo.com