Left to starve: Native Americans round up 700 horses abandoned by bankrupt rancher
A huge herd of starving horses have been rounded up by 50 horsesmen from the Crow Tribe in Montana after they were abandoned without food and water.
The 700-strong group belonged to James Leachman, who has filed for bankruptcy and has been ****** to sell his ranches to pay his debts.
He has been charged with ****** cruelty after a vet warned that the horses, which were trapped in a pasture with no grass, were on the verge of starvation.
In December, seven ******* were found near death and four had to be shot. Leachman's trial is scheduled for June 3.
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Roundup: Horsemen from the Crow Tribe round up some of the 700 strong herd which had been roaming across Montana
Action was finally taken after the Bureau of Indian Affairs condemned the horses because they were trespassing on tribal land.
The BIA is paying the tribe $45,000 to round up the ******* and feed them until they can be sold.
Crow Tribal Vice Chairman Calvin Jefferson said the roundup went smoothly, and people will be camping out to guard the horses that were herded into pens.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay for damage the horses did to the land and for the cost of the roundup.
Leachman has five days to redeem his horses, if he can pay the costs of care and roundup and the rangeland damage.
The ranchman claims he had the horses sorted out last fall to sell them but decided against the sale, in part because of a price collapse in the ***** market.
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Neglected: The horses, which originally belonged to bankrupt rancher James Leachman, will be sold
The Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings collected about 500 tons of donated hay and more than $55,000 and has been feeding the horses for two months with the help of the Yellowstone County sheriff's office.
On Monday, vets said there was only one mare that needed his help and was limping, apparently with a hoof abscess.
Jay Stovall, who now owns the former Leachman Cattle Co. ranch east of Billings, said the sight of the ******* being rounded up was thrilling.
'I've never seen (this) many horses running out here,' said Stovall, 71. 'This is something to see. What is important is that the Crow Tribe is handling those horses and doing a wonderful job.'
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 ***** people. Everything that has to do with the ***** is in our makeup.'
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