Jury To Decide Animal Cruelty Case Today
Dad Gave Colt Beer, Tried To 'Tire It Out,' Daughters Say
Last updated Wednesday, October 12, 2005 9:25 PM CDT in News
By Robin Lipscomb
The Morning News
BENTONVILLE -- Three young girls testified Wednesday their dad gave beer to the family colt to calm it down and pulled the colt behind his truck to "wear it out."
"That's why we named the horse 'Mickey,' because he likes to drink my dad's beer," said an 8-year-old girl, referring to Mickey's Malt Liquor, her dad's beer of choice.
The girls, ages 8, almost 9 and 11, were watching out the back window of their dad's red 1965 Chevy flatbed truck the June 8 morning when their dad tied the family's new yearling colt to the back and drove down gravel and paved roads in rural Gentry.
"He was trying to get it wore out so we could work with it more," one girl testified.
The quarterhorse fell twice and ultimately collapsed from shock, dehydration and severe hoof injuries that left coffin bones exposed, according to testimony. Prosecutor Robin Green has charged McKinley with animal cruelty, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
The trial against McKinley continues today in Benton County Circuit Court. The 6-man, 6-woman jury deliberated about 15 minutes Wednesday before deciding at 5 p.m. to break for the day.
McKinley testified he pulled the colt at least four times before, and it seemed a good way to teach it to lead. "After we did it before, the horse was a lot more calm and would allow you to brush it out."
The middle child testified her father didn't drive fast that day, but a time before he "drove fast through the woods because he was mad ... and to teach it a lesson. Mickey was mad at my dad, and my dad was mad at Mickey. I know he was mad because he went fast."
On the day the colt collapsed, "He told us to run back to the house so we didn't see what happened. I felt sad and scared," the girl said.
McKinley testified he'd bought the colt 10 days before for his middle daughter as a reward for good grades, although he knew nothing about horses and felt intimidated.
"I decided to overcome my fear so I could make my kid happy," said the man, who works night shifts as a water operator for a nearby city. McKinley cried through much of his testimony and said repeatly "I know now I never should have owned a horse."
McKinley said the man who sold the horse told him "that was how you teach a horse to lead," although that man testified he mentioned it in passing but didn't give details or recommend the practice.
The horse remains on pain medication in a veterinary clinic after more than four months and may never completely recover, testified Dr. Richard McCarver of Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic. The bill has reached $4,500, but would be higher if not for a private donation of medication.
McCarver was called late that June morning to the scene on Peterson Road north of Gentry and east of Arkansas 59.
The colt lay shaking and panting in a ditch, covered with "road rash" and in life-threatening shock. It was bleeding profusely from all four feet, McCarver testified.
At the side of the road, he gave shots of fast-acting steroids, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and pain medication and intravenous fluids.
"There had to be a lot of abrasive trauma going on; there was no other way to get this much sole missing," McCarver testified.
Jurors watched a video filmed several weeks after the incident, showing McCarver tending wounds and rebandaging hooves as the colt lay calm and silent -- though unsedated. Anti-ulcer therapy has been necessary, and collagen products are injected into the hoof areas to stimulate regeneration of the soles, McCarver testified.
The horse lost as much as 200 pounds during treatment and still receives daily antibiotics.
"I tried to take him off in early August and late September, but he spikes a fever. We're just not there yet," McCarver said. Although he'd once have described the colt's prognosis as grave, Mickey now "has a shot to recover life. I just don't know if his feet are going to return to normal function. I'll tell you, when you have (a horse) with such a strong heart, really wanting to survive, it's easy to get attached."
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
