One Step Forward....Twenty Leaps Back

Having been away for SSSOOOOO long in the 'horse world' (meaning the online forums and stuff I like to check in on) - if it weren't for R.T. Fitch's writings, posts, etc. or the other friends on FB postings; I would be completely out of touch. For so very long, I have been silently reading about a 'rescue' gone bad in West Virginia. To most of you, I'm sure I don't even need to mention a name, and I choose not to. My heart was just heavy as more and more came out about this story. I had high hopes that it was just a big exaggerated mess.

It bewilders me how things can turn, or maybe the road was never on a curve, but a straight hi-way; with no road signs or speed limits. I must have been on the curb, waving at the traffic zooming by. That doesn't make sense? Well, this whole story doesn't make sense to me. What is weird, is that this person was one of the very FIRST people to offer her help in getting Meduna exposed when all the 3 Strikes stuff was happening. She took hits from people all over the place when she was trying to help 'warn' them about what was going on over there. She defended me whole heartily, and I defended her when people started bashing her about different things.

Then the day came when I became silent....I wanted to sit back and try and figure this out for myself. I DID NOT want to be like one of 'those people who knew nothing of Meduna, but defended him to the gills.' I always thought they were so stupid. I have not wanted to join those ranks, and be blind-sided on that curb. So I read the comments, and then I got busy at the ranch...and then the subject came up again when a friend on FB was mentioning needing to find places to take the horses that were being seized from that certain rescue. My heart fell again. I pushed it all to some distant corner in my brain, and kept doing the work here that needed to be done. Today I got on one of the forums, and it all surfaced again. This time I saw pictures.

I have no idea where things went wrong for her, or if they always were wrong and I didn't realize it, or if really bad circumstances happened and it was a sinking ship - but they did go wrong. I can't deny the pictures though, and I have to admit, that sort of thing doesn't just happen overnight. I just sort of hate thinking about it, to tell you the truth.

I do not like the term, 'he/she just got in over their head' - that's what I heard a lot of about Meduna. I found that hard to believe since people from back east confirmed that his history was long in contributing to the suffering of animals; and not just horses. So when someone claims to be a horse rescue, a sanctuary, whatever.... I do believe they 'should know better'. If you really care about the animals, and have their health, happiness, and best interest in the forefront; you don't just 'oops, have too many' - or 'oops, ran out of food' - or 'oops, no one would help'. Be real, we are supposed to be adults, making adult decisions. These are helpless animals. We know better.

Talk about living a sheltered life; I didn't know there was anything that existed called 'hoarding' until I started reading those forums...and now they have a T.V. show about hoarding. No, I have not tuned in yet; not sure I want to watch that. It's like there's some shows on Animal Planet that I hate to watch. If you have too low of blood pressure, it would be beneficial to watch.

In my rambling on, I'm just trying to figure out how people can let any of this happen? I'm probably referring more to 3 Strikes now, than anything. I think about the people who supported him; without wanting to know the truth. They must have been in it for their political or listener ratings reasons. So sad. Those people, you probably can't touch, because greed covers their heart.

The whole problem I see is this: there are many, many good rescues. Ones that know their limit on how many animals they can take in, according to accommodations, feed, money, etc. But when the media gets a hold of 'a rescue gone bad' - the forward progress is hurled backwards. Now the question is - just who are the good ones?...what if they don't really spend my donation for the horse's needs?...are they really a good rescue?.... on and on.

So naturally, the good rescues have to be hurt when news gets out about an animal seizure. Wish there was an easy answer. Not everyone can afford to drive/fly all over to visit the place and see if they are legit. I know first hand how an Internet web site can be falsified; and made to look fabulous; at the expense of the horses.

I just hope if you are a rescue place, and really in trouble for whatever reason; stop getting more horses! Stop breeding them, (or whatever animal it is) and get some help. I think it would be better if you are incapable of taking animals in - donate to a place that has the facilities needed. And I guess if you are a person that has only yourself in mind, anything anyone says to help isn't going to matter anyway....then you probably deserve what you get.

I realize, I have been told before I don't know what I'm talking about; as I'm not even involved in horse rescue.....but we do have cattle. We know our limitations of how many animals can be run on our land....and know about land management. We do know the difference in how animals eat.... and how that affects the land. The only 'rescue' animals I have are cats; but along with those and the cattle; there are of course dogs, our own cats, and horses.

If you choose to take care of animals, take care of them. If you can't - get help.
That's just my thoughts on a Saturday night.
And the Huskers did a fine job today!!

By the way..... God bless all you that fight for the helpless animals - for the horses - and that take care of them. I'm sure it seems a thankless job sometimes, I know it's hard work. What you do is amazing.

DAN (MOORE SUNBAR)

DAN,

Birth Name: MOORE SUNBAR

Born April 15, 1978

to BAR'S BABE AND MARYETTA MOORE

in Cologne, Minnesota

Occasionally, I find myself hashing

over and over in my mind,

the questions asked by Mr. Berry

at both my Deposition,

and the trial of Jason Meduna.

**********

During the Deposition on August 24, 2009,

those present were:

Mr. Berry; County Attorney, Jean Rhodes;

Cynthia Brandt, RPR; and myself.

Mr. Berry asked if one of our

horses was a Palomino.

I felt immediately he was referring to Rayu,

as told to him by Jason Meduna

that we had stolen Rayu.

I replied, "We had a Palomino."

He than asked,

"What happened to that horse?"

I'm surprised I was able

to get through the question with no tears -

"He's dead."

"How did that horse die?" he asked.

"We put him down."

Has Mr. Berry ever owned horses,

or was this just lawyerism coming through?

I'm not saying he was being

a bad man, or mean...

I just don't think he's ever had

the good fortune to have a horse,

that is loved by the family.

My mind was in a whirlpool.

He continued, "And why was that?"

My reply as best I could,

"Because he was so old.

He had ........... just age."

***********

I paused at my last answer.

Trying to find words. There weren't any.

I could have elaborated,

but I knew I would no longer be able

to hold down the lump in my throat.

I could have said that he was almost 30 years old,

had lived a life of adventure,

work - which he loved,

had lots of friends: both humans and horses.

He was an adventure to ride.

He was Don's horse.

As he got older, he was passed down to me.

I had to wait until he was older,

the bugger was hard to hold back.

He wanted to run like the wind,

and he could.

He loved to run, and my only thoughts,

besides exhilaration,

would be that he would not tumble

into a huge gopher hole as we flew!

He never did stumble,

as sure footed as he was.

He was anxious to work cattle;

when a saddle was put upon him,

pleasure riding was the

furthest thing from his mind.

It was time to find cows.

I could have told Mr. Berry all of that.

I should have said the Palomino

you're thinking of, Rayu -

has never been on our place.

I understand what Don means by wishing to have the memory of certain animals locked in his mind, and not on photos. He thinks photos can be too hard. When I found the pics of Dan for this blog, it was as if a small tsunami had suddenly rippled from the top of my head and out my toes. It is hard to see. But it's important to me for all the pictures, to pass on. He was laid to rest deep in the ground, we had a 'service' for him, said our good-byes...... he was a friend.

***

Jason Meduna told many people

that the Freibergers did not own horses.

If we had owned all of his horses,

instead of him.....

they would not have suffered.

***

DAN

April 15, 1978 - April 1, 2008

Last of the Land Tour

This is the last of the journey around

the former 3 Strikes Mustang Ranch.

Some believe 'he just got in over his head'.

I see the fences unattended: broken wires and posts.

It is a wonder the whole herd of horses

did not escape from their approaching death.

It may be somewhat difficult to see,

but there are horses in the background

of this picture. It is sad that there is no feed.

This is an awful lot of land,

with nothing but miles of sand.

This poor girl did not make it.

Neither did her baby.

But this is what she,

as so many others,

had to eat.

They stand on the horizon.

Jason told me once,

that mustangs do not eat

the same as domestic horses.

There are 5 horses in the background.

How far did they have to go to get water?

They weren't going to find it here.

Something I'll never understand,

how can anyone see these pictures...

and still believe he cared for the horses?

My thought is, if you have a horse rescue

and you don't see anything wrong with

the pictures of this land....

You may not be worthy of having horses...

This carcass was quite close the the windmill.

Can there be any doubt

of what happened here?

Jason said his ranch was the only

one in the United States that had

the most variety of mustangs...

It still may be true,

but their bones are piled

on the ground

under hay.

These horses were all on the west

side of the place.

They died from what?

Old age?

How many said

that these are all just cow bones?

***

In the harassment case that Jason

was trying to get pinned on me....

This was the conversation

about the windmills:

Jason, "What about the windmill?"

You mentioned on the forum seeing

the windmill down."

Vicki, "Yes."

Jason (smugly), "You said on the forum

the windmill wasn't working,

then you said it was turned off.

Which is it?"

Vicki, "Well, if it is turned off, it's not working."

(It wasn't long after that,

the whole thing was on the ground.)

I had taken roughly 475 pictures

of the perimeter of the X 3x's.

We are now back to the north side

of the former 3 Strikes

and I am standing on our land.

I had put together a folder of

184 of those pictures.

(Notice again, the path of eaten

grass on our side)

During the trial, there were SO MANY

pictures entered in to evidence,

I was told I would have to cut some of mine.

I made a cut to 31.

I would have to cut more.

"Down to how many?"

'Three.'

"Three, how can I do that?"

'Find 4. We'll see.'

El Mariachi was to stay as one.

I picked 3 others.

Only 2 of those were entered,

along with El Mariachi.

(They are not shown on my blog)

That goes to show, there was enough

evidence without any of these

pictures, to prove just how much

Jason actually loved

and cared for the horses.

This is a 'gate latch' Jason put up.
He actually took ours off
when he moved in,
and replaced it with this!
Some more of his 'old school'.




The sign is down, and this land
breathes a breath of fresh air.
The new owners are wonderful,
and God has brought change.....
for the good.

Blair Witch? ..... or Mudna?

I'm guessing it was sometime towards the end of July, 2009; that someone made a symbol in the grass, by Justin and Allie's. We had been watching the ground very closely as we mowed (meadow ground - haying season) watching for the huge cross made out of two logs that Jason kept throwing on to our property, and now the cross had disappeared.

As Justin was mowing the meadow beside his house, his eye caught something brown on the ground. He immediately stopped the tractor and got down to investigate. Kicking around in the mowed hay, he didn't find anything. He thought at first it was the cross, but after searching for a few minutes - he was sure there was no log.

The next day, after raking the hay, something was discovered. I doubt he ever wanted us to find this. I wouldn't doubt if there are more around the place. The thing he doesn't understand is: Our God is bigger than his.

This symbol really couldn't be seen so easily from the ground. Probably the only reason it was spotted, was because the kids noticed it from up higher, in the tractor. Justin called me to come over and check it out. It measured about 11' from point to point.

Camera in hand, it was definitely something. Then we had Don come look. At first when we were at the house telling him about it, he mentioned that it was probably due to something else, something laying in the grass that covered it long enough, and killed the grass out.

'No, it's something different.' So he went to check it out. Definitely it was a symbol. We started a search on the Internet for symbols...just mostly out of curiosity as to what the boy wonder next door was thinking.

Josh came down on the 3rd day, and said, "Mom, type in Blair Witch". So I did, and as far as I am concerned, he was trying to copy that symbol. Can we prove it? Well, that's how he thinks he can escape justice.

Was it Round-Up or something? Who knows. I know it took a little bit of time; but he must not have been a good colorer in school, the lines are crooked. Of course, that might have something to do with being in a hurry so you don't get caught.

Directly on the other side of the group of trees is a small corral, and Justin and Allie's house. And directly to the south about a mile, is where Meduna lived.

Who could have done such a thing as this? Enquiring minds want to know.... right. What I don't understand...would his followers still believe him after seeing things like this? Never mind, I know, they'd say we planted it - our fault - we hate horses. Life is strange sometimes; and I will admit, I sometimes wish I'd been driving by in my 'Mad Max' truck and noticed someone 'playing' on our meadow. That's all I mean... just driving by..... noticing.

Thunder In The Clouds

THUNDER IN THE CLOUDS

Remembering the Mustangs of the Sandhills....

Nine months ago, many animals were saved from 3 Strikes Ranch.

Many did not survive.

It was Lonnie Littlehoop's desire, to bring some sort of closure

for the mustangs who did not make it out alive from 3 Strikes.

Through this, they hoped it would also be a healing

and understanding process for the children

that once were involved in a program at the mustang ranch -

a program of love and caring each child

would be able to give to the mustang that was 'assigned' to them.

On January 22, 2010 - Lonnie Littlehoop rode from Alliance to the former

3 Strikes Ranch, once owned and operated by Jason Meduna.

Jen and the kids drove the horse trailer,

Liz Lee and kids followed in her vehichle.

This would be the first Mustang Memorial Ride for the horses.

The ride was open to all,

many were expected to come from neighboring states.

I remember in a planning meeting that Lonnie and Jen had,

Lonnie stated he hoped the weather would be cold, even snowy.

I thought he was crazy!

But his reasoning... was to remember and pay tribute

to what all the horses endured through the winter at 3 Strikes.

Out in the cold, the snow, and the wind.....struggling to survive.

Without food and water at their disposal,

life for the horses would have been hard, painful, and long-suffering.

It was actually fitting that on the first day,

he was the only rider.

I believe for every evil, there is good.

Once upon a time, a person rode his horses

up and down this road to Alliance.

Now, this rider on the horse would bring goodness

to the memory of all the horses that perished -

and bring good memories for the survivors.

Jen, opening the gate for Lonnie...going onto the former 3 Strikes.

Lonnie and Nahpiya











Lonnie said it felt like he was riding through a graveyard.









The journey is over for the day.
Now Nahpiya (which means 'Clouds')
would get to spend the night at
the Nebraska Boys Ranch, with feed, water, and rest.


Tomorrow he would walk back to Alliance from the Boys Ranch,
but with more riders on the 2nd day.
(And the weather was much warmer!)







Jen, Lonnie, and the kids who had 'adopted' horses.









They walked around a now empty corral, where once they came
and worked with their horses. Now they were gone.
Some of the kids do not know if their horse survived.

We are in the process of locating their horses.
Hopefully, they will find that they are now all in loving homes.









We gathered to the center of the corral, forming a circle.
Lonnie led the prayer in his native tongue.
No pictures would be taken.
Being a part of the 'song' for the horses,
was something I will remember forever.
I'm so thankful I was able to be a part of this ceremony.















Thanks to Laura, we all enjoyed yummy hot chocolate afterwards.

Your gift was so thoughtful Laura!!
The day was cold, and the hot chocolate warmed us to the bones.

The painting of the four horses....

was done by Jay Largo

from Jen's vision of the Mustangs in the clouds.

(Jen's brother Jay, is from New Mexico)

The t-shirts are available to purchase. Jen did the screen printing herself.

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt, I will get you in touch with Jen.

I think they are $15 + shipping.