GILBERT — An expanding Arizona horse rescue says its work is set back a year after someone took $11,000 worth of fencing.
The nonprofit, Wildhorse Ranch Rescue, works to rescue and rehabilitate horses, both domestic and wild.
The organization planned to expand this year with more than 100 acres in Yavapai County.
“We were so excited, we even were dancing,” founder Kim Meagher said.
Meagher said the group raised the money to buy new fencing and round pens for the property to help roughly 100 more horses from Northern Arizona.
But when Meagher returned in early January, she found all the new infrastructure stolen.
“Without fencing, we can’t save horses,” Meagher said. “So, to go up there and see that everything was gone... We’re now pushed back a year financially.”
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office says they’re continuing to work on the case, but don’t have any suspects.
“We had locks on every panel,” Meagher said. “To load all of those panels, they needed to have a truck or a flatbed. This was, like, an all-day or multi-day job.”
Meagher said she plans to move forward with the project, yet again raising funds for the fencing and to buy more security cameras for the remote property.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
