CRR woman speaks out after horses seized

Melody Barnes wants everyone to know she and her family are not bad people.

Last week, four horses were seized by Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies, and her fiancee, Jonathan Vance, was charged with animal neglect.

“I got a call stating the cops were at my house, raiding my house,” Barnes said Monday.

She calls it all a misunderstanding.

“The only reason Blaze was that skinny was because she was being tortured by the white horse, which we have gotten rid of,” Barnes said.

Barnes told NewsChannel 21 Monday that she and Vance had agreed to keep a horse for a friend.

“She didn’t want her because she couldn’t come out and take care of her. We were going to let her take her to Prineville, but she had no way to get her there,” Barnes said.

She says the couple repeatedly tried to get rid of the aggressive animal, which they say would not let other horses eat.

They posted the white mare on Craigslist.

“I don’t want to send her to a glue factory,” Barnes said, “but I need to get rid of her, because she is eating my horse alive.”

Three days before deputies showed up, Barnes said they had given the horse away.

“I explained to them, ‘I’m working on getting them back up to health — give me a little bit and we will work on this and get it done,'” Barnes said.

But Jefferson County saw otherwise.

The horses are now being kept at Mustangs to the Rescue near Terrebonne until the case is resolved.