Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department detectives have ruled that the death of a horse at a Warsaw animal rescue was not the result of a malicious act, but rather an accident.

The incident was reported to police at about 9:20 p.m. Friday at 3591 E. 450 South, Warsaw. According to Christina Meade, it was around that time when she and her boyfriend arrived home to find her 27-year-old Appaloosa horse, Sassy, deceased inside a barn stall. Meade said the horse had blood underneath its jaw/chin area and she noticed several things “wrong” with the scene.

Meade told StaceyPageOnline.com in an interview this morning that she and her boyfriend left the property for about 2 hours on Friday. “The one thing that is bothering me the most is that I stopped to get something to eat when I should’ve been here for Sassy.” Wiping tears she added, “It’s killing me.”

Calling herself “very particular” about how she handled her horses – from everything to how the stalls were locked to how barn doors were propped open – she immediately noticed something that told her someone had been in her barn.

“I always leave the barn doors open so the horses can go in and out,” she said. “One is held open by a big rock and the other one, I have a big, heavy board that I jam into the ground to hold it so the horses can’t knock it closed. Those doors were closed.”

As she looked around the barn she began to find other areas, both in the stall where Sassy had been and outside the barn, where blood had been deposited. “She was obviously out of her stall at some point,” Meade said.

The initial officer called late Friday to the barn told Meade the horse looked as if it suffered stab or puncture wounds. Meade explained, “That really scared me. I’ve been a nervous wreck, not able to sleep. We’ve been afraid to be here wondering who would do this and if they could do it to a horse would they do it to us?”

Upon further investigation by KCSD Detective Josh Spangle and county animal control officer Jerry Clase on Monday, it was determined the horse likely sustained accidental self-inflicted injuries. The injuries were not severe enough to result in death, but given the age of the horse and Meade’s own account that she was not in good health, the detectives feel the stress of the injury led to the horse’s demise.

“She had excellent photos of the injuries which really helped us determine what happened,” said Spangle. Evidence suggested that the halter had gotten caught on an unknown object and caused the original wound. However, it was also determined the injuries did not happen inside the stall.

Meade believes someone familiar with the operations of the horse rescue allowed the horse outside the barn while she was gone. “An accident I can forgive. I can overlook that someone didn’t do this on purpose,” she said. “They probably didn’t know she was hurt that bad. But I need to know what happened. I don’t even need to know who it was, but please, just call (Spangle) and tell him what happened so we know. Just tell the police or detectives so this can be solved and laid to rest. Nobody will be in trouble, we just want to know who was here with her and who closed and locked the doors.”

The blood found both in the stall and outside the barn is consistent with dripping, not splattering. That, according to Meade and police, is indicative that no violent act occurred.