Be on the look out for horse thieves in area

By Rob Vogt
Rebecca Miller is urging everyone to be on the look out for the thieves who took two of her horses, only to release them a few hours later. Miller has three horses and, on May 26, a friend was feeding her third horse at the Agriplex in Claresholm. At 8 a.m. he called to inform Miller that the other two, Leo and Dano, were not there.
“I didn’t get alarmed at first,” she said.
Having owned horses for a long time, she has seen them leave, looking for food, but is surprised if they go even two kilometres. They looked around and discovered something had happened to a corner of fencing, out of the line of sight.
“It was flung open the wrong way,” Miller said. “They bent it and forced it open.”
The horses would not go by themselves so Miller suspects they were led out. There are six paddocks behind the Blue Bird Motel and Miller said that’s where the thieves exited with her horses.
They went to the police right away, realizing if horses had got out on their own someone in town would have seen them and called. The police arrived and investigated the scene. Miller began spreading the word, texting in a group chat that her two horses were stolen.
Someone saw Miller’s text and offered to post about it on Facebook. That person also heard from a co-worker that about 11:30 p.m. on May 25 he saw a black pick-up truck hooked up to a gray stock trailer and a man holding horses in front of the Agriplex entrance.
Miller wondered if these were the thieves checking for brands on her horses. She also uses an animal communicator. Miller was sitting in the foyer of the town office at 9 a.m. that morning of May 26, and decided to contact her animal communicator.
She sent her front facial shots of each horse, and was told she would start on it right away.
At 12:30 p.m., the RCMP said they received a call from a woman reporting two horses loose southeast of Claresholm, and sent photos. Miller arranged to meet them at a gas station in town at 1:30 p.m. While she waited, her animal communicator called.
“I know where the horses are,” she told Miller. “They’re southeast of Claresholm.”
Miller asked her to let them know trusted people were coming to get them. They found where the horses were, and made visual contact. The horses were in a field, and the woman who reported seeing them, followed them, staying in visual range. Miller stopped and a farmer offered her a ride on an all-terrain vehicle to get the horses. The horses ran off when they saw the ATV, and Miller ended up following them across two sections of land.
Finally, she got to the horses, where she discovered Leo had re-aggravated an old leg injury. Another person loaded the horses, and ended up keeping them two nights. “People have been so wonderfully helpful,” Miller said.
She estimates the horses travelled 42 kilometres south of Claresholm, and were recovered in the same 24-hour period they were taken.. Miller heard from her animal communicator who recounted the same events that actually took place.
The animal communicator said the horses told her they were loaded up by men, and travelled north initially in a trailer for hours initially. They were unloaded into a round pen and had feed and water. In the morning, men came out, opened the gate, and the horses ran off.
Miller suspects the thieves turned the horses loose for a number of reasons. One was the firestorm of attention unleashed on social media. Another was the horses have unique colouring making them easier to identify. Finally, Leo is so loud and persistent, he brings attention wherever he goes. Now, Miller has the horses in locked stalls and security cameras are being installed.
In fact, the RCMP always recommends having security cameras. Miller feels horrible emotionally after the ordeal, and has been sleeping close to the horses to ensure their safety. She has incurred a lot of costs from locks and chain to security cameras and more.
“It all adds up,” she said. Miller noted everyone has to keep an eye out for the thieves and have been very supportive. “People are very caring bout it,” she said.
Anyone who may have information on this incident is encouraged to contact the Claresholm RCMP at 403-625-4445.