Trial over starved horse set for April

Two years after the emaciated body of a retired race horse was pulled from the Windsor mud, the ranch owner charged with starving it to death is going to trial.

Mark Ross faces a felony count of animal cruelty in the 2010 death of the 6-year-old thoroughbred named Skimtheexcess.

Ross and his niece Nicole Ross of Rohnert Park are accused of failing to feed the once-successful gelding as it languished in a separate pen beside another horse that was well cared for.

Nicole Ross, 29, the alleged owner of the horse, pleaded no contest last fall to felony cruelty and was ordered to serve 45 days in county jail. Mark Ross, 49, is fighting the same charge after a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence that he was responsible.

Horse lovers are closely watching the case, which they allege is among the worst examples of animal neglect in Sonoma County in recent years.

"The horse's body was found stuck in the mud," said Katie Moore executive director of CHANGE, Coins to Help Abandoned and Neglected Equines. "When they removed his body, you could see his entire skeleton indented into the mud, like a fossil."

Moore said the most heartbreaking part is that the horse starved to death next to another horse that someone was feeding regularly. "He basically died while watching another horse eat," she said.

Mark Ross' attorney, Andy Martinez, denied any wrongdoing. He said Ross fed the horse after his niece abandoned it and the other horse on his property. He said the horse was free to graze on acres of pastureland the whole time.

"We're trying to figure out another reason why a horse wouldn't eat," Martinez said. "Because they fed it on a regular basis."

The case came to light after animal control officers were called to Ross' Jensen Lane ranch in December 2010 to investigate reports of an abused horse. Officers arrived to find the "very emaciated" gelding was dead, prosecutor Bud McMahon said.

An animal necropsy conducted at UC Davis concluded the horse was severely underweight and died of starvation. It had depleted its body fat reserves, said Moore, whose organization assisted the case.

Officers determined Nicole Ross was supposed to be taking care of the animal and Mark Ross had agreed to board it. Both were charged about a year later.

A jury trial for Mark Ross is scheduled for April 5. He faces possible prison time if convicted.

Moore said it was a sad end for a horse that had a winning record on Bay Area racetracks.

"This was a thoroughbred racehorse, only 6 years old, who had had a good career on the racetrack, winning money and several races," Moore said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.