Somerton man charged with animal cruelty

The severe malnutrition of five horses, two burros and a steer have led to felony charges of animal cruelty for a Somerton man.

Founders of the local horse rescue group Triple R Ranch called the abuse one of the worst cases they've ever seen in Yuma County.

Matthew T. Ashby, 44, was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of felony cruelty to animals, according to a press statement from the Yuma County Sheriff's Office. Ashby was booked into Yuma County jail.

Bureau of Land Management officials say they also cited Ashby because he adopted several of the animals through the BLM's wild mustang and burro program.

"With one phone call he could have avoided this," said Roger Oyler, wild horse specialist for the local BLM office. "We could have come and taken these animals. It's hard to understand why he never walked down there and realized those animals were in pretty poor condition."

Authorities were called Wednesday to Ashby's residence on the 14600 block of S. Avenue A 1/2. Among the animals there they found one horse in such advanced stages of malnutrition that a veterinarian had to euthanize the animal immediately, according to the press statement. A newly born foal from that horse was also dead.

Three mustangs and a burro were taken from Ashby and are now being cared for by Triple R Ranch, a new nonprofit rescue program.

"This abuse was severe," said Kim Wolf, a founder of the program. "Why don't people call for help? There is no reason for this."

Oyler said that only the adopted animals were taken through BLM because it had no authority over the remaining horse, burro and steer. Officials with the sheriff's office were not available at press time to explain why animals included in the investigation were left in Ashby's care.

Wolf, who visited the Ashby residence Wednesday, said the animals left behind had been neglected just as much as the mustangs and burro that Ashby had adopted through the BLM.

"They were thin. Their stalls were very muddy and there was no shade," Wolf said.

Oyler said the rescued horses will survive, but have a long recovery ahead of them.

"They were not in bad shape, but they weren't in good shape," Oyler said, noting that Ashby had fed the horses between Wednesday and Monday. "They're not real weak, but not as feisty as most wild horses I've dealt with. The biggest problem is their feet, which are so long that the horses are walking on their hocks."

Oyler added that he's seen little horse abuse in his career, limiting his ability to compare this case with others.

"This is the first time in my 15 years that we've had to repossess any animals because of neglect, which is actually a pretty good thing," the BLM official said. "Most people who adopt horses take pretty good care of them."

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Darin Fenger can be reached at

dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.