Local trainers charged after video appears to show them beating a horse
Published at | Updated at
Editor’s note: This video contains images and sounds that may be disturbing to some viewers. EastIdahoNews.com is showing the video in the interest of informing the public.
FELT — Two local horse trainers are charged with animal cruelty after allegedly beating, whipping, punching, kicking and slapping a horse.
Roger Reiley, 54, and Tori Tropf, 45, have each been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty beating or harassing animals.
Video footage
On Monday, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office received video footage from a witness that appears to show Reiley and Tropf repeatedly harming a horse on their property in Felt, according to a news release from the Teton County, Idaho, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
One of the videos was sent to EastIdahoNews.com and is nearly 10 minutes long. It is taken from a distance and appears to show the pair whipping and kicking the horse repeatedly. In the video, the horse reacts by neighing loudly in apparent pain.
The news release said deputies watched the footage and found the treatment of the horse showed animal cruelty. According to an affidavit of probable cause, another video showed a large board or PVC pipe used to hit the horse twice. The deputy could clearly hear the crack of the board or pipe as it hit the horse.
Another video shows the man — identified as Reiley — walking to the head area of the horse and kicking the horse in the head while yelling “get up” documents said. The woman — identified as Tropf — kicked the horse in the head multiple times, too, court records show.
An Idaho State veterinarian was shown the video footage by deputies and agreed it constituted animal cruelty and torture.
The veterinarian said that it did not “meet acceptable animal training or handling practices required by Idaho Code,” according to the news release.
What they allegedly did
The criminal complaint alleges Reiley and Tropf committed animal cruelty by “knowingly and willfully inflicting unjustifiable and extreme or prolonged pain.”
The following was listed as what they allegedly did to the horse:
- Beating and/or jabbing the horse with a pipe and/or 2×4 board
- Repeatedly kicking the horse in the head
- Whipping the horse in the head and/or legs
- Repeatedly punching and/or slapping the horse in the face
- Knocking the horse to the ground on a concrete pad and/or kicking, whipping or beating the horse while it lay on the ground
The other side of the story
Jerry Reynolds, Reiley and Tropf’s attorney, tells EastIdahoNews.com this is a case of disciplining and training a horse.
“Anyone who works around horses has to take the discipline and training of the horse very seriously. Horses are of no value to an owner unless … (the horse) is ‘broken’ — that is, disciplined or trained,” Reynolds said.
He said no horse owner can use an unruly, undisciplined animal or one that kicks and bites people.
“There is a certain amount of physical force and pressure needed in order to discipline that animal correctly,” he said. “They don’t want to hurt these animals. They typically use things such as the polyester type of pipes that can be used to slap or prod an animal that doesn’t create any physical injury on the horse. Sometimes, they use a whip.”
To an untrained eye, the force and strength used to break a horse may appear cruel or abusive, he said.
Reynolds said the horse involved in the complaint does not belong to Reiley and Tropf. It was brought to them by a customer and was with them for two days being trained. Reynolds said Reiley and Tropf are longtime horse owners and run a horse ranch.
“I’ve not had a chance to see the video that the sheriff has. You might slap or strike a horse in the face if it’s trying to bite you. I had ranchers tell me in the past, ‘If the horse bites me, I slap them,'” Reynolds said.
“The deputies reported that the horse was knocked to the ground… not true. This particular animal fell to the ground because it had what the ranchers called a ‘hissy fit,’ being so upset about being required to undertake discipline that it itself lost its footing and fell upon the ground in an effort to try to kick Mr. Reiley in his efforts to try to discipline a horse,” he continued.
Reynolds added that the owner had since taken possession of his horse. He did not want to press charges, Reynolds told EastIdahoNews.com.
Reynolds had asked the owner to get his horse checked out by a veterinarian for the current case. Reynolds said there were no injuries or damage of any kind to the horse. The horse is additionally not showing any disciplinary behavior problems associated with any kind of abuse, he said.
“Mr. Reiley and Ms. Tropf have nothing but love and kindness toward these large animals that they work with every day of the year and have for 30 years. They both grew up on ranches with parents who were horse people, and they have no animosity or hatred towards these animals. They love these animals,” Reynolds added.
Arrest warrants
On Tuesday, deputies obtained arrest warrants for Reiley and Tropf and took them into custody. They also obtained a search warrant for the property.
The judge set bonds for Reiley and Tropf at $10,000 each. They have both since posted bail.
“Idaho is one of three remaining states in the United States that does not have a felony statute for animal cruelty absent prior convictions for the same crime. Under Idaho law, a first offense for animal cruelty is punishable by six months in jail and a fine between from $100 to $5,000,” the prosecutor’s office said in the release.
Reiley has pleaded not guilty, according to court records. Tropf is scheduled for an arraignment at the Teton County Courthouse on Oct. 23.
“The Teton County Sheriff’s Office and Office of the Prosecuting Attorney take animal welfare complaints seriously and are committed to enforcing Idaho’s animal cruelty laws where circumstances require,” the prosecutor said.
Though Reiley and Tropf have been charged with these crimes, this does not necessarily mean they committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.