NEW ULM — Brown County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeremy Reed and New Ulm veterinarian Dr. Nancy Peterson, DVM, took the witness stand Thursday in a trial of a 44-year-old rural Sleepy Eye woman charged with animal mistreatment in Brown County District Court.

In November 2020, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from an individual who boarded horses at Candi J. Lemarr’s Sapphire Equestrian Farm, a horse-riding and training facility. She claimed the horses were emaciated.

Authorities and a New Ulm veterinarian soon toured the facility. Seven horses, three donkeys and a pony were seized and held at the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation in Zimmerman.

Brown County Chief Deputy Jeremy Reed testified Thursday that Lemarr and horse owner Stacey L. Meyer of Fayetteville, Iowa, who boarded several horses at Lemarr’s farm, had a falling out over money and that Meyer’s horses were in much worse condition after spending time at Lemarr’s farm.

“The result of the inspection by a veterinarian was that there were too many animals to feed (at Lemarr’s farm) and you could see their hips, ribs, and other bones,” Reed testified.

Dr. Nancy Peterson, DVM, of the New Ulm Regional Veterinary Center testified she was contacted by the Brown County law enforcement to do a site visit for humane reasons at Lemarr’s farm on Nov. 23, 2020.

“She had 19 horses, 12-14 goats, 20-30 chickens, two dogs and cats,” Peterson testified. “In the first pen I saw no hay, bunk or feeding spot, and smaller, underweight horses that looked pretty rough. They had dull coats, were scrawny, and hadn’t been groomed lately.”

Peterson testified she touched the back of one of the horses, “J.J.” and described him as underweight, taking into account that he arrived at Lemarr’s farm underweight.

In addition, Peterson testified a water tank had no tank heater that would allow water to stay thawed in the winter.

“I saw no bedding or feed in stalls. The floor was packed with dirt and manure,” Peterson testified. “The horses needed more bedding. They didn’t have the coat or body condition score for winter.”

Peterson testified “veterinarians should be involved in rehabilitating horses in case something goes wrong, because they know what they’ve been doing.”

Stacey Meyer’s daughter Elizabeth Meyer testified she was “disgusted” by the condition of the family’s horses after they were at Lemarr’s farm.

“The horses had no meat on their bones. They were covered in their own feces. We photographed them,” Elizabeth Meyer testified. “After they were returned to us, they really put on weight after 30 days.”

Elizabeth Meyer was the last prosecution witness.

Defense lawyer James J. Kuettner of Mankato called his first witness, Dr. Janelle Kay Louwagie, a pharmacist at the Marshall Hy-Vee Pharmacy.

Louwagie testified she took her daughter to Lemarr’s farm two to three times a week at times for horse grooming lessons and noticed a couple of horses caked with manure that she was told came from an Iowa breeder.

“I never had any concern about our horse boarded at Candi Lemarr’s farm,” Louwagie testified. “I never saw a dirty stall. It’s a new farm, a safe environment. I’d like to have it. It’s bigger and better than what I have right now.”

Louwagie testified Lemarr’s horses “were in peak physical condition.”

The trial continues at 9 a.m. Friday in Brown County District Court.