The Clintonville woman whose five horses triggered complaints from neighbors, a county investigation and criminal charges was convicted on only one of 15 counts Friday, Aug. 1, after a two-day trial.
On Oct. 9, 2013, Barbara J. Thiry, 72, was charged with 15 counts of intentionally mistreating animals, failing to provide food, and failing to provide adequate shelter
A jury found Thiry guilty of failing to provide proper food to one of her horses, Lady.
Of the remaining 14 counts against Thiry, Judge Raymond Huber dismissed seven counts due to lack of evidence, while the jury found Thiry not guilty of the rest.
Prior to sentencing, Thiry requested the judge to declare a mistrial against the advice of her attorney, Adam Raabe.
Thiry said her driver overheard one of the jurors speaking on her cellphone about the case and a blog regarding Thiry.
She also accused one of the witnesses, Detective Sgt. Rob Karski, of lying while under oath.
Thiry, who did not testify during the trial, also complained that photos showing improvements in the health of Lady had not been presented to the jury.
Huber told Thiry that she would need to address those issues when she filed an appeal.
The judge placed her on one year of probation and ordered her to pay court costs and the supervision costs of her probation.
Huber also ordered that Thiry participate in any mental health assessments and counseling ordered by her probation agent.
During her probation, Thiry is also prohibited from owning any horses unless authorized by her agent, who must also approve of where she keeps the horses.
If the agent authorizes her to have horses, she can have no more than two and she must provide regular reports from a ferrier and a veterinarian.
In addition to one year of probation, Huber placed a five-year injunction on Thiry, limiting her to two horses.
“She cares about horses. She loves horses,” Huber said. “She probably didn’t have the resources to play the rich person’s game of owning horses.”
As a condition of the agent allowing Thiry to own horses she must demonstrate the financial ability to care for them.
More details on Thiry’s trial will be in the Aug. 7 Waupaca County Post.