Owners uneasy after horse stolen in NW Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man who stabled his horse at a northwest Houston boarding facility is making an appeal to anyone who can help him recover his 3-year-old Paint.

The horse named Barry was taken from his stall earlier this week.

"Another person at the barn called me and said, 'Your horse is missing.' When I saw his stall gate open and the stall empty, my heart broke," said Gerardo Mendoza, Barry's owner.

The Mendoza family adopted Barry two years ago.

"It's like they (took) an arm from me. My kids rode him. He's sweet and gentle," said the father of two.

Houston police found two saddles stolen from the barn in a nearby field.

"One of them was my son's saddle. They destroyed it," Mendoza said.

Security cameras showed two men on the property, possibly late Tuesday night or before dawn Wednesday.

They apparently opened a pasture gate and several stalls looking for horses to take. A horse named Beau had been tied to a post.

"He can be a handful, and so he probably refused to go with them," said Nicole Russell, Beau's owner. "Horses are good judges of character."

Another owner believed her horse had been targeted as well, but was lame, so it was left behind.

Thefts of horses and tack usually increase around trail ride time, say owners at the barn. Last year, halters, bridles and saddles were taken from stalls, according to Russell.

"This is the first time a horse has been stolen," she said.

Mendoza filed a police report, and a poster is being circulated on NetPosse.com.

"I want him back," Mendoza said. "Who would have the heart to do this? I keep asking if he's okay. If he has his food, if he's out of the rain."

Anyone with information can call Houston Crime Stoppers or Houston police.

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