The peaceful ranch Fernando Ibarra built in the hills of Reche Canyon was shattered on Monday.
It was the day his miniature pony, Trigger, was discovered shot to death.
“You can see the wound in his neck, and you could see it went through and through,” Ibarra said.
He says a blood trail shows Trigger was shot near the fence but managed to stagger 500 feet to a trailer on the property before collapsing.
The discovery led to a desperate search for Trigger’s mate, Morena. But she was also found dead in a dry creek bed.
Both animals had been shot to death.
“Why do it to animals that are on their property. They are not a nuisance. They’re just grazing,” Ibarra said.
The two ponies had been Ibarra’s constant companion and a form of therapy for the 53-year-old who has been confined to a wheelchair for the past 16 years following an injury.
“I would just go around in my chair, and they’d be behind me, nudging me and wanting treats,” he said.
Ibarra believes the killings happened at night under the cover of darkness and that the shooter likely spotted the ponies from the roadway running in front of his 20-acre property.