CANADA Canada - Ben Tyner, 32, cowboy, horse returned w/o him, Merritt, British Columbia, 26 Jan 2019 - #2

[otto]

Otto, as I said before- the lack of tracks or tracking information never made good sense to me.
As I recall, around NR there was very little, if any, snow when Ben
went missing. It didn't snow any significant amount for several
days after he went missing. even without snow, horses leave
indentations in the soil and leaf matter. Heck I track my horses'
whereabout in my pastures all the time and I have ultra soft
sandy soil. Where the soil is firmer packed, they leave distinct
hoofprints and one can even tell which horse went where by
the hoofprints- horses have distinctly different hooves, size wise
and the depth of the prints are different also due to size and weight
of the horse.
Too bad the searchers didn't bring in a real tracker. KR could have been an asset if he is indeed a 'professional' tracker.
I know the good people on SAR teams try their best but they
are all volunteers and may not have skills for tracking.

I'm in complete agreement with you. Summer or Winter, it's easy to see animal trails if you know what to look for. Every animal has a distinct print, so I'm confused that searchers were confused because other animals are in the area. A domestic horse is not going to join wild horses, so even if there are wild horse prints, at most the prints will cross Ben's horse prints.

SAR is trained to do grid searches and spot things that don't belong, but that's not the same as tracking an animal. Perhaps searchers were looking for Ben rather than tracking the horse movements, although that doesn't make any sense since the horse tracks should lead directly to Ben if he was riding the horse.

 

[Trudie]

They likely leased their equipment, which is what most big operations do. Some lease for years and others lease for a season but the big expense is irrigation equipment, fuel/power for irrigation, equipment repairs and manpower and if conditions aren't ideal, hay quality diminishes.

I do know someone who worked at NR and at that time, the ranch had about 1,000 head, which is certainly a good sized ranch but not huge so I wonder if there was a plan to increase their cattle herd.

According to previous link, Bradner will use their equipment. The irrigation equipment belongs to NR.
My question is in the future could they even afford to do their hay? You’re right about the importance of the conditions. Bradner is responsible for variable costs, per article. They might find it’s not worth it.
I bet Ben would have increased the herd, I think he could never have enough cattle. Tysm

 

[MistyWaters]

Mystery of missing Merritt cowboy deepens as search continues amid plunging temperatures

Emphasis no tracks from ranch.

Hunter Kim Robinson told Global News he found the horse about seven kilometres up a logging road, still fully-equipped.

READ MORE: Ben Tyner’s family joins desperate search for missing Merritt, B.C. cowboy

“He had one rein hanging there so I thought something wasn’t right, so I went to catch him,” Robinson said. “He was a nice-looking horse, he had good rigging on him, but he was a bit jumpy. Every time I’d go close to him he’d step on that rein and kind of spook himself.”

Robinson said he’d been active in the area for about a month, and hadn’t seen any tracks between the Nicola Ranch and where he found the horse.

I’d be curious to know if KR was able to recognize which direction the horse was headed when he discovered her. And in the 20 minutes it took to catch her, what was her behaviour? Did she run further up or down the road or attempt to flee into the back country, as all animals react differently in a state of panic and fear.

As for him not seeing any tracks between NR and where he found the horse, did he even look? Because he made another statement to the media indicating he was not impressed that he was excluded from search efforts. He also went on to criticize where the search was being conducted.

 

[Trudie]

IMO, the wild horse prints would be so irregular, they’d be distinct.
I am guessing Ben kept a rasp handy & Gunny’s feet were perfectly shaped.

 

[zecats]

Thanks, but wasn't that later on in the search and not right away
when he went missing? That's what I recall.

Not sure. I know he was asked to refrain at first because he complained. Just good to see he was in on it some point.

 

[otto]

Mystery of missing Merritt cowboy deepens as search continues amid plunging temperatures

Emphasis no tracks from ranch.

Hunter Kim Robinson told Global News he found the horse about seven kilometres up a logging road, still fully-equipped.

READ MORE: Ben Tyner’s family joins desperate search for missing Merritt, B.C. cowboy

“He had one rein hanging there so I thought something wasn’t right, so I went to catch him,” Robinson said. “He was a nice-looking horse, he had good rigging on him, but he was a bit jumpy. Every time I’d go close to him he’d step on that rein and kind of spook himself.”

Robinson said he’d been active in the area for about a month, and hadn’t seen any tracks between the Nicola Ranch and where he found the horse.

This is the reason that I think the horse was driven to the area and that the horse simply waited in the area until it was found. Just a thought, but if Ben was murdered and put in the horse trailer with the horse, the horse would be very jumpy when found.

 

[MistyWaters]

According to previous link, Bradner will use their equipment. The irrigation equipment belongs to NR.
My question is in the future could they even afford to do their hay? You’re right about the importance of the conditions. Bradner is responsible for variable costs, per article. They might find it’s not worth it.
I bet Ben would have increased the herd, I think he could never have enough cattle. Tysm

Is there a link that NR was in financial difficulty or is this rumour or opinion?

If not, outsourcing of haying and other aspects of agricultural operations is not unusual at all. It’s considered cost efficient.

 

[MistyWaters]

This is the reason that I think the horse was driven to the area and that the horse simply waited in the area until it was found. Just a thought, but if Ben was murdered and put in the horse trailer with the horse, the horse would be very jumpy when found.

This is linkless because I think it was a video but iirc KR claimed he’d tracked the horse to a point where at one point she had been with a pack of wild horses. I don’t think horses are prone to just waiting when they’re not in their normal environment. The broken rein is also an indication of something.

 

[otto]

This is linkless because I think it was a video but iirc KR claimed he’d tracked the horse to a point where at one point she had been with a pack of wild horses. I don’t think horses are prone to just waiting when they’re not in their normal environment. The broken rein is also an indication of something.

If the horse was left along the logging road and a cougar was in the area, that could explain the horse panicking. There are lots of possibilities, but the fact that the horse was found near the logging road, and not in a field, suggests that the horse was found where it was left.

 

[MistyWaters]

IMO, the wild horse prints would be so irregular, they’d be distinct.
I am guessing Ben kept a rasp handy & Gunny’s feet were perfectly shaped.

I’m not a tracker but I think we’re presuming there would’ve been only one long trail of visible tracks from point A to point B. If Ben rode daily tracking hoofprints from the ranch might be difficult. It was never stated there were no tracks, just that it was not possible to track the horse from where she was found because of logging activity and wild horses.

 

[Trudie]

If the horse was left along the logging road and a cougar was in the area, that could explain the horse panicking. There are lots of possibilities, but the fact that the horse was found near the logging road, and not in a field, suggests that the horse was found where it was left.

@otto not to mention Gunny wasn’t accustomed to being tacked & turned loose. Ita, she was close to her drop off point. I kinda believe she was dropped Monday morning. That gave the perp more time to take care of other biz. Had she been dropped Sunday, wth was he going to do if someone found her?

 

[MistyWaters]

If the horse was left along the logging road and a cougar was in the area, that could explain the horse panicking. There are lots of possibilities, but the fact that the horse was found near the logging road, and not in a field, suggests that the horse was found where it was left.

How so? I don’t think there were any fields up there. The logging road was on Swakum mountain, was it not? The reference to Swakum Ridge indicates it’s also located on Swakum mountain?

Anyone feel free to correct me if I’m understanding the layout of the land incorrectly.

 

[otto]

I’m not a tracker but I think we’re presuming there would’ve been only one long trail of visible tracks from point A to point B. If Ben rode daily tracking hoofprints from the ranch might be difficult. It was never stated there were no tracks, just that it was not possible to track the horse from where she was found because of logging activity and wild horses.

The horse was left there sometime after Saturday, and was found at 5:30AM on Monday. There would not be any logging activity during that time. There was snow on the ground, and horses don't follow roads, so if searchers were looking to follow the path of the horse, that should not have been impossible.

 

[otto]

How so? I don’t think there were any fields up there. The logging road was on Swakum mountain, was it not? The reference to Swakum Ridge indicates it’s located on Swakum mountain?

Anyone feel free to correct me if I’m understanding this incorrectly.

There are snowmobile trails, logging roads, bike trails and lots of options for moving through the area. This is the approximate area where the horse was found. When I say field, I mean a field with or without trees - not a farmer's field.

 

[Trudie]

There are snowmobile trails, logging roads, bike trails and lots of options for moving through the area. This is the approximate area where the horse was found. When I say field, I mean a field with or without trees - not a farmer's field.

View attachment 179640

If she could get to grass, she probably ate, staying in one area. They kinda amble along, eating all they can. I think she stepped on her rein repeatedly while she grazed, causing it to break.

 

[Trudie]

That is along the lines of what I've been thinking too. Something fishy has been going on at the ranch in relation to recreation use, hay production, logging and vanishing cattle. The most likely reason for a new ranch manager to be murdered is that he discovered something that threatened someone else. I've mentioned it before, but an internal audit is probably the only way to figure out who is behind it.

@otto I wanted to touch on this again. Assuming an audit was requested immediately, it should be complete by this time. Do you agree? I don’t mean a 20 year audit, more like 2017 forward. Tysm

 

[MistyWaters]

There are snowmobile trails, logging roads, bike trails and lots of options for moving through the area. This is the approximate area where the horse was found. When I say field, I mean a field with or without trees - not a farmer's field.

Yes I agree it wasn’t an area in the middle of nowhere. If a horse is panicked, no rider to give it direction, I think it’s impossible for anyone other than those who are familiar with the behaviour of that specific horse to draw conclusions over how it would react. Horses would be capable of travelling large distances in a frightened state. And presumably she might have attempted to return “home” but not all domestic animals have a 100% reliable homing instinct, especially if they’re in unfamiliar territory. So I think how she got to where she was found is another factor that remains unanswered at this point in time, considering it hasn’t yet been established whether a truck and trailer was involved or if Ben was indeed out riding on Swakum Ridge.

 

[otto]

@otto I wanted to touch in this again. Assuming an audit was requested immediately, it should be complete by this time. Do you agree? I don’t mean a 20 year audit, more like 2017 forward. Tysm

I do think that an audit would now have preliminary findings if it was ordered in November when Ben arrived at the ranch. I'm thinking the audit should cover from 2014 when the owner died to 2017, when the owner's sons would have noticed issues with profits (if there were any).

 

[Trudie]

I do think that an audit would now have preliminary findings if it was ordered in November when Ben arrived at the ranch. I'm thinking the audit should cover from 2014 when the owner died to 2017, when the owner's sons would have noticed issues with profits (if there were any).

Tysm
Idk if an audit was ordered or requested by Ben in November but I hope RCMP ordered one ASAP.

 

[otto]

Tysm
Idk if an audit was ordered or requested by Ben in November but I hope RCMP ordered one ASAP.

I would be surprised if RCMP would cover the cost of an audit - not likely. It would be up to the owners to pay for it.