The owner of the ranch near Versailles, Ky., where an American Saddlebred was buried after brutal attacks led to his eventual euthanasia, has expressed in court documents that she would cooperate with requests that the horse’s body be exhumed if the horse were to be reburied at her farm and other conditions were met. Additionally, the lawyers of both parties in the case have been instructed to prepare for a settlement conference and pre-trial conference next June.

Wild Eyed and Wicked, the Saddlebred in question, was one of five horses attacked in late June/early July of 2003 in their stalls at Dave and Dena Lopez’s Double D Ranch. For more information on the attacks, see www.TheHorse.com/sbreds.

These developments are the latest in a series of legal wranglings that began in early 2004 between plaintiff Double D and defendants Joe and Sally Jackson. One lawsuit requested a court order exhumation of Wicked’s body for forensic examination to gather more clues on the attacks.

The Jackson’s motion for exhumation was held in abeyance after an Aug. 13 hearing pending confirmation that exhuming would not impede the Kentucky State Police (KSP) investigation, that samples were not already in veterinarians’ custody, and that forensic examination could be of some benefit to the investigation. The Jackson’s counsel filed a renewed motion for exhumation on Sept. 17 after obtaining the required information