The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged Chaparral Ranch, the former manager of Bear Creek Stables in Los Gatos, with criminally failing to care for a horse that died from malnutrition and heat stroke last year.
Honey the horse was found unable to stand, badly emaciated and filled with intestinal worms—a condition experts concluded could’ve been prevented.
Jennifer Bryant, 25, was arraigned Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court on a charge of failing to give proper care and attention to an animal, a misdemeanor.
She faces up to a year in jail. Efforts by a Weeklys reporter to get a comment from Chaparral were unsuccessful.
“Honey the horse didn’t have to die like this,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Proper care in line with a veterinarian’s recommendations could have prevented this outcome.”
In March 2024, County Animal Control officers responded to complaints about abused horses and inspected Bear Creek Stables. They encountered Honey, who had lice and was sickly, prosecutors said.
A veterinarian came the next day and said the ill horse should be given a special diet of alfalfa hay. He told the ranch there should be a follow-up appointment for Honey.
There’s no evidence the manager ordered one—Honey was simply moved to a different location and not given alfalfa, investigators say.
On July 12, 2024, County Animal Control was notified of a “downed” horse at a Chaparral Ranch property on Weller Road in Milpitas. The officer found a very thin Honey on the ground, unable to get up. Bryant said she’d noticed Honey losing weight two weeks prior, and argued the horse’s condition was due to allergies. Honey was euthanized that day.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District voted to give Friends of Bear Creek Stables a contract from June 6 to the end of this year to manage the Los Gatos stables.
Friends President Rick Parfitt said the nonprofit has “no association” with Chaparral.
“We look forward to partnering with MidPen over the next 12 years to reopen Bear Creek Stables,” he said.
*With files from Faizi Samadani and Stephanie Uchida
