By Canadian Horse Journal Staff 

November 19, 2021 — A 20-year-old Quarter Horse named Nugget has been killed on the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, a 40 square km ranch in Clearwater County, Alberta, owned and managed by Parks Canada. The horse was shot by someone with a high-powered rifle sometime between November 13 – 15, 2021, say police. RCMP in Sundre, AB say it is elk season and the remote area is often used by hunters. Nugget was a service horse still in active duty, and investigators say he may have been shot by accident by someone who mistook the horse for a game animal. 

The Ya Ha Tinda Ranch is the only federally operated working horse ranch in Canada, and here horses are wintered and trained for use by Parks Canada staff who patrol and protect Western Canada’s national parks.  

Those responsible or anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Sundre RCMP Detachment at 403-638-3655 or leave an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers. 

Crime Stoppers - Crime Stoppers – Alberta 

Ya Ha Tinda Ranch - Ya Ha Tinda, The Canadian Government’s Only Working Horse Ranch

Photo: RCMP