BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – An auction of hundreds of horses found starving in eastern Montana is expected to be held this weekend in what would be one of Montana's largest horse sales from a single ranch.

A meeting to finalize the details was scheduled for Tuesday between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Northern International Livestock Exposition, the Billings Gazette reported.

"Unless there is a court action, I feel pretty confident the sale will start at 10 a.m. on April 2 and run the 3rd and probably the 4th," said Allan Hanley, a BIA rangeland management specialist.

The owner of the 829 horses, James Leachman of Billings, had until Tuesday evening to reclaim them. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of animal cruelty and his trial is scheduled for June 3.

In December, a veterinarian warned that hundreds of the horses were trapped in a pasture with no grass and were on the verge of starvation. Seven horses were found near death and four were shot on the recommendation of veterinarian Jeff Peila of Shepherd.

The horses have been fed about 150 tons of donated hay since mid-January, so most of the animals are now in pretty good shape, Peila said.

Leachman had filed for bankruptcy and a judge ordered his two ranches sold to help satisfy his debts. In April 2010, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher gave Leachman 14 days to deal with the hundreds of horses grazing on his property.

Leachman has said he decided against the sale in part because of a price collapse in the horse market.

Last week, members of the Crow Tribe rounded up most of the horses in a large pasture and neighboring ranches and drove them into pens that used to hold cattle at the former Leachman Cattle Co. Their brands were inspected except for nine newborn foals that will be sold with their mothers.

The BIA, which seized the horses for trespassing on tribal lands, published legal notice Friday giving Leachman five days to pay the trespassing penalties, as well as the costs of rounding up, processing and selling them.

The final tab was still being tallied to account for the 25 hours it took to identify the horses.

The auction is set to take place at the Home Place ranch 16 miles east of Billings. Hanley said he expects thousands to attend the auction, but only a small percentage will be serious buyers.

"Most of them will just be tire kickers coming to see 829 horses in one spot," Hanley said.

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Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com