CHARLESTON - Ernest C. Rose's trial on charges accusing him of neglecting numerous horses found on his Charleston property was postponed more than two months Wednesday.

At the first court appearance for Rose since Feb. 21, defense attorney Michael Tague said he wouldn't be ready for the trial May 19, when it had been scheduled to begin, and asked for the postponement.

State's Attorney Steve Ferguson didn't object to the delay, and Circuit Judge Mitchell Shick then set the trial to begin Aug. 4. The judge and the attorneys said their schedules wouldn't allow the trial to take place before then. Shick scheduled another pretrial hearing for July 30.

Rose, who lives in the Chicago area, is charged with several counts of misdemeanor violation of owner's duties and unlawful disposal of a dead animal. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in November.

Coles County sheriff's deputies and animal shelter officials first visited Rose's farm just southwest of Charleston on Aug. 1 and reportedly found some horses dead and numerous others in a state of neglect. On Sept. 12, authorities removed the remaining horses at the farm, about 60 in all, after they said Rose didn't start caring for them properly as he indicated he would.

The charges against Rose, a total of 45 counts, accuse him of failing to provide the horses with sufficient food, water or veterinarian care, and also allege he didn't dispose of dead horses as required within 24 hours of the animals' deaths.

The charges carry a maximum punishment of six months in jail and a $1,500 fine, and include accusations that there wasn't veterinary care for various problems with some of the horses, including pneumonia, cracked hooves, skin disease, mouth sores and dental disease.

Meanwhile, there's nothing scheduled until next year in U.S. District Court in Urbana in the federal lawsuit Rose's attorney filed against the Coles County Animal Rescue and Education Center. The trial date and the only hearing date in that case are set for May 2009.

The lawsuit claims that seizing the horses violated Rose's rights and asked that they be returned to him and that monetary damages be awarded.

Dave Fopay can be reached at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.