Every boarder's worst nightmare

Shocking news story from Oregon. Not only did this woman neglect many horses, but she actually sold a boarder's horse and told the owner it was dead!

Talk about every boarder's worst nightmare. That person may never know now...is their horse alive? Dead? Did it go to slaughter? Is it starving in a bad home somewhere? Horses can't call for help and aren't likely to have a chance to escape and find their way home like the cat who accidentally climbed into the back of a moving van.

I guess it's not surprising that a person like Kristina exists. After all, the world is full of people who somehow justify stealing another person's child. It does make you wonder what kind of safeguards need to be put in place to keep our horses safe. I've long thought that a microchip with a GPS in it is something I would buy for all of my horses for sure. How great would it be to be able to implant your horse with a chip that allowed law enforcement to pinpoint his location immediately in the event of theft? If someone isn't marketing this already, they should be.

But this is a little more than plain old horse theft. This is someone who I am sure was charming in person - someone who I am guessing offered owners in these hard times an affordable place to keep their horses. The article says many owners were far away. I wonder if she was offering retirement board?

I'll be watching to see how this story develops and I'll post updates when I know more. I hope with all my heart they find the horse (or horses) that she sold. I can't imagine what the poor owner(s) are going through!

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Apologies to those of you who were responsibly using the comments; however, Blogger rules were broken with regard to the harrassment of individuals other than myself and so they have gone away until I can come up with a reasonable solution that does not add hours of work to my day.

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UPDATE/MORE INFORMATION:

July 24-

Our hearts go out to Rico v.d. Melder, a once beautiful 4th level dressage imported Friesian stallion born June 31, 1997. He was recovered in an abuse case, and found in terrible condition, but is in good hands with the Willamette Humane Society now. I was contacted by the Willamette Humane Society today since they were gathering facts, and I was able to look him up in the FHANA/FPS database for them. Kristina Early, his registered owner, is now in police custody for animal abuse regarding Rico, 2 other Friesian mares, and 37 other horses. We hope she gets the maximum sentence for what she did to this once proud stallion and the other horses. To all Dutch people who see this, I am so sorry that Rico suffered in our country, but please be aware that the owner is in jail now. Click here to read an article about it. To all sellers- be CAREFUL who you sell to in this terrible economy. Sometimes, it's impossible to know, but if you have a nagging feeling that something is not right, do something about it! Get references and check up on your sold horses if you are suspicious. Other Friesians that Kristina Early owned were Ursulinda fan de Fourage, Debbie van de Zuiderwaard, and Galahads Black Shadow. It was reported on the news here that Kristina was boarding horses for out of town owners, and she sold one of their horses to the east coast, and then she turned around and told the owner that their horse had died, and billed them for the vet bills, which were all fabricated! If you have any information that could help investigators regarding Kristina Early, please contact the Willamette Humane Society (503) 585-5900. If you bought or sold a horse from/to Kristina Early they will want to hear from you!!!!

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