Some days this blog even horrifies me...

I've been in horses a long time. I have seen a lot of ignorance. But some days even I am shocked and this is one of them.

Don't follow the link if you don't want to see a dead horse. Here's the story. I bolded certain parts.


The seven-year-old emaciated gelding used by its owners to pull a sedan out of a muddy ditch on Wednesday has been put down and five other horses seized. The owners, a man and a woman claiming to be veterinarians, face animal cruelty charges, confirm the SPCA.

The Langley residents were arrested after SPCA investigators found out the couple had tethered the horse to the sedan, which had gone off road in front of their property in the 2000 block of 208 Street.

Langley RCMP confirm the car wasn’t insured and the SPCA estimates the horse was labouring in the mud for more than 45 minutes before emergency responders came on the scene.
They were trying to get him to pull the vehicle out of the ditch when the animal simply collapsed and couldn’t get up, said SPCA senior animal protection officer Eileen Drever.

The SPCA determined the young horse to be in critical distress and humanely euthanized it.

“It was terribly upsetting for all the investigators involved,” said Drever.

“We thought he might have a chance when he tried to stand a couple of times but he just couldn’t muster the strength.”

The Langley Animal Protection Society, RCMP and Township firefighters responded and called the SPCA.

Langley Township fire department specializes in large animal rescues, and is often called to other municipalities to help in similar situations.

Crews were able to sedate the horse and hoist it to safety, using a tow truck.

The animal was moved to a patch of grass at the side of the road before being covered with a blanket and given an IV drip, food and water.

A video by Times photographer John Gordon shows the horse being lifted from the ditch and attempts to get him to stand.

An additional five horses located on the owners’ property were surrendered to the SPCA and are currently receiving care at the society’s Surrey branch.

The horses were also in extremely poor condition — completely emaciated — and are receiving veterinary care, said Drever.

“I can’t call the horse in the ditch a walking skeleton because by the time we reached him, he was too weak to walk,” said Drever, who estimates the gelding would score 1.5 out of 10 on a body condition scale.

A necropsy will be conducted on the gelding’s body. Drever said the prognosis for the remaining animals is hopeful but will require a lot of care.

SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk said the owners were already under investigation at the time.

A woman who came upon the scene is looking into a way she could possibly take in one or two of the horses and care for them on her farm.

We've had these cases before on the blog. Remember the crazy brindle-breeding veterinarian in Australia? They never do fail to shock, though. If these people are not lying about being veterinarians, that makes the case so much more appalling than the norm. While I don't accept ignorance as an excuse for neglect, knowing that the abuser is a horse care expert and still chose to abuse is worse.

And when it's a husband and wife team, that's worse still. One person may be mentally ill and not know what they are doing but what are the odds that both are? Slim to none. No, either they both do not care about their animals' condition, or one partner simply will not go against the other - even when animals are dying. Disturbing in either event.

I am sure we will hear a lot more about this story and I'd like to hear more from locals who may already know. What happened here? This has got to be one of the craziest abuse cases I've ever read. That poor horse.

---

Finally, I have a request. If you are an animal control officer and have had to deal with a situation where an abuser could not be stopped/convicted because the eyewitnesses failed to report out of fear or just plain indifference, send me your story. I'll change the names but I want to talk more about situations where animals die because of failure to report/failure to document and I also want your advice for my readers on how to deal with a suspected abuser/hoarder. Hopefully we can present something constructive and informative here!

I hear you!

I had to laugh. Saddlebred Rescue's Nealia posted what she called her version of this blog and I couldn't agree more with what she had to say.

http://forum.saveasaddlebred.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2408

Here's pretty much the same thing:

"Wouldn't you love to give Cindy a home for Christmas! This is a retired thoroughbred, she is very sound, and gentle, but she still has a lot of fire in her, in other words she would need an experienced rider. I've put her on craig's list twice but continue to get inquires for riding her with children or beginners. Cindy really needs a good home, we can not afford to feed her and are pairing down our animals due to the economy. I contacted horse rescue legues who say the market is flooded with unwanted horses and I should put her down!!!!! This is a very nice mare, won several races in California, good companion and weed control for pasture. If you've been looking for a good price on a great older horse, bring your trailer and have a happy holidays. "

OHHHH NOOOOES! Those MEANIES at the horse rescue said I should put her down!

Let's review:

1) You cannot afford to feed her. Well, join the club, honey. The economy has given most people a pretty solid whack. The guy down the road from you isn't rolling in money to support your discarded pets, either.

2) Do you know how many good homes I have found for old, hot TB mares? One. Ever. Lifetime. If I take one in, I assume it's a lifer. I happen to like old, hot, red-headed TB mares but my experience has shown me that is not a common preference. In fact, I'd say as a rough estimate, there are probably 100 or more old, hot TB mares desperately looking for homes in Washington state right now, and maybe 2 or 3 homes that can squeeze one more in, and actually have the knowledge level to properly feed, handle, care for and ride an old, hot TB mare. The picture is pretty damn bleak.

3) If the thought of a gentle, veterinary-assisted euthanasia horrifies you, I would recommend watching some video of slaughter in Mexico to put things in proper perspective.

Again, once you let that free hard-to-place horse out of your hands, unless you are very, very careful (some tips on finding a good home here) and sometimes even then, that horse has a very good chance of winding up at New Holland, or Enumclaw or any one of a couple hundred similar auctions, and going straight to a Mexican vacation they won't be enjoying one bit.

I have heard people say "oh, let them go to auction - at least they have a chance." Really, is that a gamble you want to take? Here are the options - a veterinarian quietly puts them to sleep at home. The horse is calm, not scared a bit, and is off to la-la land and oblivion without any hint that anything bad is happening to him. Remember, it's a horse - not a person. It doesn't know it's being euthanized.

Then there's the alternative. The horse goes to the auction and goes to Joe Kill Buyer, or it goes to Bertha BigHeartandNoBrains who doesn't know how to feed a Thoroughbred and who will put her kids on it in a western saddle that sits on her withers and a $5 nickle plated curb bit from the farm store and send them out to the back yard to yee-haw around. The actual chance of being dragged home by a knowledgeable fan of old, hot TB mares is painfully slim. It's not a chance I'd want to take with any horse of mine. You know, ol' Casper won the lottery last weekend...but how many horses at the same sale lost?

Food for thought. We can't rescue them all. We can't feed them all. We made too many of them, too many people dropped the ball on training them, the economy is in the toilet, and we're going to continue to see that euthanasia is the most ethical of the available choices. I know nobody likes it...I don't either, but avoiding reality isn't the answer.

On a related note: Yes, I have heard that Madeleine Pickens is sure making her best effort to avoid what I see as the inevitable necessity of a lot of euthanasia. And I wish her luck. I just don't know how she will effectively administer the care of so many horses, many of them difficult and untrained. You know, all the money in the world isn't the only issue here (though it sure does help!) I still have questions about who is going to do the hands-on care. Who is going to do the training. Who is going to oversee all of this and make sure there is no train wreck? It is very hard to administer a huge animal sanctuary. Ask Best Friends! They do a good job but it is not easy and they've had their issues and growing pains like everybody else. What Ms. Pickens wants to do is exponentially larger than Best Friends and I can't help but see a lot of potential drama with staffing and ensuring consistent care. Hey, I hope I'm wrong. If she can get the right people on board, that will make all of the difference and she has the money to pay them. We'll see how it goes. I realize I may be too skeptical but boy, I've just seen so many of these "sanctuaries" go bad...despite people with $$ being at the helm. They weren't able to do the hands-on supervision and the on-site management dropped the ball. I don't know Ms. Pickens - I just hope she's not the trusting kind.

P.S. One more thing about Cindy...WEED CONTROL? She's a Thoroughbred, not a goat!

Legal Tip of the Day

(Disclaimer: I am not a licensed attorney and this post is humorous - but has an accurate point in it)

Our friend with the photoshopped posterior just posted the following on her Super Seekrit Message Board:


FUGLY« Thread Started Today at 12:05pm

I for one am sick to death of this blog. Children are exploited, innocent peoples names are drug through the mud. Acts of violence are encouraged.So far we have 7 families and business's filing a Class Action Lawsuit. Yes Cathy, Internet bullying is a crime!

If you are reading this and care to join, please contact:

Raymond V. Gessel
Attorney at Law
Electronic mail: raymond@raymondgessel.com
Phone: (253) 856-2745
Facsimile: (253) 856-2734
Mailing Address:
1122 West Jamest Street, Suite 102
Kent, WA 98032

Dear Dean:

You call the police if you believe someone has committed a crime. You do not need to hire an attorney! Protection against individuals committing crimes is provided to you as a public service. Did you know that?

Now, offending you by speaking the truth about the horses you have neglected, that's not a crime. In fact, it isn't even a civil tort. I have never encouraged violence and your name is not innocent. YOU YOURSELF PLED GUILTY. Duh!

But you have fun with this. Now that you do not have horses to feed, I am sure your husband will be happy to contribute the non-garnished remainder of his paycheck to Mr. Gessel and I am sure Mr. Gessel will be happy to take it!

Edited to add: Poor Mr. Gessel. He wrote one of my readers back and he has no idea how he got involved in this. He DOES NOT represent Ms. Solomon in any action of the type described here. His reply is in the comments.

All the best to you on your new, animal-free life. Thoroughbreds everywhere are breathing a huge sigh of relief!

Cathy

The fluff - it's between your ears!

"We have two bay pinto daughters of Toymakker born May 2007 who ended up back in the pasture with him fall 2008 and yes, they are confirmed ultrasound pregnancy for 3/4 gypsy cob babies due late August, 2009. An opportunity for very hairy babies at a reasonable price."

Gosh, they just "ended up" back in the pasture with him! Golly gee, they really love their father, ha ha ha. Isn't that kyooooot?


*sigh* Have you people never heard of (a) good fence or (b) Lutalyse? Now you have two pregnant yearlings - that's good for them - and you're going to produce two foals where the best thing that even YOU can say about them is that they're going to be very HAIRY!

And of course they are going to be 75% a stallion whose dam's pedigree they don't even know (actual quote: "ANYONE OVERSEAS THAT CAN HELP WITH PEDIGREES WELCOME")...out of fillies who are all of halter broke. Kinda. But hey, logic doesn't need to enter into anything here, because the whole premise of the web site is that they have "ponies for grownies!" That's a quote. And they can't wait to tell you all about those ponies.

"Gypsy horses and ponies traditionally are sound animals for riding and driving, and are calm enough to be safely handled by women and children." No, REALLY? OMG. 'Cause all of the other breeds of horse eat women and children. For lunch. With ketchup.

Of course there's plenty of blathering about how rare these horses are. You know, they may not be as common as Quarter Horses just yet, but if this kind of crap keeps up, I can quite assure you they'll be at the auctions on their way to becoming a Vanner Burger in just a few short years. How kyooot is that?

Like that Nordic Trak in the corner of your bedroom...

...apparently this poor horse's only purpose is something to hang stuff on.

"Bridle Less desensitize training. Christmas horse sales and leases for safe family horses. Hauling, Hay and other horse related services."

What were we just saying about how we need a Consumer Reports for trainers?

It's Not the Judge's Fault - It Might Be Yours!

Every time a convicted animal abuser like Dean Solomon gets a wrist-slap sentence, like she did, everybody starts screaming about the judges and the courts and animal control and how there is no justice. So I am going to write today about the truth of the matter.


The judge did what he could, given what she was charged with - 2nd degree animal cruelty. Animal control actually did their job very well. The court system didn't fail. Do you know who failed?


Everybody employed by Dean who did not turn on her until far too late. Her barn manager Rachel's words at the sentencing were valuable, but they would have been so much more valuable while the conditions existed and horses were dying and the evidence was right there. Dean had others - volunteers, stall cleaners, farriers, friends - who saw the conditions and did nothing. Really, the only person who appears to have done a goddamn thing after volunteering at Dean's and seeing the conditions is Kristi, the ex-volunteer who appeared on the King 5 report. Oh, and rumor has it it was the husband of one of Dean's inner circle that really busted her with A.C., so if that's true, kudos to you, sir. Everybody else just sat on their butt wanting to make phone calls and talk about, oh, isn't it awful? I got several of those phone calls. Well, folks, I'm not the witness. You are. Calling me doesn't accomplish a damn thing. March your butt down to Animal Control and file a report. Take some pictures. That would have helped!



Dean's vet who protected her. Yes, Dr. Emig, this means you. Where did you get your vet degree - Cracker Jack box? It is awfully hard to give an abuser the sentence they deserve when a licensed veterinarian is protecting them and saying on television that they got vet care and it's ok that the horses died, they were old and in bad condition and couldn't be saved, blah blah.



All of Dean's Internet supporters. This drives me nuts. Dean's message board that she started - the "Rescues Only" board continues to support her and encourage her. She keeps posting away as though nothing is wrong, as though she didn't JUST tell a judge she would NOT involve herself further in animal rescue. And people keep being all sunshine and butterflies to her! Go read it, you'll throw up. (I wrote the post yesterday - apparently they have now locked down the board so that link may not work any longer. It's ok. Dean, plenty of people can still get into your Super Seekrit Treehouse and copy everything to me. And they do.)


(Dean's sig line: “It’s not the critic who counts, but the man in the arena." Hell, Dean, nobody could GET to your arena with all of the manure piled in the barn aisles!)


Of course it's a CENSORED board so if you say anything truthful about Dean's conviction, you get deleted and banned. Instead, the board is full of people who continue to encourage Dean to do what Dean sucks at...rescue horses.


"Dean, you have done such a wonderful job caring for her and getting her healthy." - from Caryn (Yes, Caryn, Soot looks good. Too bad it was at the expense of other horses who starved while Dean was using her limited resources to feed the high-profile, attention-whore's-dream horse)


"Dean thank you so much for giving her life back and bringing her back to health." - from Paintedlady. (Again, too bad it came at the expense of the others who didn't survive. By the way, health in my opinion includes hoof care and I have eyewitness reports that is sadly lacking.)


NOWHERE on the board is ANY mention of Dean's criminal conviction. A newbie with a big heart and big pockets will surely come along soon and Dean will charm them into purchasing horses for her. Dean has convinced many people she was wrongly accused. She will convince more and the cycle will continue. Jean Elledge is in jail because she got reported when the evidence was right there to be documented. Dean's supporters helped her cover up everything from the conditions at her barn to the dead horses. Last I heard, Dean was renting a backhoe to bury some more just a month or two ago.


Do you defenders know that Dean had horses stashed at the home of yet another guy who's got pending charges for 1st degree animal cruelty? She doesn't talk about that on the "Rescues Only" board, does she? But there are only so many people who will board your horses when you're a convicted animal abuser with a zillion money judgments against you. Birds of a feather...

Look, I hear from you guys all the time. You want me to do something about your neighbor, or the guy down the road, or your ex-friend who is neglecting their animals. What am I, the Wizard of Oz? I'm not. YOU need to do it. YOU need to report them to animal control or the sheriff if you live where there is no A.C. YOU need to take pictures (from the street, unless you are invited on the property - I do not condone or recommend illegal trespassing). If YOU are a vet and you see neglect or abuse, YOU need to report it. Same with you farriers, hay suppliers, you show managers, barn owners, etc. If you see it, take a picture of it and report it!

Stop worrying about retribution. Good Grief, if I haven't been shot yet, I think you are probably ok. The only way this crap is going to stop BEFORE horses are dead is if you locals all grow a pair and REPORT IT!

But what if I'm wrong, you may ask. What if the horse is legitimately a new rescue or has a health problem and is under the care of a vet? Folks, people who are innocent do not fear questions. When I first had Clover, lots of people asked about how she looked. I was at a 200+ stall show facility, for heaven's sake. And I happily told the story to anybody who asked, and they saw me bringing her hot mush four times a day, and you know what? I wasn't offended. I was glad people cared enough to ask and I was happy to answer questions. That's how innocent people behave. Slamming doors, obscenities, and threats -- those are the reactions of guilty people. If you get a snarly response to questions - or a charming one that doesn't seem to make sense (i.e. the horse is supposedly being rehabbed, but you've driven by and seen it getting thinner and thinner)...report it. You can't make them un-dead if you wait too long and when you fail to report, you are damaging the case against the person and preventing the justice system from ever carrying through with justice. Show me an animal abuser who got a wrist-slap and I bet I can show you a trail of people who failed to report...every time.


P.S. For all those concerned about Soot/Ivy, Dean did give her to a woman in Oregon who does have a blog and has expressed that she intends to give updates there. I am very happy to hear that. The adoptive home is excellent by all reports and I applaud them for understanding that people want to know how this mare is doing. Of course, note that CBER has never offered to step up and care for the horse that THEY put in this situation! CBER has been silent as the grave in all of this. You will be hearing much more about them soon. I literally have so much new information on them, I don't even know where to start.

It's even worse than I thought...

I went to a couple of auctions yesterday, which I hadn't done for a while. First I went to the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders' Winter Sale. That wasn't depressing at all...WTBA seems to have done a very good job of conveying the message that their sales are only open to properly presented horses in excellent condition. I do believe they had to whack a few people over the head with a 2 x 4 to get the message across, but it worked. The oldest horse I saw was 18 and she was ready for an Aged Mares halter class. The young stock pretty much without exception looked excellent. Prices reflected that - the lowest to sell while I was there went for $900 and my friend's three yearlings went for $8500, $7000 and $3500.

Yes, yes, yes, I know, one injury and they'll likely be free for the taking but still, it's good to see something sell well. And it bears noting - we all hear about the breakdowns, but the fact remains that most racehorses don't break down. The recently rescued Bold Engagement and Aly's Question, as discussed previously on the blog, have remarkably clean legs and both those mares won six figures. By the way, I believe a blog reader is getting Bold Engagement soon, so just so you know, we like to hear how they do for their new owners, so start blogging!

Then I went to Enumclaw, which I knew was going to be hideous and depressing, and it did not disappoint. I came late and didn't stay very long but did get some sale notes from a friend. My comments in blue:

"Ron started the horse auction with his typical speech. He read an article in the AQHA Journal. In 1998 there were 4.5 million horses in the U.S. and now there are 9.2 million. Horse prices have hit rock bottom due to over breeding. I quote Ron here – His solution: "We gotta stop breeding, and slaughter more horses." Ron would like us to slaughter more horses, because that is how Ron makes a great deal of money. Ron needs a vacation home, y'all, so slaughter your horses already! He also threw in some profanities regarding politician in D.C. trying to ban the export of horses to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. 'Cause those vacation homes cost money, dammit! Seriously, I'm glad he talks about not breeding because God knows looking at the foals people drag to Enumclaw, somebody needs to tell them to stop, but I'm so sick of the pro-slaughter crap while he laughs all the way to the bank. He did, however, call someone out on having a skinny horse so I gotta give him a few brownie points there.

501 Sorrel and white paint colt, 8 or 9 months old, registered, nice temperament $60
502 White/brown medicine hat type filly, coming 2 years, dirty, hot, saddled but not ridden, $75 to KB
503 Solid Dun paint gelding, 2 years old, clipped, clean, cute, saddled but led in, No sale at $1100 (Seller wanted $2000)
504 Black and White paint gelding, quiet, ridden in $1200
505 “Twisted Simon” 15 year old solid chestnut BS paint mare, ridden in, nervous but quiet $275 FHOTD in: Very nice mare. Attractive, kind eye, nice shoulder, nicely put together in general. Quite a deal. She went to a private party and I hope they enjoy her.
506 Fat 21 year old mare, led in, dried sweaty/wet hair but nice and quiet $210 to KB
507 6 month old black and white colt, quiet, dirty $60 FHOTD in: I about had heart failure at this one. This was a NICE colt. No, they were lazy asses and didn't bother to clean him up but this colt had a big hip, lovely neck, very pretty head...this was just ridiculous that he went for $60. Went to a private party though so I guess getting a colt of this caliber for $60 is the reward you get for having a good eye and seeing past the dirt. I should have written down his name...that one could go places and nobody'd believe where he came from or what price.
508 Black and white pinto/paint, 2 blue eyes, very green, 2 ½ years, ridden in but rider got off, (no sale?) FHOTD in: Woman was like "well I'm not selling him for $300!" and I felt like screaming "then why are you at the Enumclaw sale? Did you think horses go for lots of money here? Are you NEW? Well, at least she took him home.
509 5 year old sorrel QH, nicely bred, gelding, broke and quiet $500

510 “Cowboy” 8 year old solid chestnut paint gelding, broke $500
511 White arab type pony, Dead broke, dirty, Ron’s horse No sale at $150
512 Nicely colored chestnut and white gelding, broke, $500
513 Registered Palomino gelding (QH?) Broke and Sound, cute, fat, 16 years old, used as a trail horse, No sale at $900 (seller wanted $1000)
514 Bay appy gelding, broke and sound, gelding, trail horse $625 FHOTD in: Really, really, REALLY cute and good colored. Went level with his head naturally. Would have made a show horse, not just a trail horse, with finishing. Very good deal for $625.

Pictured - “Casper” Small white gelding, skinny, owner says it is 18 years old, broke, No bids so Ron told her to take it home and feed it. Then people started bidding. (Sold for $60?)
Nice looking black mare. Was a brood mare and is broke to ride, but was not ridden in. Cute, clean, lots of chrome $250 FHOTD in: This was an Intimidator granddaughter, Two Eyed Jack on the bottom side. Nice mare. I would not have been able to let her go to kill - thank you, private party buyer, for saving me from having to drag a horse home. Hope she works out great for you!

Dirty black and white paint weanling colt, no papers $70
Dirty black (with white) weanling filly, led in with colt, $60 No papers
Black filly (coming 2 years old?) $35
519 Chestnut Arab mare, dead broke, same owner as Casper, but this horse looked well cared for, $325
Registered Grullo colt, 2 years old $75 to KB
Registered buckskin colt, 2 years old $60 to KB FHOTD in: Very friendly colt. I gave him a really good head/neck scratch and left before he ran through because I knew where he was going and I'm not surprised to see I was right. Yeah. You color breeders. You just keep on producing fugly grullas and buckskins and thinking their color will save them. IT DOESN'T.
Older chestnut and white mare, looked well bred and cared for, dropped pasterns ($120?) to KB FHOTD in: Again, breeder who brought this mare, may you burn in hell.

Pictured - a black horse in a pen with multiple dents in his nose from a too-tight halter being left on. Great. I did not see this one go.

Here's the one that really freaked me out - even more than the $60 colt. Somebody brought a pinto-Arabian cross mare out. She was clearly a misplaced princess. She looked horrified to be there and I was horrified for her. She was gorgeous - chestnut and white tobiano, clipped, clean, rode, screamed show quality. I did not catch the name but they announced that she was a National Champion (Pinto or Arab, I'm not sure - I assume halter as a younger mare) and that she had not been ridden in 5 years but was being a good girl. She had been taken for unpaid board. They wanted $800 and the highest bid they could get was $700. For a ten year old, sound, rideable National Champion mare. Now, I have friends in the Arab world who would have jumped on that mare, so I quickly headed back to find the guy who brought her. He said that she was in no danger and that since she didn't sell at the auction, the barn owners were going to have him put refresher riding training on her and sell her for a lot more. I told him I thought that was an excellent idea and wished him well. I did not catch her name (honestly, I can't make out half of what Ron says). Maybe someone else who was at the sale did. But wow. Well, as I've said before the deals are out there in this economy. If you have an eye for quality, Enumclaw and auctions like it - New Holland, Centennial, etc. - are the place to be. No telling what you may be able to get for a song! There was a ROM halter APHA gelding there too but I didn't see him run through so I don't know if he sold or not.

What struck me about the whole sale was that there weren't many people there to buy. There were a handful of bidders but most of the audience was just like me - there to watch the train wreck and see how bad it was going to be. What I thought was most interesting is that, a year ago, the quality horses still sold well at Enumclaw. It was not unusual to see a good one go for $3000, $4000. Now? Nothing sold well. Nothing. Nothing at all. The price of gas is down, but hay is still atrocious and hardly anybody is feeling super secure about their job. It's just not a world in which people want to add to the feed bill - even when what should be a $2500 weanling is standing in front of them for $60.

I've said before that I'll never go to the "all breeding is bad" extreme but, I have to say, this would be a really good year to give the broodmares a rest...I would be wary of producing any new horses until this economy changes for the better. You'd better know for sure that what you're creating is still selling like hotcakes before you make any more of it!