Sorry to be a broken record, but we NEED to find this one!
May 18 2010
UPDATE:Â THEY FOUND HER!!!! And she’s OK!!!
Yet another stolen horse story, and this one REALLY makes me angry!
Here’s the news story:
$7500 Reward for Missing His Horse
To make a long story short, some asshat or collection thereof stole 6 year old Kade Berry’s mare Sandbox from a team roping competition in Stephenville, Texas. This one really frightens me because she is a plain dark bay/brown mare and not something that is going to jump out to anyone looking for her. I do think the object is resale, not slaughter (unless someone had a beef with the family, which could always be the case). The dad thinks they simply wanted to make a buck off a safe kid’s horse. From the article: “I’m pretty sure somebody saw that boy riding that horse all day yesterday and was thinking they already had somebody looking for a young-kid horse they could sell real quick,” Kirby Berry said.
He’s probably right but this story is heartbreaking. I mean, I would have a total meltdown if someone stole my horse, and I’m 42!
Sandbox has a scar on her right hip. She is 15 hands tall and about 1200 lbs, and is nine years old. They don’t mention a brand so, unfortunately, she must not be branded. 
Please cross post this and send it to everybody you know. We need to make sure this mare gets home safe to her kid and I know we can all do it if we just make that effort to send this to ALL of our friends, particularly those in Texas and neighboring states. You can join the Facebook Group and send that to your friends, too. Let’s bring this nice mare home – and put the jerks where they belong, behind bars!
Speaking of behind bars, Ernie Paragallo got sentenced to some time in the slammer. Enjoy jail, scumbucket! Original blog about Ernie.
Now, for anyone who needs a Cocktail after reading all of that – Shiloh Horse Rescue in Nevada has one for you, and she’s a cutie!
82 comments to “Sorry to be a broken record, but we NEED to find this one!”
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I hate hearing about stolen horses! Sadly it can happen to anyone.
Some of my horses like my old man PJ are easy to identify my markings. But we also have several plain sorrel, and bays. I have really been thinking about getting a brand registered, and branding all our horses.
I would reccomend micro-chipping at least. It doesn’t take hardly any time at all, and (at least here) it is not very expensive. Here, it’s state law for all horses to be micro-chipped or branded. So all the vets do it. If your vet doesn’t do it, I would check the local colleges that have a vet program.
There is one major problem with microchipping only — it’s invisible. Therefore, it doesn’t serve as a theft deterent. I’m all for microchipping, as it’s the easiest way to prove an animal’s identity, but a freeze mark (and a nice sign on your property indicating all horses are BRANDED) will almost always send the thieves on in search of easier prey.
Ever since Katrina I have been paranoid. I remember hearing a report from a rescuer down there who had a family so in shock about losing everything that they were unable to identify their own horses. The rescuer said that if more animals had been microchipped or branded it would have been a lot easier to get people reconnected to their pets. After that I had my horse microchipped so that if anything happened I had a better chance of getting him back.
This is why having good ID is necessary, and everyone should have some decent side and markings pictures just in case something like this happens. I’d never be able to identify this horse, or the other missing horse you posted about earlier, from these riding photos. Can we start tattooing the inner thigh of horses like they do with neutered rescue dogs? Have a central database with registry names and contacts, and a symbol for each, then put their registration number and registry on their leg, maybe in ink that’s only visible with UV light? We need to find some form of ID that isn’t going to deface the animal, but still be uniquely identifying and readable for at least 20 years, and is easily interpreted.
FYI there are more pictures on the Facebook page but again, she’s a pretty plain bay mare. Very cute, old fashioned chunky QH type, but no marks to jump out at you.
If you’re within 500 miles of this and a new horse arrives which MIGHT be this horse, please assume it is and look into it… she doesn’t have much to go by in the way of markings so “Showed up at the right time,” is going to have to do. If it’s not her, it should become apparent quickly.
Thieves are the worst people. Imagine intentionally targeting a little kid’s horse, which is what the dad believes happened. Some years ago my niece and I were driving up to Canada and someone broke into my car and stole some music and her stuffed animal, and she was just distracted. Who steals a little kid’s stuffed animal? And this is worse times infinity. I feel so bad for this poor kid. Sometimes you just wonder how the sort of person who could do a thing like this manages to walk around and go to the grocery and participate in normal activities without being struck by lightning.
We have a registered brand and have gotten all of ours freeze branded, except one and he is scheduled to be done next month. This has always scared the hell out of me. When I was a kid I worked at a stable that had 2 horses stolen in one summer. Neither were ever recovered.
My plain orange horses both have a very distinct freeze-brand now… It was worth the peace of mind…
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown2010/news/story?id=5197967
Paragallo gets his
DOH! I didn’t read down far enough on your blog entry… sorry
I have a brand registered in my name, and my plain bay horse has it branded on his shoulder. It’s big, and it’s ugly, but it’s VERY noticable and a positive means of identification. I also have him microchipped. If I wasn’t paranoid about leaving things on them in the pasture or stall, I’d have a tag on his halter too. My dogs are also microchipped, tatood, and tagged.
When I put the time and energy and money into my pets, making them good members of our society, it just makes sense to me to be able to identify them. It’s cheap, relatively painless, and easy, so there is no reason not too.
I’m crossposting this to the lists I belong too. Hopefully we can help find this kids horse.
OT …. but check this one out fugly it is official or maybe you knew .. http://www.shatormararabians.com/blog/
WTF ????? There is no such thing as a purebred pinto Arabian. This is retarded.
Yeah, remember that Shatormar wackjob was trying to claim that, and it got discredited by AHA?
You know, BEFORE she made my blog for having a herd of poorly cared for krazy kolored Ay-rabs living on rented property she’s not paying for, eating hay she hasn’t paid for, either.
She needs to STFU and Get.A.Damn.Job.
Gawd that blog is painful. She’s expecting a large foal crop (well why not, sure as hell isn’t paying for her rent or her hay so who cares how many you have) and then she writes stuff like this:
“After checking the foal was in the correct position by vaginal palpatation”
*HEADDESK* *HEADDESK* *HEADDESK*
You did see she had the filly blood typed and found her not to be purebred …. which we all knew, including the original breeders who are still breeding away UGGGGG
“Vaginal palpitation” BAHAHAA!!! Of course, who wouldn’t vaginally “palpitate” . OK, so in all reality, we don’t even WANT or like a lot of chrome on a purebred in the Arab circuit. OK, I admit that I love chrome, but I’m not supposed to. SO why the hell would you breed for lots of white and claim to have purebred Arabian pintos? These people are the type that spout off about how great and valuable their Arabians are to non-arab people and therefore are the reason why people think that Arabs are crappy.
Amen! My aunt bred Babson line Arabs for a very long time and so we grew up knowing the old bloodlines like they were our own family history, lol. We were always told that to much chrome was not a desirable trait. The same thing happens in dogs though. Too much white can be considered inappropriate color and that dog is not considered show quality. They are usually then neutered or spayed (for good breeders) and sold or kept as a pet. Misplaced white is considered a fault, not a platform for a breeding operation to start.
I think freeze branding, especially in the case of a plain horse with no markings, is very wise. It’s also a lot cheaper, and a lot less painful than a hot brand. Also, thieves are a lot less likely to go after a horse that has an obvious brand – too easy to identify, and too easy to prove identity.
A local horse trainer had a fantastic heel horse that was gray. Plain as day. Gray. That was even his name ;o) The horse disappeared from its pen during one night and I wrote about the horse in the column I do for our local paper. The horse’s only real identifying mark was a wine-glass-shaped brand on either its shoulder or hip (can’t remember now). After the article appeared in the column, the horse “miraculously showed up” walking up and down the fenceline outside his property.
I’m convinced the brand was the reason whoever took the horse turned it loose to either let it find its way home or let someone else find it and take it to the owner.
Oh yeah. I am SURE the asshat(s) that took this mare had NO IDEA of the media frenzy that was about to ensue.
Behold the power of the Internet.
I can’t wait for pics of this boy seeing his mare again. Hope we get those. As a friend just said, it sure is good to see a happy ending!
This may be a long shot, but a month ago I posted on my blog about a kids’ horse that was stolen in New Mexico. It was similarly nondescript, no identifying marks that I could see in the pictures. What if there is a horse theft ring in the area stealing nondescript done-everything, kid-safe horses and reselling them? Like I said, maybe it’s a long shot, but it’s a damn scary thought.
OT
A suggestion. How about a day when people nominate Horse Welfare groups that they believe are worth supporting? To start the ball rolling, here is my nomination. http://www.thebrooke.org/
“Brooke History
From humble beginnings as a hospital for warhorses in a dusty Cairo street founded in 1934, the Brooke has become the world’s biggest welfare charity for working equines.
On arrival in Egypt in 1930, Dorothy Brooke was horrified to see hundreds of emaciated horses being used as beasts of burden on its streets.
The wife of a British army major general, Dorothy Brooke was appalled to learn that these walking skeletons were ex-warhorses of the British, Australian and American forces.
All of them had seen service in the First World War…when the conflict ended in 1918, they were sold into a life of hard labour in Cairo.
Dorothy Brooke could not shake off the memory of these pitiful creatures. On her return to England she wrote a letter to the Morning Post – which later became the Daily Telegraph – exposing their plight. Read the full text of her appeal.
The public were so moved they sent her the equivalent today of £20,000 to help end the suffering of these once proud horses.
Within three years, Dorothy Brooke had set up a committee and bought 5,000 of these ex-warhorses. Most were old and in the final stages of collapse, and had to be humanely put down. But, thanks to her compassion and tenacity, all of them ended their lives peacefully.
But Dorothy Brooke knew that her work could not end there, thousands of horses, donkeys and mules toiled and suffered in Cairo.
In 1934, Dorothy Brooke founded the ‘Old War Horse Memorial Hospital’ in Cairo, with the promise of free veterinary care for all the city’s working horses and donkeys…the Brooke Hospital for Animals was born.”
My worst nightmare is having one of our horses stolen! Our gelding would be easily identified. I like to think our mares would easily identified (one is blind in one eye so she’d be noticeable) but our other mare has not special marks other than being sabino.
OT I need advice:
There’s are two horses we see every week on the way to my mother in law’s. They’ve had the horses for about 6-8 months or so. Since they got them, the sorrel has gotten really skinny. Never see hay in with them. Anytime it rains, they’re confined to a tiny paddock as their main pasture gets under water. I contacted the humane society on them because it’s getting really bad for the sorrel. Hip bones, ribs, and withers are protruding. The cruelty officer said she’s received numerous calls on the horse. She’s visited the owners and she was told that they were given the horses and that they’re retired show horses and the reason they’re getting skinny is that they’re old. Supposedly they’re being fed senior feed and beet pulp. The officer didn’t mention that the horses are under a vet’s care. Only that “they’re old”. I don’t buy that as an excuse. What else can be done? Something needs to be done to help them before they starve to death. My husband and I were going to throw a bale of our hay in with them just so they had something to munch on, but realistically, one bale won’t make much difference to them, in terms of gaining weight.
March in after printing off some copies of old horses from this blog and show them what old looks like when it’s healthy. Then ask that something be done.
Don’t throw hay in there – legally it’s a very bad idea.
If they continue to ignore you, go to your local media and ask for an investigation. Show THEM what healthy old horses look like, too.
Our one eyed mare was a rescue last November. She’s 25+ years according to the dentist. When we got her she was about 200# underweight. Had the dentist out a month after we brought her home and he did a mini float of her teeth. He couldn’t do a full one because she wasn’t tolerating the sedative very well. But he removed one tooth and took the points off other teeth. In April, we hauled all three to his place for their annual check up and trims. He swore we switched horses. You can’t see any of her ribs, her withers filled out, though her haunches are still skinnier than I would hope, but she’s amazingly turned around.
My next step is to contact the newspaper. They did a major job at reporting on the Ottawa County horse cruelty case so maybe they could do something.
See, this is the sort of comment that worries me. I’ve had oldsters who, in their last couple of years, had every possible thing done for them – teeth care, blood work, warm wet mashes full of supplements – short of being hand fed with an eyedropper – and still lost weight. Yes, it’s possible to keep weight on some old horses. Others it’s not, any more than it’s possible to keep your great-grandma from turning into a little bundle of bird bones. It really bothers me that no one even considers the possibility that these people are telling the truth. Some times old horses do look absolutely terrible despite the best possible care.
With all due respect, I have not yet encountered a single horse that looked terrible despite the best possible care. Even Pie, who SAFE took in at 30+ suffering with leukemia, gained substantial weight.
If anyone thinks they have a horse that CANNOT gain weight and they want to argue this with me and are in reasonable distance of WA, by all means let me know. If you are willing to pay for the expenses (vet, feed), I will bet you we can put weight on your horse. I’m pretty sure we have a nearly foolproof ability to fatten them up at this point. Really, the only way they CANNOT gain weight is if they have very serious health conditions which mean they should be put to sleep.
I did have an older mare (26) who I managed to keep weight on for two years after I bought her. She was never fat and sassy, but her coat was healthy and she was happy. After two years, she began to lose weight again, and despite having full pasture, good hay, all the senior she could eat three times a day, vet care…. etc etc… she would not gain weight.
In her case we determined that her blown stifle (very, very very blown) was causing her enough discomfort that she simply wasn’t putting weight on. When it reached a point that she was starting to ‘look inward’, I picked a sunny lovely fall day and helped her over the rainbow bridge. She was a lovely old lady, and I do feel that we did the best we could for her, including deciding to euthanize her. Some old horses do lose weight.
The problem is that so many people use the age as an excuse for the weight loss. Yes, sometimes the body just isn’t metabolizing nutrition, in any form. Often, however, it is simply a matter of finding out what the old horse needs in order to keep the weight on. Frankly, I know a lot of vets who don’t even have a solid grasp on equine geriatric nutrition.
I kinda knew a mare who was fairly old and was an absolute bugger to keep weight on. Serious worm damage to her hind gut. Now, she was always a little skinny, make out the last couple of ribs and hips a little more prominent than you would like, however she was shiny and had muscles and bright eyed. That one was a REAL pita to keep weight on and she still didn’t look like a walking skeleton. The secret? LOTS of easily digestible feed. Very simple.
I hope they’re checking the Stephenville auction. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard it’s a pretty big one.
Joined the group on FB and sent the link to all my horsey friends, even though we’re quite a ways away; never hurts. I really hope that someone’s able to find her and get her back home safe and sound. :[
This terrifies me because my mare is also a solid bay. She doesn’t really have any stand out traits- just a thick, wavy tail (could be cut off) and big donkey ears. She is also a very well-bred, well-trained, fairly expensive horse, so there would be motives to take her.
So this got me thinking…do you recommend branding horses? I don’t think branding her would be the worst idea (just for safety purposes), but I have no idea how to brand, where to get a brand, or what to brand.
Also, would a branded horse be looked at differently in the show ring, especially AQHA shows. I mean, are they discriminated against the same way people with tattoos are discriminated against (in the workplace)? I know that sounds like a dumb question, but do judges look at horses with brands at shows and think “Oh that horse is some little ranch horse, not a show horse.” (Please don’t flame me for that question…you know how particular judges can be about stuff)
I think freeze brands are pretty common in AQHA shows although you’re right, you don’t see them as much on the pleasure horses.
there are some very nice pleasure farms that brand their stock.
Cathy, a friend of mine at another forum is dealing with an issue that i was hoping you could look into. I wasn’t sure you would get an email so I decided to try and post it to the comments and hopefully see if there was any way we could help apply some pressure to get this resolved. If you need to contact this lady for any info (if you chose to look into this) I can provide that. This is her post:
“Hi Guys
I need your help. The is an 84 year old guy that lives in town and has about 20 horses (and about 15 cows) ranging on about 400 acres of desert. It has been overgrazed for years and nothing but mesquite is growing on it now. He just added the cows this past fall. Neither the horses nor the cows get fed. The horses are skeletons. He provides no care for the horses (I’m sure their feet have never been trimmed) and he doesn’t geld the colts so the mares and fillies foal every year. I’ve talked to the locals about the starving horses – right across from main street and they say that Mr. Cartnell has had horses taken from him by the state before for starving them. The locals feel it does no good to call Animal control because nothing changes. Being new here, I just cannot watch these horses starve. A mare just foaled last week and she is a skeleton – her backbone stands up about two inches, hip bones protrude, etc. I don’t know how she’s going to nurse her foal. They are usually too far from the road to get good photos, but I now carry my camera with me and next time they are near the road, I will take photos for you….they will make you cry. Yearlings that are just bones.
Anyway, I called the humane society and they told me that they are aware of the horses and have been keeping an eye on them. They cannot go onto the property because Mr. Cartnell has threatened them with a gun. They don’t feel the entire herd is bad enough yet to warrent a search warrant where they can take sherriffs with them. She told me that law enforcement is reluctant to get involved because they feel that at 84 years old, Mr Cartnell may feel he has nothing to lose by going down in a blaze of glory
The woman I spoke to gave me her supervisor’s name and number and said that more complaints may push him to decide to intervene. That’s where your help comes in.
If you could call and complain that the old fart’s rights do not supercede the horses right to live without suffering, perhaps action will be taken.
The contact info for the supervisor in charge of making the decision at Animal Control is:
Dr. Ted Noon
1 800-294-0305
Assistance in saving the horses (and the cows) is appreciated. Oh, The horses are identified at animal control as those owned by Mr. Cartnell along highway 191 in Sunsites Arizona.”
She was able to get pictures, it was hard to get shorts without tresspassing so this was all she could get:
This is a mare with a foal :
another horse:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2462462110103471902yQNBuc
Post that went with the pictures:
“Read my thread in this section “Help Needed for Starving Horses” if you don’t already know why the authorities won’t intervene. Here is the contact info for those of you willing to make a call to insist something be done for them:
The contact info for the supervisor in charge of making the decision at Animal Control is:
Dr. Ted Noon
1 800-294-0305 1 800-294-0305
Assistance in saving the horses (and the cows) is appreciated. Oh, The horses are identified at animal control as those owned by Mr. Cartnell along highway 191 in Sunsites Arizona.
Thanks Guys.”
Another one of my friends actually called and this was the response she got:
“this is so upsetting. i talked with the doctor. i gave him the info you had posted and told him i had seen recent pics of the starving horses. he asked my name and address and i gave it to him. he stated since i lived in another state it wasn’t a concern of mine. when i pressed him he stated that i should call dr. mary pencin but he didn’t have her phone number. when i pressed him further he stated that the owner of the horses is “very violent and has guns” and they didn’t want their officers getting hurt over horses. when i reminded him this man was breaking the law and should be in jail he once again stated he didn’t want his officers in danger over horses. when i reminded him police officers were in danger every day on the job he stated that dr. mary pencin was trying to get the owner to accept food for the horses donated by the community. he just continued to defer to dr. mary pencin. he said he could do nothing about the situation. i asked for the name of the local newspaper and he refused to give that to me. if i lived there i would contact the newspapers and the local radio stations. show them your pictures. newspapers love human interest stories like this. i think there is strength in numbers and the newspaper would be a good place to start. let me know if i can do anything to help. wish i lived closer and could get more involved. indiana time on this call was about 1pm on 5/18/10. feel free to quote what i have written. good luck, jane”
I don’t want to disrupt today’s topic but we will address this one. It looks awful.
So I might be out of state, but the men I know who rope down there, the ranchers who are in that area and working diligently to restore the natural habitat (overgrazing, anyone?), and the very rich retirees who move to that area of Arizona… I figure they might have something to say about this.
Contact the media down there. Arizona has something like an 85% voting turn out. If you rattle enough cages something will get done. Ranchers and horse owners around Tucson pride themselves on the care of their animals.
Oh yea, and the guy has guns? Hello, he lives in Southern Arizona, on a ranch, north of Nogales and Agua Prieta. EVERYONE has guns down there.
Thanks. The thing that is really frightening to me is that they are refusing to step in because he is armed and dangerous. It just boggles my mind. I guess in their town if you are scary enough you don’t have to obey the law.
Contact the AVMA and request that they hold Drs. Noon and Pencin accountable to their recently published standard for reporting and handling neglect and cruelty. Get everyone to write and request a written response from the welfare committee and whatever disciplinary committee is in existence. These people are presumably professionals, and they should be held accountable to professional standards. The “violent” thing is BS, get a swat team in there, chickenshit!
I passed this advice along, thank you!
The media has been contacted, a reporter from a television station has expressed interest in the story after seeing the pictures and consulting with a knowledgeable horse person as to whether or not the horses were “really dangerously thin” since he had no horse experience and didn’t want to over react out of ignorance. Their “knowledgeable horse person” they consulted must have expressed some outrage because they are sounding like they are going at this full bore. I’m crossing my fingers that they follow through and blow this thing wide freakin’ open.
Good job!
Update of the meeting with the reporter, from my friend sherry who is doing all this:
“The reported missed the horses being near the road by half an hour. I got there early but didn’t have my camera cuz I thought he’d be filming. What a bummer!….But the interview was not a waste.
We walked around town and talked to a few people. The postmaster and his wife said they know that the officials have gotten involved several times over the years and nothing ever comes of it. They tried to educate the owner as their approach (animal control’s approach) because the owner told them he is breeding stronger horses. He believes in survival of the fittest and those that survive without being fed will be better horses. He said wild horses survive that way and are better for it. Well, wild horses are not confined to a 400 acre area that has been overgrazed for years.
Anyway, the postmaster and his wife, like the others we talked to in town, were appalled by the condition of the horses but unwilling to be quoted or interviewed on film because they are afraid of the owner – He’s a nasty man with guns. They gave us the name of a woman who turned Mr. Cartnell in for starving his dogs who would cross the street and come into town begging for food. Animal control told Mr. Cartnell her name and he threatened to kill her if she didn’t back off. We got her name and phone number but were unable to reach her today.
THE SUCCESS of the day was that the reporter, Kean, had me call animal control while being taped (you only need one party’s consent in Arizona). Dr. Noon was unavailable once they found out it was for an “animal control issue”. They said they’d have him call me back (which he has yet to do though I’ve left several messages). So, I asked to talk to the animal control officer for Cochise County. Her name is Hillary. She is the person I spoke to originally. ON TAPE, she said they are aware of the situation and doing what they can. I asked what action is being taken and she said “Well, actually none at this time” other than encouraging people to make donations to Cartnell. I asked why nothing else was being done and she said “because he is armed, violent and has threatened to kill us if we come on his property to even look at the animals”. ON TAPE. Poor girl, she’ll probably lose her job when that hits the news. I asked what it would take to get the sherriffs to go with them for protection and she said the animals aren’t bad enough yet to get a warrant for that. I said I have photos of walking skeletons. She said “I have photos of that too, but my boss, Dr. Noon, doesn’t feel it’s bad enough yet to try for a warrant”.
So, the reporter thinks he has a great story for starters and plans to follow it up with more information from other sources, including the photos of dead horses on his place that Margaret ferretted out from the rescue group nearby in 2005. The reporter was beaming when the officer said those things on tape.
Continued calls to Dr. Noon would be appreciated since he seems to be the roadblock to getting something done for these horses.”
also:
“I told the reporter today, on tape, that it makes me angry that I have to make myself a target to this man that is armed and dangerous because the authorities that are trained, have backup, and are funded to do it will not.”
If and when it makes the news i will post any links i get.
Thank you for the updates from the local area! This is so helpful. I’m sure we’ll hear more. I hope that this works out like the Longmeadow Rescue Ranch horses. If you go to their web site, it’s adorable, you can see some of the horses from the wreck under saddle, like “Mama.” LOVE it. Those horses were safe because of course Mr. Kill Buyer (Charlie Carter, that time) wouldn’t pay the vet bills!
Cross posted it to the dallas Craigslist since no one had posted there. added a link to the the facebook page.
This story breaks my heart. I would be an absolute mess if anything happened to my horse. She is my life. I cant even fathom how devasated I would be if I found myself in this situation.
Those who sink to the level of stealing horses are the scum of the earth.
I sincerely hope this little boy gets his horse back.
I’ve reposted this all over FaceBook and Twitter. Poor kid…
One of my greatest fears is someone stealing my baby. She’s a solid perlino Paint, so it’s a definite possibility that she could be a prime target of a horse thief. I’m scheduling her to get microchipped, but I’m worried that it isn’t enough. A freezebrand wouldn’t be visible on her, so I’m thinking about having her tattooed.
Do any states still hang horse theives?
Not sure, but if you find one I may move.
I believe its still on the books in Florida but like a lot of old laws is no longer enforced.
If you don’t show her in hand, you could have a freeze brand in the area where the saddle goes. That way it won’t be visible when you are riding her in the show ring.
Here is an article about the prevention of theft. http://tinyurl.com/32ug3lt
“Tips to help prevent your horse being stolen:
Secure boundaries to your field and yard – strong secure fencing / mature strong hedges.
All gates padlocked and chained both ends.
Stable yards should be fitted with security lighting and intruder alarms.
Do not leave horses grazing with head collars on.
Store head collars and lead-ropes away from paddocks gates and stable doors.
Note down all details of all unknown visitors to the yard – take the persons name and number plate of vehicle. Share this information with the yard manager and other people on the yard.
Vary the times you go to the yard.
Have your horse freeze branded and or micro chipped. Freeze marking and micro chipping are a safe and humane way of protecting your horse from theft.
Mark your rugs with the horse’s freeze brand or your post code. (Zip code)
You could have your horse’s hooves identification branded.
Ask a local crime prevention officer to evaluate the yard.
Keep a guard dog or geese.
Get to know your neighbours, exchange contact details as they can also help report any unusual goings on.
A photographic record of your horse / pony of all sides can help in its’ recovery.”
I interviewed a home alarm system company and asked about ways to alarm fences so that if someone decides to skip the gate and climb over (to do damage to the horse or your property) an alarm would sound. The owner of the company said there are alarms that will be set off if something of substantial weight (not a bird or rabbit, but a PERSON) were to negotiate the fence, the alarm would sound.
I haven’t looked any further into this because I live in an area that is fairly secure, but it might be something to check out. A gal who lives a few miles away had two of her show horses “shorn” of their long manes and tails. The horses weren’t maimed, but someone climbed the fence with scissors in hand.
My Arab is freeze marked with his Arab ID. Is that just an Arab thing or do all breed associations do something similar? I’d like to get my Paint freeze marked or branded but how do you know what mark to use?
I joined the facebook group. I can’t even imagine having my horse stolen. I’ve had some tack stolen before and that is bad enough, makes you feel sick. I can’t even imagine having someone steal my horse. It’s too bad horse stealing isn’t still a hanging offense.
Should be a hanging offense! Not all laws needed to be changed.
OT but maybe this craigslist ad is about a TB you have outed recently..sure sounds like someone is trying to cover their butts..This was posted in the yakima craigslist today..
“To me this is really sad and who ever has him please return him to his owner.
Please distribute far and wide. I need to keep the owner’s name and even the horse’s name confidential at this point, but we know the following;
1. He was mistakenly given to a kill buyer, who claims to have sold the horse to a 4-H kid but can’t produce a bill of sale. We suspect the horse is on it’s way to Canada or Mexico.
2. He would have been sold within the last 2 weeks.
3. He is 5 yrs old, very small (15h?), has a shaved spot on his neck from a vet procedure, and a knot on one of his knees, but is sound.
4. He might still have racing shoes on.
5. We can confirm his tattoo if someone does call us.
Could you please post far and wide – ask if anyone recognizes him in case he is out there? He is most likely in Eastern Wa. NO action will be taken against the person who has him. We just want to know that he is safe. These people are devestated and need closure. They can also provide history on him.
Keywords: Horse Thoroughbred, TB, OTTB, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Western , English,
That’s not Feebie Fritz but that sure as heck sounds like the horse is on Chuck’s lot. If it’s on Dave’s lot I’ll find out from Shawna and we’ll get him out.
I think they found that boy’s missing mare!
Hooray!!!!
According to the Paulick Report, the judge who sentenced Ernie Paragallo told him his moral compass was out of kilter. I love it when judges figuratively get in people’s faces and let them have it. Wish I could have been there. I’d have cheered (and gotten thrown in jail for contempt, I’m sure ;o)
Yes, you can have purebred Arabian pintos. Plently of purebred Arabians are double registered as Pintos, but they are OVERO patterned. They often have a large belly spot, lacy white stockings, and a big blaze – very commonly have Crabbet breeding. Years ago, breeders sold these foals as grades to get rid of them as the belly spot was a no-no. Now, people are grabbing up these foals and breeding them to enlarge the belly spots and to try to get more and more white of the resulting foals. You can not have a purebred TOBIANO Arabian pinto,
You are right. What I meant is that this chick claimed to have a loud tobiano purebred Arabian. That was, of course, discredited.
Like ‘pinto’ Thoroughbreds, the ‘pinto’ purebred Arabians I’ve seen all seem to be sabino. I’ve also seen sabino in pure bred Welsh ponies (from which pinto was bred out).
There appear to be two genes that cause sabino markings…and one of the two is recessive so can hide for generations.
That is a scary thought and I can’t see how someone could take a little kids horse, thats pretty low. luckily most of our horses have interesting markings, one my mom’s mare has a “star” on her head that looks like a tornado or word bubble lol, one of my mares has a heart shaped star on her forehead, and well my big mare is just a big red mare with a blaze not the most unique but theres not that many giant red mares with a big blaze. plus our pony is mostly white with a palamino head. But we do have two plain QH light bays, one has no white on him what so ever the only distinct thing about him is a slit in one of his nostrils and the other she only has one little white foot. I guess they wouldn’t stick out to much
This one hits way too close to home. Going to a 4H show an hour from Stephenville on Saturday. I’ll try to spread the word there.
Free horses are posted all over, but people still resort to stealing. We once had a gentleman stop at our house that claimed to be form down south that wanted to buy some things here in PA before he went home. He asked my m-i-l’s horse trailer was for sale, if she had horses for sale, and if he could see our tack. Immediately she felt uncomfortable and started talking shit on her trailer, our horses and said we didn’t have tack. Her quoted words were, well, the trailer has no floor and the axle is broke so it doesn’t move from there and hasn’t been moved for 3 or 4 years. (Total lie, we hauled in it the day before and it’s completely solid) All of the horses were given to me, they come close enough for me to feed them and they are pretty much wild and don’t even lead let alone let any one go near them without kicking or striking out. (I can walk behind them, probably underneath them, or just walk out and hop on bareback without a twitch, I had to laugh at that part) And as for tack, they’re all wild, we have a few lead ropes and halters in the basement, but they’re rusty and dusty from not being touched in at leas a year. (Oh yeah, there’s 2 old textan hereford saddles in near perfect shape, a simco saddle, and tons of other stuff, but she forgot about those.)
Oddly enough there was a horse stolen about a month later a few miles away, she told the police her experience. but nothing came of it.
I have one colt that is microchipped and I have looked into registering a brand for my ranch. I also intend to discuss this with my vet and see if they would be willing to tatoo my brand inside their lips or something. I am with the rest of you. It horrifies me to think of one of my horse being stolen and mistreated. My horses are so pampered, I would worry sick about them. I have heard microchipping in horses can be problematic in that the readers don’t necessarily read all manufacturer’s chips, the chip can move from the original insertion point, etc. The colt came to me chipped and I have the information but I don’t know if it is wise to get them all chipped. I recently recovered two stray dogs and took them to a local vet’s office to check and see if they had chips. One did and the other didn’t but the chip had never been registered by the new owners and come to find out, they had no idea the dog was chipped as a pup by the breeder. If you do get your horses chipped, remember to pay the fee and get the chip registered in your name.
And make sure you keep your contact info updated with the chip registry.
I know this is off topic…
I truck of slaughter bound horses wrecked in Oklahoma City this morning when the driver fell asleep. The news has avoided stating what the truck was doing with 30 head of horses loose in a huge flat load trailer or that they were specifically going to Mexico to slaughter.
Anyhow, if you need any local info, let me know…
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-horses-loose-turnpike-story,0,1668850.story
Sorry, that was “A truck” not “I truck”…
They found her!!
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Boys-Missing-Mare-FOUND-94268799.html
per Western Horseman’s Facebook page…..THEY FOUND SANDBOX! About an hour ago 6 miles south of Stephenville on the side of the road covered in mud but alive and well. details to come. Yahoo! way to put the pressure on those thieves, they had to hear that everyone was on the lookout, well done
)
Now I am seriously convinced that some other competitor’s family/friend purposely took this horse. Thank goodness she was found and hopefully is okay.
SHE HAS BEEN FOUND!!!!!
So happy she was found!
So what the heck happened here? I would hate to wrongly accuse someone who did a good deed, but as the police you have to question whether those who found her are those who stole her, given the reward. Or is there any possibility, given where she was found. that she literally walked out of an unlatched stall? Did the thieves worry things were getting too hot and ditch her? It’s awfully weird that she never left town, if she was in fact stolen to be resold. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if more information is forthcoming.
I think they worried things were getting too hot and ditched her. I hope we find out!
I just received an email on this horse cruelty situation in Maryland. I’m hoping you can boost the signal. Thanks.
http://site.americanhumane.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=32882.0&dlv_id=25201
I read on Facebook that a guy named Ryan Taylor, who lives on an area ranch, is the one who found her while he was out working. Huge kudos to Ryan for getting involved!
I just started reading your blog. You are awesome, candid, straight forward, a real tell it like it is. LOVE IT.
The mother has posted on Sandbox’s facebook page that Sandbox needs a lawyer. Anyone know what that is all about? She won’t say.
No, and I am VERY curious!