Bury the evidence…literally!
Jan 14 2011
The good old boys – and equally shady girls – network is alive and well today, and not just in the South! This story comes from Washington state. This is one of those stories where the guilty will go unpunished UNLESS there is national media attention and an uproar. You guys create an uproar better than anyone, so I shall tell the tale and leave you to it!
On Monday of this week, Katie Merwick at Second Chance Ranch got a call from a concerned citizen who had discovered and, wisely, photographed an emaciated dead mare and foal. (Five gold stars to you, lady. Good job. Most people do not have the presence of mind to document something like that when they see it.)
Photographs are here at the news story – don’t click if you don’t want to see: Two Horses Found Dead.
There were two more horses on the property, also in poor condition, and no hay or water. KIRO TV story with shot of the surviving horses. Neighbors informed Katie that they had fed and watered the horses on many occasions because the owner, Greg Harris, did not do so. (FYI if you’re in Shelton, Washington, don’t patronize Drain Right Plumbing – this is the horse-starving asshat’s business.)
Katie informed Pasado’s Safe Haven of the case, and everybody began calling the Sheriff, who ignored everybody for two days, until he finally issued a press release stating that the horses had been shot, not starved to death, that there was nothing wrong with the other two horses, and there was no problem.
Everybody continued to blow up the Sheriff’s phone, demanding the horses be dug up and necropsied. Pasado’s was even willing to pay for it themselves! The Sheriff finally called a vet, Eddie Haigh, out to look at the two live horses. Harris, the owner, threw a shit fit at the inspection and yelled that the people who turned him in are the ones who shot the horses. (Yeah. Sure they are, asshat.) Haigh pronounced the living horses “well cared for.” If you saw the video, at the second link above, you can see that is far from the truth!
Katie called Haigh herself. He would not give her the actual body score that he had given the horses, but advised her to get that from the Sheriff. He did say “his” scoring is based on a scale of 1-5. This apparently has nothing to do with the STANDARD Henneke scale, which goes from 1-10. Katie asked if he was aware of the condition of the two dead horses, and did he know that the two living were not being given water. He did not comment.
He CAN however, apparently, diagnose horses from looking at pictures. From the KIRO site: “Byrd said it is unclear if the horses were shot, but a veterinarian has examined photos of the dead horses and said they did not die of starvation.” WHAT THE FUCK, WHAT? How the hell do you think you can determine the cause of death from PICTURES? Maybe if they were hog fat, but you guys can see those pictures (at the first link). There is no way on earth to rule out starvation and even if it was not the cause, it was very likely a contributing factor.
Of note, Haigh is the son of Kathy Haigh, a Washington State Representative. Kathy is also a veterinarian. Good grief…
Chief Deputy Dean Byrd’s reason for not allowing Pasados to exhume the bodies for a necropsy is because he claims there is no evidence of a crime.
A) photos of starved bodies
B) Multiple witnesses and two years of complaints
C) IF they were shot – Greg Harris is claiming someone “murdered” his horses. Isn’t that a crime?
Chief Byrd, who clearly wants to investigate this about as much as I want to gain 50 extra pounds, can be reached at (360)427-9670 Ext 313.
The vet who said the skinny living horses are “well cared for” is Eddie Haigh, Shelton Wa, 360- 426-1840. You can email the Wa State Veterinary Medical Association with your concerns. As always, whether you call or write, staying calm and succinct is the best way to get your concerns taken seriously.
Email info@wsvma.org
Their website is http://www.wsvma.org
If you e-mail, please include the photos of the dead horses Dr. Haigh believes did not die of starvation (which he determined solely by looking at PICTURES… the vet board ought to have a field day with that one!). You can right button click on PC to save them from the news article. Also include the KIRO link regarding neighbors who witnessed the horses starving. http://www.kirotv.com/news/26488733/detail.html
Now, here’s my opinion: You have buried the evidence. The pictures show dead, emaciated horses. They do not show horses who were shot in the head. The heads are clearly visible. My best guess is that what is going on here is a huge cover-up because, Sheriff Byrd, you have dropped the damn ball for two years, ignoring multiple complaints about Harris’ farm, and YOU are the reason the horses died. You are the direct cause, because you wouldn’t get off your fat ass and do something about this douchebag who wasn’t feeding his horses. And now you think it is going to just go away if you refuse to investigate!
Well, Sheriff Byrd, it’s not going to go away. Welcome to the Fugly kitchen…hope you enjoy the heat!
137 comments to “Bury the evidence…literally!”
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Those look like paddle marks in the second photo, even a little on the first. I would imagine a horse shot dead wouldn’t be trying to get up
This whole story is so disturbing. Imagine the implications if nothing is done here! The Mason county sheriff is sending out a message to neglecting asshats that you can claim your horses starved horses were actually shot and NO ONE WILL BOTHER TO CHECK.
Yeah, I’m sure you need to be a member of the ‘Good Ol’ Boys’ club, tho’. The names that go through my head for this Sheriff and horse owner cannot be published! The blood is rolling out of my mouth from biting my tongue.
I saw those paddling marks, too. And that worthless vet… WTF!!!! Even from the pictures, it was obvious that the horse starved to death.
So, no business to Drain Right Plumbing and let us hope that HE STARVES, too!!!!
I’m so angry….
CALLING ALL ANIMAL LOVERS! TIME TO STAND UP TO ANIMAL ABUSE. Please come show your support tomorrow at 9AM Mason County Commissioner’s Office. Email or Msg me for details. Just being there can make a difference!!!
31 minutes ago · Like · Comment
Rana Brown http://www.co.mason.wa.us/commissioners/agenda/2011/2011-01-18_REG.pdf
31 minutes ago · Like
ALLING ALL ANIMAL LOVERS! TIME TO STAND UP TO ANIMAL ABUSE. Please come show your support tomorrow at 9AM Mason County Commissioner’s Office. Email or Msg me for details. Just being there can make a difference!!!
LETS BE THE ONE TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE THIS MAY BE OUR ONLY CHANCE! LETS NOT LET THEM BURY THIS NEGLECT UNDER THE RUG!
…
See More
http://www.co.mason.wa.us/commissioners/agenda/2011/2011-01-18_REG.pdf
There are so many people who need a good kick up the arse. I hate seeing pictures like this and I am already emotional at the moment. I have been waiting for FOUR DAYS for news of my horse because he was in the path of the Queensland floods. He is retired on a farm at the bottom of Range and I couldn’t get into contact with anybody for them to check on him or to go and find him myself. I haven’t slept well since Monday, worrying about friends and my 20yo TB gelding.
Luckily, he is fine, I just started crying when one of my friends told me all of the animals and people on the farm were fine, she got into contact with them (it’s her family the horse stays with). I just want to go down there and give him a huge hug and his favourite treats but I can’t go down there for a few more days and it is killing me, I have to see him
And it makes me furious that people care so little about their animals when I have been watching the news, making phone calls and basically staying on my laptop for days waiting for news. I had nightmares of him being washed down the valley and drowning. So I have bought some bags of feed and some hay bales so I’m ready to go as soon as the roads are open. See Greg Harris? I’m seperated from my horse by flood waters and what looks like a war zone at the moment but I still make sure he gets fed.
Sorry for the rant, I’m just rather stressed at the moment :S Everything is a mess…
We’ve been watching the pictures up here and you’re right, it does look like a war zone down there! Stay strong and kudos for being prepared and worrying about your old guy. Best wishes and hopes for some normalization down there, sometime soon. It sounds like the farm you had him at were conscientious and orderly about keeping everyone safe!
We’re dealing with a cold snap right now (as in -40C, or Fahrenheit, take your pick, that’s when they’re the same thing) and that’s not great on animals either. My dog can be outside for exactly 3 minutes at a time before he starts shaking. Seriously, I know everyone says horses are fine in low temperatures, but this is getting ridiculous, so even the people with hoods, liners and blankets on their horses are starting to worry a little about frostbite on exposed areas of skin (windchill is at about -49C). So a friend of mine is making an hour’s return trip home from work once a day to check on her horses, walk them to the tacking stall, rub them a bit, check blankets and give a treat or two…
This jackass can’t even feed them? Pathetic.
All I can say is, we’ve got you down there
Hugs to you! And glad to hear that your oldie is fine
Floods are bad news. There is all kinds of dealings that look really shady surrounding the flooding of River Trails Riding Stables in Norco, California. It sounds like the owners or operators refused help and when the waters rose, evacuated the horses to the low-end auction house in the area, Mike’s Auction house. Also, they said the tack was lost in the flood, but one boarder is maintaining that they stole it and lied, and she has photos to show the tack rooms/buildings intact. The place is a dump — tiny paddocks with tiny shade areas, but apparently they are being bought out by the city of Norco.
One horse washed away in the flood, an Appy named Spud. I hope they find him.
Now, all kinds of accusations are taking place regarding negligent treatment of the animals there. (At the same time, you have to wonder why owners would put up with that).
These links have some of the info:
http://local.yahoo.com/info-20715901-river-trails-riding-stables-corona
http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories/PE_News_Local_W_wstable29.a4303e.html
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/dead-horses-surry-farm-investigation
this woman is your typical backwoods redneck Hoarder. Several horses were “surrendered” last week from this woman and the local rescue had to euthanize one of them yesterday when the little mare got down and couldn’t get back up. Most with a BCS of 1-2. Thankfully the people of the county banded together to get all these animals from this person seized. The fight is on to keep her from having horses and all animals in her possession ever again. She claims people were dropping them off for her to “rescue”. This woman has been a Hoarder and con artist for years. The internet had made it much easier for her via Craigslist.
In the local paper (The Smithfield Times) she makes the plea that she was “helping” these horses yet 3 horses were found dead on her property. She’s 32 years old yet told the paper she’d been breeding horses for 25 years. Ok, so she was 7 years old when she starting breeding horses?!
She’s been starving horses for YEARS.
Good lord, that is disgusting! And people in the comments seem to have had plenty of personal experience with her.
Wow~ from the home town of yours truly, Michael Vick. I really am hating Virginia.
Yep, been watching this for days on the news and waiting for fugs to pick up on the story. She has been a hoarder for years, she and her mom. Im guessing thats why she thinks shes been breeding since she was 7?! They only found 3 horses, but they own their own backhoes and tractors and Im sure with some digging on this property they would find many more. Its not a clean or even semi organized facility and the only people that board there are the ones looking for cheap board. The little girl whose mom ran her over (about a year ago?) also boarded there. I will reserve my feelings on this particular incident.
But dont hate VA!! We have tons of great horse people and our weather is (normally) great to ride in year round. Not too farr from NY and rich in horse history!
Ugh this makes me quite literally sick! This is so disgusting!
For the record, the Henneke scale goes from 1-9.
The University of Maine has an excellent tutorial entitled, Body Condition Scoring for Your Horse. It was developed by Craig H. Wood, Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky. Adapted and reprinted with permission.
Small animal vets use a 1-5 body condition scale for dogs (and probably cats)…
I suspect the vet they called out specializes in small animals, not large animals.
Sadly, when dealing with the Animal Control officer in my area regarding a starving horse, she too was using the 1-5 dog scale. I don’t think she was properly trained at ALL. Obviously neither is this vet (at least when it comes to horses).
That 1-5 dog scale only covers underweight. I know there is a full 1-9 scale for cats (covering underweight and overweight) and I would assume the same exists for dogs, somewhere, it may just be less well known or used, especially since slightly overweight pets (not obese) are often accepted as normal.
But really, as long as the 1-5 used are the same as the 1-5 of the ‘full’ scale, either works, for any animal.
It’s also not uncommon to see 1-5 on one chart and 5-9 on another chart right next to it.
The vet in this case is still probably a moron, especially since he said they were ok and wouldn’t disclose his score or method, but I don’t see a gaping problem in a GOOD vet or A/C officer only using the half of the scale they usually deal with, especially when it’s accepted procedure with other animals.
People who are directly involved in this-please do write letters with documentation to the WA State Veterinary Board (this should be the licensing entity not the State Veterinarian). I recommend determining whether this individual is a member of the AVMA, and if so, also copy your letters to the Chair of the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee and perhaps the Ethics Committee (if there is one-I have never dealt w/that). It is important that letters be factual and that photos of both the dead and living horses (even better-the dead horses while they were living if photos exist), and records of complaints are included, as well as statements from concerned neighbors that fed/watered these animals. There is no excuse for a competent equine veterinarian to fail to recognize inadequate body condition. These horses were presumably not recently acquired and they did not get in this condition over a short period of time. One has a professional, ethical obligation in neglect/abuse cases and it has been spelled out and reinforced by the AVMA this year (there is a formal stated reporting requirement, which appeared in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) and that should extend to objective handling of cases when consulted by law enforcement). People (and professionals) can be held accountable if there is a will to do so.
IMO the cause of death cannot be unequivocally established without a necropsy, preferably by a board certified pathologist.
I worked on a case where a horse starved to death. I’m pretty sure the vet out there was the only guy with a shot gun in the 60′s and earned the nickname Doc. That’s about the extent of his credentials. He too said he used a scale of 1-5. Coincidence?
Don’t regular dog and cat vets use a scale from 1-5?
Was this guy Haigh an actual equine vet, or just a “regular” vet that the Sheriff was buddies with?
The way I see it, even if they had proof that the horses were shot to death, they were still obviously starving prior to death. Seems like an awfully convenient way for animal abusers to get out of being investigated, if all they have to do is shoot their animals to end the investigation.
That has to be the most fucked up thing I have ever heard. No crime???? If they were shit by someone else as owner claims….crime. If starved as other claim………crime. That Sheriff has his head up his ass big time. What all States and Provinces need are harsher penalties against horse abuse , it just seems to get swept under the table.
Good point.
1) If they were starved, that is a crime, whether or not they died from starvation.
2) The owner says he thinks they were shot, which implies that someone else shot them — a crime.
3) If the owner is lying and he shot them, he is committing a crime, what, hindering an investigation? Lying to a police officer? I’m sure there is some kind of law against that type of lie.
4) If he shot them after they died to cover up the cause of death, that would be another crime: obstruction of justice, and/or tampering with a crime scene.
So yes, there is no way the Sheriff can say that a crime was not committed, and there is plenty of evidence. I also noticed the paddling marks from both horses.
Thank you for taking the time to post this! There is a lot of confusion with this story, I’ve heard that a lot are saying they weren’t shot, they just starved, but then in the article it says they were shot. Either way, two horses suffered and I really hope that same fate doesn’t happen to the other two. Maybe with more exposure something will be done!
I think they were shot AFTER they died from starvation already. That’s my theory.
Yes, that is why you need tyo do a necropsy. This shit disgusts me. Thanks for drawing attention to it.
I think your right. It looks like the horses had gotten too weak to stand, thrashed for a bit trying to get up and finally expired. I think he decided to cover it up by saying someone shot them, and tried to bury them before a big fuss was made. Also, isn’t there some laws regarding how to dispose of a large animal? Is burying even allowable in Washington State? Or are there even laws dealing with things of that nature?
I’ve been following this one in other places, and someone is saying the burial site is too close to swamp and a well. So they’re going to push to have the horses dug up for those reasons. The gal going on about it seems to know the laws and has a lawyer already to push the county on the issue.
This is quoting her:
WAC 16-25-025 states burial of livestock must be 300 ft. from a well, or stream, or not within a flood plain. This guy broke all three of those laws.
You can also be damn sure that if nothing is done the two remaining horses are going to suffer the same fate. I’m sorry but if those four horses shared the same pasture, its only a matter of time before the others are looking just as bad. Oh plus our ‘animal control’ is a joke, we only have one animal control officer. So you can bet not a lot is going to be done. It makes me sad to live in a place where people can neglect and let their animals suffer and have nothing done about it.
Pasture??? Did you see the photos of the area? Garbage dump is more like it!!!
These horses look pretty starved to me too! Definately NOT “in good condition” when they died! They look a bit fishy to me too…heads and legs streched out just so. What they look like when they slowly die, not from an immediate gunshot. What baffles me is there seems to be no place where the horses bled out if they had been shot. Yes, sometimes it doesn’t happen if skillfully done and the person doing it knows where to hit, but in many cases it does. Head shots usually bleed out due to the amount of blood in the brain. Paddling can (not always) occur when a horse is shot, but it’s not from the horse trying to rise, it’s from muscles contracting making the legs move while body functions are shutting down. I’ve witnessed 2 horses being shot. The first, the horse was already down and in great pain from a shattered leg and/or pelvis. The vet was summoned but could not come for hours so the horse was put down immediately. His 3 good legs paddled for a few moments as the body shut down. The second was one of my own horses. An ancient, arthritic mare who was under vet’s care. The day finally came for her euthinasia, the hole was dug with rented backhoe waiting nearby. The old horse stood there in pain, but happly gobbled down treats. The vet was supposed to come and we got a call…unable to come due to emergency colics at another farm…4 horses colicing severely at the same time (I never discovered the reason though I suspect overeating on grain)…probably cannot make it at all today. We only had the backhoe till 6 pm and unable to come back for a week due to other obligations…tried other vets but they were occupied as a scheduled euthinasia is not considered an emergency. So my neighbor, a hunter, and professional firearms marksman, came over and skillfully and humanely shot her. She crumpled immediately and her legs paddled briefly while the body functions shut down, although she was already “gone”.
That was what I thought when I saw the photos, that they looked odd with their necks stretched out. I don’t know how horses tend to position their bodies when they die, but it seems odd to me that a previously living horse would fall in that position after a fatal gunshot.
It’s a classic post-death pose: the neck ligament, which is stretchy in life, stiffens and shrinks after death, drawing the neck up and back. It’s a sign the body of the animal has been there for a period of time (for the ligament to stiffen and shrink.) I don’t know how different this would be if the horse was shot v. starved….but the photo shows a disconcerting lack of blood and/or trauma to the head if the horse was shot.
I always have my horses shot, I have never had one euthanised by a Vet, and never shall, far too stressful!
In every case they have just folded up, head tucked into the body. They are dead the second they are shot, there has never been any paddling, although I am aware it is normal and can happen.
They do NOT end up stretched out like that.
Ever.
They could have been shot……..TO END THE SUFFERING FROM STARVATION! WTF. The Sheriff will never dig up those horses, hell, they will hardly do that for people, much less spend the money on an animal.
Its the same as most places, they don’t give a shit about the animals, same as here. The powers that be that hand out the money to pay the people that are HIRED to take care of them do everything they can to let the POS get away with torture and murder of innocent animals.
Just what are the laws about shooting domestic animals in Washington? Here in Wisconsin you can’t just go out and shoot your animal, contrary to popular belief. WI Statute 951.09 Shooting a stake or caged animal. No person may shoot, kill, or wound with a firearm, or any deadly weapon, any animal that is tied, staked out, caged or otherwise intentionally confined in an artificial enclosure, REGARDLESS OF SIZE. So in other words, don’t go out in the pasture and shoot your horse. We also have a law that says you can kill your animal as long as its done in a humane manner. In my opinion, taking pot shots at a loose dog or horse is not humane. Also contrary to popular belief.
So in the mean time, Lets bombard gool Ol boy Sheriff and Vet. Give them a nice way to end their weekend of being warm and well fed, unlike the horses they let die.
Yeah, but Pasados has offered to pick up the tab…
Obviously they don’t want anyone to find out the truth.
Unfortunatly, we had a 2 year old horse that had to be put down quickly because of a non-life sustaining serious injury which could not wait for 2+ hours for the vet to come do it. She had to be quickly shot in the forehead. (I had an old horse put down by my vet once, and the gun shot was much much quicker and instant.) When they go down, they do have a few last muscle twitches, which might acount for some of the paddle movements you might see in the dirt. However, my young horse, who was a fairly small breed, was 3 to 4 times the size of those poor pitiful and clearly to anyone ( but apparently the sherrif and vet on this case ). These horses have no muscle tone and you can clearly see pencil thin necks and protruding hip and thigh bones. It is not because they are dead, or because they had been left in the field for awhile and the weather took a tole on them. My horse had to lay where she fell until we could get a backhole in to bury her. If anything, she got bigger (because of bloat and other natural occuring body changes). My horse was round, filled out, and you couldn’t feel a bone on her body (expect her skull and legs ). These poor skinny horses look like they could have been used for vet students to study bone structure on. If they were healthy when they died, then I suggest the vet and sherrif apply for new jobs, maybe as baseball umpires!
Nah, baseball has enough blind umpires, we don’t need more!
Kathy, the Henneke Scale scores from 1-9. Not that it makes any difference in the case of these poor horses.
You’re right. I was writing this late at night, LOL.
There are actually several scales that are used to record body condition scores (BCS) of most species – they are usually 1-5, 1-9, and 1-10. While the Henneke (1-9) is the most common used in abuse/neglect cases, they are all acceptable as long as you reference the one you are using. The 1-5 and the 1-9 are actually quite similar, since the 1-5 can be scored on half points – ie. 2.5/5 would be the same as 5/9.
Otherwise I agree – you can’t make determinations of death from photos, and those horses were quite skinny (and pot-bellied)…..
Grr….
One of these days the people who ignore reports of abuse or mistreatment (or mental illness) are going to be held accountable because of the tragedies that ensue. Being willing to stand up and be heard (at often great personal risk, either of losing one’s credibility or being sued for libel or slander) is getting more and more difficult. There is safety in numbers, and if there is a “paper trail” of reports and pictures to back up the claims, eventually SOMEONE with authority (and the guts to use it) will make things right.
The question is, how many more innocents will suffer before that happens? Discouraging.
Cops do this all the time, probably to save themselves paperwork and sweat (a combination of labors known to the rest of us as “their job”). Outside Saratoga Springs, NY, a few years ago, a starvation complaint was shut down by the Sheriff’s department with these words: “[So-and-so] is not at fault. Case closed.” Not surprisingly, the guilty party was a friend of the Sheriff’s. In New York State, the head of the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s equine branch, herself a lawyer, refused to investigate a starvation situation after learning that a relative of the bad guy was working at the very-much-in-demand barn where she wanted to board her horse for the summer.
You know, if someone shot my horses I’d want to have it fully documented so I could find and prosecute the asshats who did it. Who would just shrug their shoulders and bury their horses if that happened?
And if my horses hadn’t been starved, why wouldn’t I allow them to be exhumed – at someone else’s expense – to clear myself of any wrongdoing?
None of this makes any sense at all. And good for those neighbors for not giving up.
I just tried the sheriff’s office, they are not taking calls, what a surprise. NOT. I also called the vet who surprisingly talked to me. He said he did not make any judgment to the sheriff’s dept. regarding the horses in the pictures. He claims that he told them he could not make an assessment of what happened to them from the pictures. I asked 2 things, one if that is actually what he told the sheriff’s dept. then why did he at least not tell them that the horses were definitely emaciated, which COULD be the cause of death, but either way the horses were in horrible shape, he had no answer for that. The second thing I asked him was if what the newspaper and the television station said regarding the fact that he had told the sheriff’s dept that after looking at the photos he could say they did not die of starvation was not true, why had he not called them and told them that if they did not retract the statement immediatly he would be suing them for slander he said and I quote, “look, I’m the only equine vet in this county, if these calls do not stop then I will no longer be working with horses, I will stick to my small animal clinic and people can get a vet that is over an hour away when they have need of an equine vet”
I told him the calls would stop if he would call the newspaper and tv station that had said these things and tell them to retract immediately or he would sue them for liable and or slander. He told me he did not feel he needed to do that and again reiterated that he would just stop doing horses. So gee thinks he’s lying about what he said?
This is why we do not use the Haigh’s for our horses. And no, the next large animal vet is not over an hour away, it’s about 20 or 30 minutes, and it’s worth it.
I really wish I had seen this post before what I assume is probably closing time for a vet clinic on the west coast. Seriously. He’s going to “stop doing horses” if he gets many more phone calls about this? GOOD!!! I’d like to call him and tell him to PLEASE “stop doing horses”. Like right now. And while you’re at it, why don’t you “stop doing” dogs, cats, cows, pigs, birds, snakes, bunnies, fish, chinchillas, rats, frogs, turtles, mice, kangaroos, monkeys, and giraffes. In fact, I think you probably can’t even be trusted with a HOUSE PLANT. You lying fuck.
No shit, PLEASE stop doing horses if you think the two live ones look OK.
My thoughts to this guy are that there are plenty of competent and ethical kids graduating every year, so maybe you should act on your threats.
Yeah, he’s going to stop making money because some people in other states annoyed him.
Sad stuff….kudos to the concerned neighbors. If the sheriff doesn’t want to investigate crimes maybe he should rethink his career path? Walmart is usually hiring.
I am so glad you picked up this story. I’ve been following this on FB. I cannot believe that these people think they can get away with this!
Seriously. I am embarassed to be a human being sometimes. If my horse were shot, I would have been the first one to call the cops. He didn’t mention it until after the neighbors (and yay for you!) got the sheriff involved and said they were neglected. Starved or shot a crime was committed. I hope they do something, and if I were living in Mason County I would find a different vet. Any vet who thinks that those horses look okay can stay FAR away from mine.
That veterinarian, Dr Haigh, is an embarrassment. He’s obviously working outside any area of expertise he may have if he doesn’t even know how to body condition score a horse.
What an obvious display of cluelessness from all the “authorities”.
I don’t think it makes much difference even if the horses WERE shot. We have photographic proof that they were in terrible condition, bottom line. That alone should be enough to pursue a criminal case. I cannot believe they didn’t take his other two horses away. The guy had two skinny, dead horses in his junkyar– erm, I mean paddock. That’s a smoking gun if I ever saw one.
It seems to me that horses seem to be different from, say puppies, or other household pets, as fas as neglect goes. If you were to shoot a puppy, the whole town gets in an uproar because they can appreciate having a dog in the home. But when a horse is found dead, well, “they’re supposed to be outside and, perhaps, fend for themselves. After all, they eat grass and stuff, and there’s plenty of that around. Right?” Unless the average Joe sees only dirt, they assume there’s something to eat! Shoot, if there’s a tree in the pasture, that’s food, right? DAMN them all!
I’m wondering if we should also contact the main offices of the AVMA, in Schaumburg, IL, to have them do a report on what constitutes a fat horse, and/or a starting horse, as obviously some of their constituents do not know the difference!
See my post above. I would address comments to the Chair of the Welfare Committee at the main AVMA address, but only do this if you are directly involved and have photos or other actual evidence of the condition of the horses and what the veterinarian (who is now changing his story, apparently) has stated/done.
Just the good old boys….some day this blog might get ‘em, being right never will. Sorry, got that song in my head and it won’t leave. There is a gauntlet of sorts called male bonding that is near impossible to penetrate and as a woman, I don’t get it. Why is it that men will stand on one side of any line if that’s where their peers stand? A male friend of mine knew of a barn full of starving (one dead) horses owned by an old woman and he refused to tell me where it was because his friend was a neighbor. Like, SOOOO??? I googled the friend’s name, found the street, called the police and gave them what I could. They were on it the next day! His pride or balls or whatever wouldn’t stand up for what’s right. I was so ripped at him! It makes justice in a case like this ludicrous because nobody will ever get to do a necropsy on those horses based on Sheriff Bufort T Lack of Justice. Condition alone should dictate that requirement by any veterinarian who saw the horses or pictures of them. Hey, maybe they died of worm infestation or a chronic condition due to neglect – it’s possible. Good old boys like to protect their own….and I agree that if they were shot at all, it was after death. Wouldn’t there be some evidence of blood from the wounds? A beating heart would produce blood from an animal the size of a horse even if it only beats a few seconds. Correct me if I’m blind, but I didn’t see a drop. Sorry guys, but we need more women wearing the uniforms. We have a zero tolerance for this shit and get things done about it.
I’d love to agree with you on this one, but there are plenty of female abusers out there and their nutso friends are all over the place, protecting them and making excuses. Only in those cases, it seems more often to be the insidious “Oh, but poor thing, she’s going through hard times right now; her boyfriend/husband/partner left her; she has kids to feed; she’s just so overwhelmed and going through tough times right now but her heart is in the right place; people take advantage of her good nature” crap. We seem to hear that “heart is in the right place” excuse a lot more often for scuzzy female hoarders or breeders than for men, as if women aren’t equally driven by profit and easy money as men (which many are).
Guys have the good old boys club and the code of silence, sure, and it’s revolting, but women have what I think is an equally revolting tendency to come up with excuses for their friends. Do we need more women in uniform? Absolutely. I’m just not entirely sure it would necessarily change some of the outcomes.
Men, women, whatever … lots of scumbags in the world of either kind. Lots of men and women out there trying to make a difference, too.
I’m a woman by the way, which is why I’d love to believe in your idea … It just seems that the illusion of the virtuous sisterhood tends to break down very, very quickly in real life.
I agree that there are abusers of every gender, race, income level and society status but I believe that on average more women dig in to help the situation than men. I’d bet this blog has women bloggers in the 70-80 percentile range. Men will say ‘don’t get involved, it’s not your business’ blah, blah while women make it their business. I live in a state where women wear the uniforms and I was personally involved in a case with those women at a hearing with a woman prosecuter and they are TOP NOTCH. They pushed the case as far and hard as the law would let them and when the judge ruled in our favor, there were 5 of us hugging each other in thanks. I’m not saying that a man can’t or won’t do what needs to be done but I feel that women are more passionate and aggressive when it comes to protecting life. The squeeky wheel gets the grease and women squeek & squawk until there’s resolution. How many men show up with trailers at horse auctions to take home a poor soul heading to slaughter? I feel we need more women wearing the uniforms, investigating the complaints and fighting for better laws. A few more vet’s who can identify malnutrition when they see it wouldn’t be bad either.
It could be something to do with the kind of men and women who are involved with horses, and the numbers of them. I actually thought the passionate and aggressive ones against animal cruelty and neglect, the ones who’ll stand up to the “You shouldn’t say that about someone, they’re trying their best/you don’t know all of the situation/the police will just think you’re being stupid/dogs shouldn’t be allowed inside or given vet care anyway, you pansy/why make a fuss- they’re not your animals”were frequently men, because that’s the way it seems to be in my experience. Though it’s mainly dogs and livestock animals I’ve encountered it with, not horses, and on a more ordinary, every-day level.
I’d say it’s more of a cultural values determining expression of human nature thing.
Fugly, thanks SO MUCH for taking on this story. This is in the next county over from mine and I hope somebody loses a job over this pile of lies. My first thought on figuring out that there is no horse shooter out there, was that this must be the sheriff’s brother in law, golf partner’s roomate, campaign contributor, mistress’ dad, or whatever. OR, this is a lazy law enforcement officer that is doing something other than his job all day.
The paddle marks and the poses just scream agony. Poor horses. RIP.
No crime??? I’m sorry but if one of my horses had been shot, there would be HELL on earth! Even if the horses didn’t starve to death, how would two horses being shot NOT be reported unless there was something fishy going on?
According to the CSI crime lab (I know its fake but still) wounds on a body that is already dead dont bleed. So if they were shot after they had died doesn’t that mean there would be no bleed out? Doesnt that tell us what we already know?
I have only ever had any amount of blood a couple of times, when the horses were shot. If they are shot with a captive bolt, as mine are, they tend not to bleed out. No idea why!
depending on the temperature of the body and where it is shot…. an awe-full lot of blood will come out. the color, texture, and amount of blood would be quite different than if you shot a live animal.
I agree that the scenario is different with a dead horse, but reiterate that, with 90% of my shot horses there has been little or no blood, and no paddling.
Well, well, well. This all reminds me rather a lot of a certain high-profile murder case, where the perpetrator of the crime was (insanely) acquitted and then made a big show of “looking for the real murderer.” Ring any bells?!?!? Yes, O.J., you set a swell example for Mr. Asshat Plumber the Horse Abuser and his pal, the Do-Nothing Sheriff. What a frickin’ joke. I’m sooooooo sure the person who “shot” these horses will be found.
There is no doubt in my mind that these men (and one woman!) are all in bed together: the asshat starver, the sheriff, the vet, and his dear mother, the state rep. And I bet it’s all about $$$$$, as usual. Maybe it goes something like this: sheriff funnels customers to plumber, plumber/starver does “something” in return for sheriff (maybe fixes shit at the HQ for nothing? Sheriff pockets money intended for plumbing bill?), vet is under orders from Mom to leave sheriff alone, sheriff gets money for his department from another state rep (or maybe it’s even Mommy!) who owes Mom a favor.
What do you guys think – have I read too many thrillers featuring political intrigue and mutual backscratching, or am I onto something?
At any rate, the whole situation is despicable. Far, far too much animal abuse (and child abuse and domestic violence) is covered up by the authorities.
I will say that I don’t know much about Washington state but if its a fairly rural county it could be a case of community attitude. It can be really hard to prosecute in a small town where everyone knows each other and especially if the vet and plumber are two of a few families with higher incomes. I’d hate to be a sheriff going against the general consensus of a small town and honesstly after years of minimal crime and stuff I think a lot of law enforcement guys lose their nerve and just want to keep their heads down and not make waves.
Well, extremely isolated, underserved and underpopulated describe Mason County. It is at the base of the Olympic Mountains and at the non-navigable end of the Hood Canal where powerful rivers dump into low lying land. The big timber made a couple families rich 100 years ago but they were in San Francisco; the money never came back to the woods. The local rez struggles with all the usual ills. I think there is one successful shellfish business, the fairgrounds and a little airport in Shelton. There are, however, a number of reputable horse barns serving commuters from Olympia, where one can have a horse responsibly maintained and sheltered and one could assure that one’s livestock did not live a life of suffering. The hay trucks do go as far as Shelton and there is water for livestock if you bother to supply a container.
It also doesn’t help matters that county officials keep cutting the budgets of the County Law enforcement. There was a pretty infamous incident awhile back, where one of the Commissioners basically said, that Shelton doesn’t really need law enforcement because every citizen owns a gun and can take care of themselves. What the heck kind of reasoning is that? But it gives you a good idea about the county. So I can kind of understand why it could get hard to do things sometimes. But then again, that is no excuse to let something that is obviously criminal slip under the radar.
On the positve side of prosectution, a guy who set a barn fire that killed 12 horses in Colorado was just sentenced to 12 years in prison. Chalk one up for the good guys!
I received this reply to my email:
Hi Ms. Mueller,
WSVMA has no investigative or disciplinary authority. Please send your compalint to the Department of Health at hsqacompaintintake@doh.wa.gov. They are the ones who can look into the matter.
As the Department is extremely busy, you may wish to explain the matter and include the link. They probably don’t have time to just watch your link.
Sincerely,
Sherri Dean
Executive Assistant
WSVMA
I wrote to the WSVMA at the address you listed. Here is what I wrote and what they stated in response:
“Hello:
This veterinarian should be investigated for his level of competency given his most recent evaluation from ‘pictures’ of two dead horses and his rationale for their deaths. Just look at these pictures!
Also, to claim that the other living horses are *not* emaciated is outrageous! Those poor horses needed and need help and this veterinarian (and Sheriff) dropped the ball.
Also, please see KIRO news clip, if you have not done so:
http://www.kirotv.com/news/26488733/detail.html
Please, investigate this veterinarian. Clearly, he needs to be suspended pending additional training/education.
Thank you,
(my full name)
(my office phone number)
Thank you for your call/email. The Washington State Veterinary Medical Association is not a regulatory body. It is a voluntary, private association of veterinary practitioners and their business interests. It is not our role to ever comment on any regulatory or criminal investigation. You should direct your concerns to the Department of Health…
Sincerely,
Sherri Dean
Executive Assistant
WSVMA”
Me back in here: Oh come on! Really? Because they’re (Department of Health) concerned about health issues regarding dead animals laying around? Uhmmm… the horses were ultimately, buried. But they (WSVMA) would have known that had they checked out what I sent.
Even the WSBA does a better job regulating their own vs. *these* people. Unbelievable. Yet another worthless organization. Maybe I’ll change careers and become a *competent* vet. At least I won’t be worried about any professional regulatory body watching over me.
How infuriating! {head desk}
The WVMA is an industry organization. The licensing body (regulatory body) is the Board of Veterinary Examiners (don’t know the exact name of it in WA), which is a division of the Department of Health. Complaints need to go there.
I work in the Environmental Health division at a local Health District in Washington, so I can answer some questions that have come up in the comments on this situation.
First, the correct agency to contact regarding vets that aren’t doing their job properly IS the Washington State Department of Health, because they are the agency that LICENSES veterinarians in the state of Washington. So writing, emailing, phoning etc. to the Washington State Veterinary Board will do nothing except annoy them.
Second, animals in the state of Washington CAN be euthanized by gunshot, in areas where guns can be fired. Most cities have ordinances against shooting a gun within the city limits–just ask a certain County Commissioner who killed a troublesome skunk that had taken up residence at the county courthouse, in city limits. I don’t know the specific laws or ordinances in that county, but if it’s like my home county, killing a horse by shooting it is legal, provided the owner allows it.
Third, large animals CAN be buried in the state of Washington, provided they are buried with at least 3′ of dirt over all parts of the body, at least 3′ above groundwater and 100′ from wells or surface waters. That would require a hole about 8′ deep with no groundwater. There may be local county ordinances that prohibit burying a large animal, but in my home county, it would be legal. BUT, and this is a pretty big but, it looks like the groundwater in the area may be about 6-10′ deep. It’s hard to tell for sure, because I couldn’t find a well log that exactly matched, but there are a lot of shallow wells in the area within a mile or less.
Keep calling the Vet, maybe he will do all horses a favor and quit like he threatened. Can you imagine?? Sounds like a little kid, “if you don’t stop I’ll quit”! Waa waa waa. I think I will call him twice. Lying POS.
Kathy, you do way better then I do writing late at night.
I have four friends in vet school currently, and one is at Washington State University right now. We got together over the school break and she was telling me about one of her 3rd or 4th year roommates, who interned under a Seattle-area equine vet last summer. According to my friend, her roomie’s mentor vet told her never to report horse abuse, and to always say the animal “looks fine” when asked to look for negligence. His reasoning is the horse world talks so much that the vet who turns in someone for horse abuse will never get hired ever again, because there is always someone who supports the abusers.
My friend, luckily, has too much conscience to ever do something like that, but I wonder how prevalent this attitude is in the profession. I mean, if she heard it within the first 4 months of vet school, it doesn’t bode well for what the general opinion is on those situations. Hopefully this is an isolated incident confined to one vet in the Seattle area (my friend couldn’t remember his name at the time, I live in the Seattle area and am thankful my vet is female, so not possibly this guy).
Unfortunately this is quite common, along with presenting only quite biased material relating to welfare issues in educational curricula. It is a big problem from my perspective. That is why I encourage the public (consumers of services) to demand ethical behavior-without that it will not change. Those students are good to have recognized that what they were told is wrong and flies in the face of stated AVMA policty, and may be a violation of state regs. if their state has mandatory reporting (some states do).
Personally, I’d prefer a vet who reports abuse. I assume a vet would recognize abuse easier than the average joe, and would also know of any reasons a horse may be underweight or something so would not report on those horses.
I’m maybe not explaining myself that well… but for example my pony has heaves. He’s usually fat and sassy, but last July we had a heat wave and he was hit pretty hard by it. The vet gave him some shots, and managed his condition through the heat wave, but ultimately the pony looked pretty skinny within a week or so. It took us a couple of months to get him fat and sassy again, but that first month when he was struggling to breathe he looked pretty pathetic.
All that being said, I’d assume a vet who normally reports abuse would recognize that the pony has a health issue, there was a bad spell that if we could get him through it he’d be back to fine, so wouldn’t report it as abuse (especially since he was working with us and didn’t suggest euthanasia).
Now we have a rescued girl on site, and the vet knows (did the vet check), so any complaints about a skinny horse could be easily proven not to be neglect (Animal Control also knows). I think if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about (generally). Yes neighbors may have a grudge and report you for things, but if you’re doing right, and the proper “authorities” know in advance what’s going on with your animals… well, you shouldn’t worry.
But I digress. I would appreciate any vet who CARES enough about animals to report them. I honestly feel like it should be REQUIRED of them!!!
I have SPECIFICALLY USED a vet because I liked that they testified in abuse cases.
When I was volunteering for a rescue I arrived one night to feed to find a new arrival colicing. She was still in the “courts” stage of rescue and hadn’t been awarded yet. She was down and we couldn’t get her up and it seemed pretty serious. She was in pretty extreme distress. I called all of the vets on the list that I liked first. None could come. Finally, I called a “Good Ol’ Boy” that I had never been that impressed with. I was able to reach him. I told him what was happening and he told me to call someone else. I explained I had already tried everyone else on the list and no one else was available. He finally agreed to come out after saying, “But I won’t testify to ANYTHING! I’ll deny being there.” When he arrived the mare actually seemed to have mostly resolved the issue on her own and we easily got her up. He gave her the quickest darn assessment I’ve ever seen, cussed me out for calling him for such a minor issue and reiterated at least twice that he wouldn’t testify to anything.
The man has been around forever and he’s not a bad vet. There are much better one’s in that area, IMHO, but he is fairly competent with everything other than teeth. Actually, come to think of it, he may well be competent with teeth too, but just hate to do them so much that he has a similar response as to rescue situations. He’ll tell you there’s nothing wrong so you don’t ask him to float.
Anyway, sadly, it seems that this sort of attitude is at least reasonably common amongst vets.
Actually, I don’t think they look like they starved to death. Don’t shoot me! I’m sure not saying they look fat. Just that they appear to have a little more meat than normally seen on the ‘go down and too weak to rise’ cases I’ve seen.
The remaining two horses likewise don’t appear starving, although they absolutely are low on weight to a dangerous degree. Their behavior as they eat in the video says clearly that feeding time is a serious or even desperate business.
So let me throw a thought or idea out– what about a secondary illness? How about Tetanus? I know rigor mortis can change how a body is laid out, but both of those horses look like classic tetanus deaths: contracted backs, bared teeth, stiff legs. If not tetanus, then some other illness or disease that prays on the poorly cared for animal? Neither corpse has long toes– a farrier job that quicks the hoof, no shots (with horses that look like that, guaranteed), and of course in a crowded pen, lots of disease to pick up through an open wound…
It’s very hard to tell anything useful from the photos. The bloated bellies are distracting, and muscle tissue shrinks quickly when an animal has been dead a while. Think of roadkill you’ve seen.
As I recall, the head being thrown back like that is something that happens because of the neck tendon shrinking.
Yeah, you really can’t make a definite assessment just by pictures. But someone I was talking to brought up the fact that it was a little strange that two horses would die at the exact same time. I mean they could have both starved at the same time but it’s still a little odd. I was discussing this with my mother and she seems to think that maybe they had gotten too weak to get up, and the owner went out and shot them. But again you really can’t see any overtly obvious bullet wounds on the corpses, so who knows. All you can tell is that they suffered for a long time, were dangerously skinny, and the owner should be charged with animal neglect.
They starved. No doubt just by looking over the property there was not enough to sustain 4 horses. Where’s the hay?? The place looks like a shit hole and it looks obvious to me that those poor things died hungry. People don’t realize that grazing animals need to, um… graze to stay warm or they will parish. I don’t know how the weather in WA state is but it is cold as shit here in the east because it’s WINTER! Horses need to eat, eat, eat or they cannot maintain body heat. Oh, hell, I forgot. You people all ready know this shit.
But, how can they determine a crime has not been committed when evidence is buried in the ground and they are refusing to dig it up? This whole thing stinks like a rotten fish!
Hey, anybody! I found a cave in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors to see or hear!…..I wish
Maybe they didn’t starve to death, but they sure as heck were in danger of it. At that point I’ve heard of horses eating poisonous plants because they’re so desperate for food that they no longer care.
This just drive me insane, this isn’t the 1700′s there’s no reason whatsoever for winter killed animals or starving animals in first world countries. We’ve come far enough that people don’t have to decide between feeding/killing their livestock or keeping their families alive. Even back then, I’m pretty sure people worked damn hard to make sure their livestock was fat and happy because fat, healthy livestock equaled fat, healthy families. Unless there was some severe blizzard or drought or act of God you don’t read many accounts of entire groups of livestock dying of starvation because their owners were sh*ts. So, if people could keep their animals alive without modern techonolgy or medicines then, what the heck is anybody’s excuse with today’s access to information and goods?
In the 1700′s they were actually far more organised. All the food animals were slaughtered long before they starved, and many people would not have been above treating pony as a food animal!
The ponies that were turned loose to fend for themselves were normally turned loose in places that they had a good chance of surviving in. Animals were very important in that culture. That is the whole problem. These animals were not important.
So, how do we complain about the Sheriff? Doesn’t he answer to some regulatory body? If the vet is just a dumbass, but nobody cares (we can at least hope he follows through on his promise to not vet any more horses) can we light a fire under the Sheriffs office?
If someone steers me the right direction I am happy to politely call, and call, and call…and e-mail, and post links, etc.
I just need a direction since I am out of state.
I think covering up this abuse is worse than committing it. I honestly do. People who cover for child or animal abusers perpetuate the problem KNOWINGLY. There isn’t even an explanation for it either! Just misguided loyalty or sheer stupidity or intractable laziness. I have no patience for any of these conditions.
“Welcome to the Fugly kitchen…hope you enjoy the heat!” I really, REALLY like that you should use that more often!
On a separate note… every single time I load up the blog I get a: ” message from webpage: stack overflow at line: 9″
Is that just something with my computer or does that happen with anyone else… might have to call my “techie” little brother… I’m not techie, I have no Idea…
I don’t know why it does that, but you are not the only one that it does it to.
The blog routinely causes Firefox, my default browser, to crash. It seems to work fine if I open it in Safari.
Maybe it’s that line 9 error that causes it.
It’s crashing Opera 10 randomly too…
It doesn’t crash FireFox for me, but loads with a pause and then gives me a window saying there’s a script error somethingsomething and gives me the option to quit trying to load the script. Then everything runs just fine. Just a minor irritation.
I use Chrome, and I’ve NEVER had ANY issues!!!
I had that problem all the time with Firefox and IE, but then downloaded Google Chrome and it mostly stopped. Then I got the newest version of Windows and a new laptop and it stopped completely. I think stack overflow is partially caused by a slow running computer because for some reason this website uses a lot of resources that Vista couldn’t deal with. Not surprising, since Vista had more emotional issues than a red headed mare in heat, but new Windows is awesome.
I suspect it’s too late to get anywhere with the sheriff or vet. The pressure of publicity might help the remaining horses be treated better, though.
One possible avenue for action is over the burying of the bodies. They were buried in low-lying land next to a watercourse, so the possibilities for water pollution are pretty high. The area is high up the river system, too, so the chances are that drinking water is taken from lower down the river system. It might be worth contacting the organisations responsible for environmental management of the river system, and for providing drinking water in the area, to see whether they might have any concerns and whether any legal requirements have been broken.
The rescue pinto has good markings, a decent head and an interested and alert expression. The off-fore looks reasonable until you get past the fetlock. Everything else I can see is a complete WTF?
They refer to that rescue pinto as ‘funny looking’. Well, the body position of some animal in serious pain can look kind of ‘funny’ I guess…but I think he has serious, painful problems with his hips, or maybe lower back. ‘Funny’ is not really suitable for what that horse is saying. Maybe ‘badly injured’?
Here is a “complaint” form for Mason County:
http://so.co.mason.wa.us/index.php?aid=68
Have fun!
You should do a blog about the 2011 Road to the Horse starring Parelli and Clint Anderson. This should be interesting! LOL
Is that the thing Chris Cox is in too? I figured, HEY, at least one competent trainer in the pack!
“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it treats its animals.” – Mahatma Gandi . I think we suck.
COMPLETELY OT…
We did the “fat” blog a bit ago and you mentioned that just because our horses like sweet feed doesn’t mean we give it to them all the time. Why do we do it to ourselves? I think if eating well involved me pulling a premeasured amount of food out of a bag I’d eat better.
Also OT…
What is the appropriate etiquette for contacting a rescue to inquire about a horse? My husband and I are interested in a draft mare at a rescue hours away from us (I already checked and they said they will adopt to our state). My husband used the e-mail address for the contact person and it’s been almost a week and no reply. 1. The weather on the East Coast has SUCKED this week. 2. I understand that most rescues are run completely by volunteers 3. Running a rescue is a lot of work.
Is it normal to have to wait a week or more for a reply? You’d think they’d want to get back in touch with us.
No, it’s not normal. But yeah, if they are dealing with extreme weather, they may be flat out exhausted and not as good about answering e-mail as they normally are. I’d shoot them a follow up and see if that gets ignored, too.
OT but please someone check into this…this rescue has a colt that is in far worse condition than when he arrived….
http://www.adoptaprelovedhorse.com/ryder.cfm
I’m not quite sure what you’re seeing there with that colt…
The explained what was going on:
Ryder came from auction with his Dam as a package deal as he was still nursing. He is fairly thin as Raven was trying to provide for the colt plus her unborn foal. After arrival we started to wean him from mom. He was very good about it & with another filly for company. Our goal right now is to get him to gain the weight, we have him on a daily foal feed, vitamins/mineral supplement & free choice hay supply.
And the photos from later actually look a bit better…
You have to remember that he was really skinny when he arrived, and they’ve weaned him… and are working on getting his weight up. I do see improvement in the photos, not deterioration.
Anyone? Agree or disagree?
Hmm…. that certainly makes me shake my head. If the baby is not putting weight like he should be, they need to get the vet in. In 2-3 months there is NO REASON to no have that little guy fattened up and rounded out. He looks totally wormy with a very unhealthy coat. If you can see ribs through a thick as heck coat like that, shudder to think what kind of condition he is in!
Will look into it….
It literally says on the website they received him in December 2010. By my calculations they can’t have had him much over one month at most. Not sure I see a problem here…
Sorry, no time to read through 70+ comments to see if this was already mentioned- but who was the farrier?? Amazingly, their hooves don’t look crazy overgrown like one might expect in a neglect case like this. Did the farrier ever report them?? This case is sickening and I hope justice is served eventually and the guy in charge is kicked out!
I thought that was strange too, that the hooves looked trimmed. How can you have your horses feet done, but not pay to feed them? :/
I noticed that, too. It seems like a lot of people are “DIY” for trimming these days. And you know, “Birds of a feather flock together”, I’m sure he has a buddy that can trim feet.
Oh good God…I’m hoping the sheriff and the vet don’t own horses, can’t imagine what their’s would look like if these are in “good shape” and “well-fed”. But I suppose they are going to say that the adult dead horse was old, and as we all know, ALL young and old horses are expected to be skinny and showing protruding bones. Sure, maybe they were shot, but it’s obvious to anyone who has one eye and blurry vision that these horses were very underweight. As for the living horses, sure they aren’t going to drop over from starving to death at this exact moment, but what do you think will happen in a couple months, if that? Do any of the morons involved in this think that it MIGHT be possible that the dead horses in worse condition were on the property and being starved longer? Also, have they took the time to see if this dumbass even has hay or feed on his property that is suitable? I mean, if all the neighbors are claiming they are feeding the horses, shouldn’t this be checked into? Jesus Christ…
Remember two years ago, just over the border from you guys, in Langley, BC, Canada, some people (both veterinarians) were trying to get their ‘ready to drop dead’ starving horse to pull a car out of the ditch?
A police officer wandered back into their barn (bad policeman!) and found a whole bunch MORE starving horses…one of which died after rescue.
That police officer is in the process of getting (her?) hand slapped for trespassing…and the male vet says soon the ‘true story’ will come out about the ‘starving’ horses. Wha??
http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/langleytimes/news/113778804.html
I only see that the defense attorney is using everything they can get their hands on against this officer. I can’t believe they made the officer write a written apology though, for going into the barn?? His story seems acceptable to me that he knocked on the front and back doors of the house, got no answer, then walked into an OPEN door of the barn looking for them… And the defense line “what, they’re hiding under a horse?” is ridiculous! Um, anyone else would think “maybe they’re out there feeding the horses”… oh, right, they DON’T feed their horses!
They’re certainly making the officer LOOK bad, but I think it’s fairly common in trial to throw this stuff around.
Comments haven’t been updated in a while, so I’m not sure if this has been stated here or not. Someone commented on the news story at http://www.kirotv.com/news/26488733/detail.html
Comment:
I am not kidding about this…..I believe that I have discovered that the investigating Sheriff Deputy Dean Byrd and Greg Harris are related. It may be a relation through marriage but it is still enlightening. Perhaps this explains why the Sheriff’s department has not lifted a finger in this animal abuse case. I am normally the last person to call conspiracy theory, but it is all starting to add up. See the link below for a good summary of the events of this case. http://fuglyblog.com/?p=2595
Well THAT would explain a lot, wouldn’t it now???
Looked like the local media (Seattle) has finished reporting the ‘truth’ now that the ‘vet’ and ‘law enforcement’ have made pronouncments of ‘facts’. No further inquest necessary.
I live in Mason Country, am appropriately horrified to see the story, and am sorry to have to tell you that the corruption and sloth of the sheriff’s office are legend here.
The plumber and vet are duly noted for avoidance, though.
Same thing happened with Amber Hyder (a two time Fugly ‘Award” winner). Her boyfriend is related to several of the Dixie County Florida Sheriff’s Deputies. Whenever animal control does a follow up on dogs that changed continuously, they had a ‘heads up’ from the …. surprise! Sheriff’s Dept!! The good old boys network is alive an well all over the USA and sadly letting the animals suffer everywhere.
Second Fugly award http://fuglyblog.com/?p=1376
The first one I couldn’t find the link I suppose since Kathy has had to change servers and such. It’s a disgusting practice these ‘good old boys’ do, but good luck trying to get them ‘the spotlight’ they so deserve!!!
It will never cease to amaze me how much people will try to cover up and how little those same people will actually do nothing to help in a situation like this.
My 6 year old, upgraded mare just died from a heart attack on Dec 31st (yes, the vet examined the body). Between the drugs from the track and THE YEAR of being a 1.5 – 2 on the Henneke scale, her body just couldn’t do it anymore. I had a second job where I was practically signing over the check to the vet, farrier, and feed store just to see her potentially get better.
Again, her starvation went on for a year because ignorant people purchased her from a faux rescuer and then realized what a commitment a horse is. They never had a vet examine her, they never had the farrier trim her or shoe her, they kept her in the backyard and watched her waste away until they finally posted her on Craigslist, and then I got her (because I wanted something to pet and feed and maybe ride one day if she were ever sound). A YEAR! No one ever said anything, and it was in Hillsboro, OR.
Speak up! If anything goes down in Washington, I will find a way to come help. It’s only 2 hours from Portland, and I would love to see this scum be brought down because of what they are trying to cover up.
Oh, gosh, I’m SO sorry…It really sucks when you do all that you can and you can’t fix them after what they’ve gone through.
Hopefully, the other two horses on the property in Washington will be rescued or upgraded. What people will do to animals is infuriating.
Kizzy had a good end comparatively speaking. It was certainly better than shutting down in a field somewhere for someone to find later… and then LIE about.
Ummm, those horses look pretty damn skinny to me. Not only that, but there are marks in the dirt near their feet and head that indicated they were paddling and head thrashing before they died, which usually indicated the horse had severe stomach pains, indicative of colic or starvation. Given the condition of the corpses, my guess would be starvation. Then again, I’m not a vet with obvious political allegiances so what do I know?
Just speculation here, from what I’ve read on the blog, but..
As much experience as I’ve had with DEFHR, I’ve never see a starving horse die, thankfully. Ruling out euthanasia of course- I’m talking about get down because they’re so starved, and never get up. But I often see you mentioning that horses who go down because they are so exhausted and malnourished, often leave ‘paddle’ marks- little trenches where their legs/head are, trying to get traction/footing to get up but they can’t. It looks to me, at least, like these marks are there- definitely more under the mare than the foal but I can see some near the little guy too. Of course, I know how horses get up.. and sometimes there is a bit of wiggling around especially if the ground is muddy or whatever. But it seems like those marks are more than just mere normal exertion from getting up? The way the mare died with her hind leg drawn up like that as if she was still trying to get up..
Yes, paddling is definitely one of the last signs before they finally DO die.
SAFE found a filly who was actually in that process and believe it or not saved her. It was miraculous. She did need to be in a sling for weeks. I NEVER thought she would live but she did.
If an animal or human had been shot after death then there would be no bruising, no bleeding, and the route of travel would be different than if shot from a live standpoint due to position of the body and the damage done to the insides of the soft tissues. Also the only fluid that would escape the head would be viscous fluid from the liquidating of the organs within a capsule like the brain after a good deal of decomp. In other words the brain would be liquid due to decomp, time of decomp (and the amount of inert matter therein) will also set a point of damage done from a bullet post mortem. Looking at those poor animnals they have been dead for a little while past the point of bloat (though in colder weather bloat is not as prominant as in warm weather) and past the first two stages of rigormortis. Depending on the weather’s temperature will depend on how much decomp has been going on inside the peritoneal cavity, the colder the tempurature the longer the body is preserved. A post mortem investigation would be able to determined if the animal or human was shot before or after death. Of course the post mortem shot would be harder to recognize if it was done so right after the being expired from other means. Bruising from a shot will not occur post mortem though burning of surrounding tissue will make evident of how close the gun was to the being when shot. As a bullet travels it cools, so not all gunshot wounds leave burn marks around the entrance wound. Depending on the caliber of gun used and its ammunition will depend on what the exit wound would look like. An exit wound on a dead being will be different than an exit wound on a living beaing which can be dertimed by microspic veiws and tissue samples.
More than likely a necropsey done on these two horses will more than likely tell the real story of what happened to them. Soemon definatly buried the evidence. In many states in order to dispose of a large animal you must have a means of disposal BEFORE euthanizing them either via Vet or via gun shot. Shooting them and letting them rot in the open like such exposing other animals to disease or what have you is illegal in many states. I know many large cattle farms have a “bone yard” away from the living areas or pastures of living animals and thier food source and water srouces for means of disposal of animals if they died in thier natural state or are euthanized. Something stinks and its not the carcasses of these 2 poor horses.
I forgot to add that I bet if someone opened up the peritoneal cavity of that youngster ( first picture) they would get a spill of round worms and other parasites. That is a worm belly if I ever saw one.
Sorry this is OT but I have spent the last two hours scouring the archives for a post and can’t find it. Anyone remember the title of the post where readers asked any question they wanted. Specifically I am looking for information on what to do for a horse that rubs its mane out during the summer months. Thanks!
Hey Cathy I tried to e-mail you at the address listed under the Help heading and got a message saying that the address was no good. Is there another address available?
It should work…let me check, thanks.
OT but something you should look into.
I was sent a link on FB to this info about a proposed slaughter plant in North Platte. According to the info I read there is a companion bill to the horse slaughter bill that:
“Basically, it would mandate that humane societies and horse rescue operations would have to accept a horse if one was presented to them, or they would face a class four misdemeanor,” said Larson. “I’m giving them an alternative. If they don’t want us to process horses, what are we supposed to do?”
WTF thinking is that? Slaughter or overcrowded rescues are the only choices?
Here’s the FB link
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=489945956935&id=1016521982
Yeah, my comment to that story when I read it was along the lines of stop breeding crap, start training the crap you ALREADY bred, and stick a crowbar in your wallet to pry out euth money for trained horses who have become lame or otherwise unusable.
I was hoping I could get some help from somebody on here. I’ll give you the whole back story, shoot me some ideas
I’ve got a gelding who had a bad case of worms (I think). He went from perfectly healthy to about 100 lbs underweight in a matter of about 7-8 weeks. He was utd on dewormer, so I had ruled out that possibility… But when he started getting ribby, I fed him free choice hay (he was eating 10-12 flakes per day) on top of his normal grain and supplements. Originally, I figured that it was just the cold, but when his fur began getting coarse and his belly swelled in addition to a sunken neck and protruding backbone (that I could see through his thick coat), I had the vet come out and we decided that it was most likely worms – and I dewormed him again. Now, though he’s normally an easy keeper, its been difficult getting him to gain weight in the dead of winter (as low as -18 here). He has a few health issues that basically rule out feeding him beet pulp, molasses, and alfalfa. A trusted friend told me that dry COB in addition to the free choice hay and his normal grain/supplements would give him the calories he needed to put back on the weight without compromising his health, and so far he almost completely back to normal weight (been about 6 weeks). However, as a horse with racing background, he is now dangerously hot. In 20 years, I’ve never had a horse that I could not control, but he is nearly there (something so unlike his normally calm, loving, and gentle demeanor). I took him on a *bareback* trail ride the other day and he leapt into the air and spun around uncontrollably at least three or four times before nearly tangling himself in a nearby hot wire fence. He was also uncharacteristically interested in other horses (arching neck, squealing, strutting, and other ” stereotypical uncontrolled stallion”-like behavior). Anyway, so my question is, has anyone else had problems similar to this? Is it likely that it’s the COB that’s causing this behavior, or could it be something else? I’ve never had him on COB before, just crimped oats, but I fed the COB in addition to his specialty grain that contains corn, oats, and barley plus various vitamins/minerals. I recently had him chiropracted because he slipped in the snow and have not ridden him since, though his ground manners after the chiropractor came have also been flighty. But may he be reacting to an injury? Anyway, he’s at a barn now, and I asked them to feed him half a cup of COB on top of his normal rations and then increase as necessary. Yesterday, I was told he is being fed ~6.5 cups COB daily (split into 2 meals). Normally, I feed only enough grain to get the supplements down, so is this too much? Less than normal?
Thank you for all help and suggestions!
If the COB seems to have caused the behavioral change, by all means eliminate it. My weight gain secret is simple – I stuff them full of soaked hay pellets – whatever kind of hay you normally feed him, timothy or orchard. Soak in warm water til it’s the consistency of oatmeal. Won’t make them the least bit hot. Sprinkle oats in it or finely chopped carrots in it if he’s a picky eater.
How old is your horse? My 27 year old Arab started losing weight last spring. I wormed him and started feeding him more easily digestible food. He stopped losing weight but he wasn’t gaining either. He’s pretty tough-minded (hard to tell when he’s hurting) but I thought he was slowing down a bit more than I liked and as an experiment (after consulting my vet) I started him on a 2 gram-dose of daily Bute. Not only did he start moving much better — but he regained all of his weight. Also recommend Safe-Choice as an easily digested grain that won’t make your horse hot.
Thanks for the tips!!!
@fhotd: I didn’t think of trying the soaked hay pellets, but I think I might switch over to that. He’s on orchard grass right now, and that definitely won’t make him hot.
@paperbackwriter: He’s only 12, but similar to your horse in the sense that he’s also tough minded. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been performing as I’d like him to in the ring lately, so I’ll talk to my vet and see if we can try a flexion test.
@kim: I didn’t even think about the cocosoya, but I’ve got about 5 gallons that I feed daily to my other horse that has skin problems. I think I’ll start switching him over from the COB to the cocosoya with hay pellets
I would get rid of the carbs and try cocosoya or cool calories. My mare has epsm (caused almost the same symptoms when fed grain, but with epsm carbs cause them to lose weight/muscle) so she is on a “fat” diet, no grain ever. LMF makes a couple grains that are considered “cool” but give the calories needed, and even have one for horses sensitive to carbs that you could try. Good luck!
One of the neighbors told me that the pens and remaining horses have been removed. Neighbors saw his horse trailer and truck there yesterday.
Nobody knows where the horses went.
In response to the hay question that was brought up a few times. There was hay in the late fall. It was in the horse trailer and it was moldy.
CALLING ALL ANIMAL LOVERS AND EVERYONE FOLLOWING THE BURY THE EVIDENCE HORSES NEGLECT ! That there is a commissioner meeting that we are addressing tomorrow. and for people to show up in support if they can 9am commissioners office … PLEASE LETS NOT LET THEM JUST SWEEP THE ANIMAL NEGLECT AND ABUSE CASES UNDER THE RUG! EVERYONE WHO OFFERED A HELP IN ANYWAY !!! WE NEED YOU THERE FOR SUPPORT. MEDIA POSODA WILL BE THERE LETS FILL THIS ROOM WITH CONCERNED PEOPLE THIS MAY BE OUR 1 AND ONLY CHANCE!
with link
http://www.co.mason.wa.us/commissioners/agenda/2011/2011-01-18_REG.pdf
CALLING ALL ANIMAL LOVERS! TIME TO STAND UP TO ANIMAL ABUSE. Please come show your support tomorrow at 9AM Mason County Commissioner’s Office. FOR EVERYONE WHOS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS STORY WE NEED YOU THERE Just being there can make a difference!!! SHELTON COMMISSIONERS OFFICE TUESDAY TOMORROW 9AM. POSODA AND MEDIA WILL BE THERE PLEASE LETS MAKE SURE THIS CASE DOESNT GET SWEPT UNDER THE RUG.
Comment http://www.co.mason.wa.us/commissioners/agenda/2011/2011-01-18_REG.pdf