Horse Thieves!
Nov 06 2011
The team of students planning to compete in a rodeo Thursday night in Magnolia were shocked to find their horses missing from their stables.
SAU investigators said five horses, a trailer and other riding equipment were taken sometime between 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
The stolen horses include: a 16-year-old black American Quarter horse, a 7-year-old gray American Quarter horse, a 14-year-old buckskin Quarter horse, a 15-year-old chestnut Quarter horse and a 12-year-old black Quarter horse.
The horse trailer is a silver, 2003 Featherlite with a Georgia license plate reading TL7W102. The trailer’s VIN is 4FGL020223C058456.
“My grandpa gave me my horse on my 18th birthday and she means a lot to me ,” says Ty Luster, the owner of one of the stolen horses.
The horses are team and calf roping horses.
“We have a lot of variety of horses in the barn,” says rodeo member Shawn Smith. “They were not like the ‘run-of-the-mill,’ they definitely were the ones that could perform and hold their own.”
The team had to use borrowed horses to compete.
Southern Arkansas University Police Chief Eric Plummer said they have several tips and hope to have the case solved quickly.
Detectives are asking anyone with information call their local police department.
43 comments to “Horse Thieves!”
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I’ve been following this on FB. They found the trailer in OK, but are still searching for the horses. I do hope they find them all safe.
OT, but if you have a chance jump over to Joe’s blog at TBFriends and read it. (11/9 post) Just great.
Here is a link with better pics and detailed information of all the stolen horses
http://www.netposse.com/view_report.asp?reportid=1476&e=1548
First place I’d look…barn of a rival school. Kidnapping horses to wreck people’s chances in a competition has happened before.
I doubt it… I college rodeo for this region and although it is competitive, we’re all still friends. It’s not uncommon for different schools to haul together, share horses if one is lame, ect. Everyone goes out together after the rodeos. If someone from a school in the region had done this, I’m almost certain that they would have been ratted out by their fellow competitors by now.
I’ve heard the trailer was located in Oklahoma. It seems that the horses were all branded, making them highly identifiable. Hopefully all local dealers, auctions, and livestock inspectors have been notified. [Someone wondered if it was a jealous competitor that wanted to sabotage the team...]
There’s a special place in hell for people who steal pets, companions and/or working partners. Some, if not all, of these horses likely fit into all three categories.
Trailer was found outside Tom OK the day after the horses were stolen. Their tack was also stolen. There is a $5k reward for return of the horses, no questions asked. This is a link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tinyman#!/pages/Stolen-Help-FIND/211056102298127
The only thing I have found strange is that they have been repeatedly asked to fill out Netposse stolen horse reports but have declined to do so. There certainly might be a reason why they aren’t but it seems that the netposse site covers quite a bit of ground. I sure hope their horses are found.
As a side note, has anyone heard anything more on the Leachman debacle?
Last I heard, he went to the auction of his horses in April and purchased 31(?), then turned them loose on the land he was leasing. Apparently he is now facing a misdemeanour charge for letting a stallion run around his former property (so I’m guessing that was one of the horses he bought at his own auction). Before he went and purchased all those horses back though, he was apparently trying to get a free lawyer because he couldn’t afford one. He’s been charged with 8 misdemeanour counts of animal cruelty.
He makes me so mad.
http://www.operationhorserescue.blogspot.com
P.S – Mugs, I accidently posted this comment without replying to oldredhorse. Feel free to delete the other one so that nobody is confused by a seemingly unrelated comment.
I have been reading this blog for years and years, but this is the first time I’ve replied to a post. I really just wanted to reply to this time because I was so surprised to open up fuglyblog and see a local story there. I have competed at SAU in Magnolia multiple times, and that rodeo was actually on my schedule before something came up and I couldn’t go. I don’t personally know the girls whose horses were stolen, but I have competed against them before. The black horse on the top left’s barn name is “Badger” and won 2nd & 3rd in the Cruel Girl Roping last week at the USTRC Finals. His owner has had him his entire 16 years of life.
We’re all hoping they’ll recover their horses unharmed, and quickly.
UPDATE: The horse trailer has been found.. in OKLAHOMA. Makes me wonder where the horses could possibly be. I was hoping they would be found nearby but at this point it looks very unlikely.
I believe the trailer was found, minus horses and tack though
I heard from someone at MSU that the trailer has been recovered but the horses are still missing…
Heads up: Columbia Basin Equine Rescue/Rebel’s Equine Feedlot is operating and fundraising like mad under yet another name: Another Sunrise. We verified that they have the same phone number. For those not familiar, read the whole sordid story of these kill brokers in the Fugly archives. They pretend to be a rescue while shipping horses to kill, but selling them on the way for jacked up prices. They BS good hearted adopters with tales of vet and farrier care that doesn’t happen, but they keep the money. If your horse doesn’t work out and you want an exchange, the horse you return ships to kill. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Another-Sunrise-Equine-Fundraising-Network/227143870635192
PS The above scam artists have a blog. Because of course you can’t expect a listing of Board members and financial disclosure on an organizational website. http://horsesforthesoul.org/horse-rescue-network/
Same phone number.
This is rich:
“*Donations to fundraisers is at one’s own risk! I am merely providing information on the existence of the fundraisers to those who may be interested and am not representing, condoning or guaranteeing them in any way.”
This is horrible. Are these IHSA horses bought to another school as extra mounts?
Totally OT:
I have been riding English, taking lessons, and working at my barn for a long time. In a few years I plan on owning my own horse and getting into a bunch of different disciplines. So I’ve been doing a lot of research on driving, horse packing, western and endurance riding in particular. I plan to take a driving course at college before I graduate, I’ve been horse packing before and I know the basics. Western riding would be pretty simple to learn, but does anyone know of endurance rides near the Hudson valley in New York I could volunteer at or hang out during so I could gain a better understanding of the sport? I understand that it wouldn’t give me a complete education in endurance riding, but it might let me get my foot in the door for the opportunity to learn more and give me an idea of the kind of horse that succeeds in the sport.
Disturbing.
Stealing is bad, obviously, but when it’s an animal (or person) it’s SO much worse. It’s not like you can just replace it, they are horses that people have a connection with. I feel very sorry for them and I hope they are found soon.
http://www.operationhorserescue.blogspot.com
This better have a happy ending!!! I hate reading stuff like this!!! They used to hang horse thieves…let’s start it up again!!!
Yep, already shared it to Facebook. Seems like such a stupid theft– several of the horses are branded, the tack was good quality and recognizable… I almost wonder about a college prank, although obviously there is NOTHING funny about taking horses and a trailer and tack. We are on watch up here in Indiana, so if nothing else, they won’t be selling through Shipshe any time soon.
The trailer has been recovered in OK. Still no horses
The trailer was found. The horses are still missing.
It’s so sad when stuff like this happens! Why oh why do people feel they have the right to take what’s not theirs?
I really hope they find those horses safe and sound. And, I think they should do like they used to when they catch the horse theives…..hang ‘em high in the streets for everyone to see……then maybe a lot of the crime we see would be cut out. There is no punishment now for anything, makes me sick……
Last I heard on this, the trailer had been found, empty, in Idabel, Oklahoma.. horses and tack still missing
Really??? High school rodeo horses? That is pretty darned low.
It’s my understanding that the trailer was found here in Oklahoma, but not the horses. IMHO, someone knew exactly what horses to take, this wasn’t just a case of stealing horses that were handy. What a shame – I sure hope it turns out well…
Unbelievable…
We still hang horse thieves don’t we?!?
any chance this was to stop the team from competeing? someone had to know which horses to take.
It has been said that the trailer was recovered in OK. No sign of the horses in the area at that time. I hope they find their friends. It would be devastating to be in their place right now. I think horse thieves need to be hung, like they used to.
The trailer has been recovered….
http://www.netposse.com/newsviewer.asp?id=523
Now to find the horses!
So sad that anyone would do this, period.
I’m really surprised no one has commented on this.
Having my horse stolen has always been one of my worst nightmares. I hope these horses are found safe, and are returned to the students they belong to.
I can’t understand how someone could load all these horses, all their tack, hook up a truck to the trailer, WITHOUT anyone seeing them! That takes more than a few minutes. Where were these horses that there wasn’t any stable worker/manager around to keep an eye on them? The whole story sounds fishy to me.
If it is true, I wish for all the horses to be returned healthy and unharmed. Tack can be replaced.
I agree with your theory that someone saw or knows something. This wasn’t a stolen car radio – it takes some serious temptation to drive away with a trailer full of horses. They won’t exactly fit under a coat. If they were missed within a couple of hours, State Police would’ve had the description and plate number all over and it would be an easy mark. I’m of the feeling that either it was a lewd prank by teenagers or some kind of revenge on someone close to the team. I’m leaning to the latter. I don’t see this as a random larceny.
Actually, it just took awhile for Mugly to approve comments
I commented awhile ago and it’s just now been approved.
Word from Ty Lester is that they found most of the tack piled up east of Tom, OK. No sign of the horses yet.
Four of the horses have been located!
http://www.ksla.com/story/16050971/breaking-news-four-horses-recovered-search-continues-for-one
MAGNOLIA, AR (KSLA) -
Law enforcement officials have confirmed the recovery of four of the five horses stolen from Southern Arkansas University’s Mulerider Stables. A press conference has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the Stables to discuss details.
Four of the horses were found in Oklahoma. Apparently the thieves spray-painted the light colored horses, tied them up in a thicket in the woods, and left them there without food or water.
Some people. That’s about all I can say.
Last horse was found dead this morning, also in Oklahoma. It starved to death.
On a sad note, the last horse has been found deceased. No details given at this point. RIP “Credit Card”
http://m.ksla.com/autojuice?targetUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksla.com%2Fstory%2F16123939%2Fremains-of-stolen-horse-found-in-oklahoma
One of the poor horses didn’t make it.
http://www.ksla.com/story/16123939/remains-of-stolen-horse-found-in-oklahoma
Update: Glad that two others have been arrested in the SAU stolen horse case. Read Rate My Horse Pro details. Now if everyone can just help find William “Billy” Hamilton.
http://www.ratemyhorsepro.com/news/disturbing-details-emerge-more-arrests-in-arkansas-horse-theft.aspx