A Different Sort of Rescue Story.........The Plan for Future Rescues

Earlier this year Pierce County was to make decisions about contracts for horse rescue. As part of this process they formed an equine task force composed from those earlier volunteers at the two horse summits. The Eatonville Dispatch covered the story County builds horse rescue network

The task assigned by the county to this group (composed of equine volunteers as well as a vet and a horse trainer) was to tour the facilities of the seven facilities that had submitted RFP's (Request for Proposal) for consideration to provide horse rescue services for Pierce County.

Of the seven was the rescue, Hope for Horses, that had been involved in the Waller Road rescue. Despite the testimony of concerned citizens that Hope for Horses was not doing an adequate job of caring for rescue horses, the organization was still considered by the county to be a viable resource in the care of needy horses.

Along with newly elected Pierce County Auditor, Jan Shabro, and members of her Animal Control staff, the Equine Task Force did site inspections of each facility including the Hope for Horses facility sometime in early February. For the first time ever horses in need in Pierce County actually had real horse people making decisions in the bureaucratic process about their care.

The Eatonville Dispatch covered this story as well. Bruce Smith wrote Shabro visits equine sites in Graham "The exact composition of the network, such as how many facilities would be included and what type, has not been determined," McCarty said during the Hagerman stop.

Around the beginning of this month the county did a press release naming the facilities that had been chosen to make up the new equine network for Pierce County. The facilities chosen were Fox Run Farm and the Pegasus Program, Tacoma Equine Hospital owned by Dr. Linda Hagerman, The Rusty Bar Ranch, and E and K Stables of Auburn. Hope for Horses was not on the list.

Now for those of you that are thinking that one voice can not make a difference, you might think of how far this story has come. From Dec 31, 2007 when the first two horses were seized from the Waller Road site through to now a lot of things have happened. While the county always considered Rose Corey to be a thorn in their side, her constant vigilance on this issue certainly had an effect on the outcome here.

At least for now, the horses of Pierce County that need help will remain in Pierce County for care. Rescue horses may not have been high on the county's list of political agendas before but that has changed. County officials clearly have the message that its citizens are willing to be get involved to see that rescue horses are handled in a manner deemed appropriate. And while that equine task force has been disbanded for now, there's little doubt if the politicians should "forget" the importance of the proper care of horses to many of its citizens, the uproar could easily result in its reemergence. The voice of the horse community in Pierce County has made a difference.

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story.........The Backlash Continues

I wish I could say that this story ends here but that is certainly not the case. At this time Hope for Horses still has a number of horses from the Waller Road seizure. One of those horses was euthanized at some point and the others are still needing homes. The former owners have yet to stand trial for their neglect of this herd of 15 horses and my county still has "issues" to deal with in regard to their handling of abused or neglected horses.

There was another horse summit held for Pierce County in Gig Harbor this time. Concerned citizens at both summits volunteered their services to help the county made appropriate decisions in the care of needy horses. The county seemed reluctant to employ these resources at this time.

As election time rolled around the tension mounted. There were enough horse people riled up over the handling of this Waller Road case to keep the heat on county officials. Rose Corey wrote the following Letter to the Editor of the Eatonville Dispatch McCarthy's Haywire Horse Summit as the Pierce County Auditor, Pat McCarthy, began running for Executive of Pierce County Council. With the possibility of a county contract going to Hope for Horses, things were definitely heating up.

In December a group of concerned citizens adressed the County Council regarding a plan by the Council to establish a horse rescue case management network. At the center of the citizens concern was Pat McCarthy (now the newly elected Executive of Pierce County)m her Animal Control officers and the participation of Hope for Horses in the "rescue" of the Waller Road neglect case. Further concern was the perception that the County would strengthen its relationship with Hope for Horses as the county began the process of seeking bids for future horse rescue situations.

Horse Rescuers Voice Concerns appeared in the Eatonville Dispatch. Again this article was written by Bruce Smith who by this time one could say had clearly taken on the cause of needy and neglected horses in our county.

The actual testimony given to the Pierce County Council and related correspondence are here Video Testimony (Dr. Hagerman, George Wearn)

Dr. Hagerman letter submitted to the Council

Email from Rose Corey to Pat McCarthy and PC Council

This would be where things left off in December of 2008. One year after the first two horses had been seized from the Waller Road site. But even at this, it was not the rest of this story.



To be continued............

Wordless Wednesday

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story.........The Backlash

When Valor and Teddy were originally removed from Creekwood Farm and sent off to Hope for Horses, there was an uproar in my county. Then in April 2008 when the Arabian stallion(Valor) was returned to Creekwood Farm from the Hope for Horses rescue in worse condition (remember this is corroborated by the vet) than when he had left there in January, the uproar turned into outrage.

Horse people across the county were appalled by what had happened to Valor while in the care of Hope for Horses. The county officials in an attempt to quell the backlash decided to call what they called a "Horse Summit." The summit was being touted as a vehicle to organize standards for horse rescue in our county, the fact those officials were only prepared for 25 people to show up speaks some to their real thoughts on the subject. Personally I think they just wanted to say they had done something to get people off their backs. They had no idea how outraged citizens really were or they' have been prepared for what followed.

The people in attendance were fired up because of what had happened at the Waller Road rescue (that would be Valor's case) and concerns about even more rescues down the road because of issues with the economy etc. They wanted to know what happened and why as well as solutions so this didn't happen again. But officials dodged the discussion about the Waller Road rescue telling the crowd to put that in the past. The county claimed they were looking for solutions.

The Eatonville Dispatch headline read Over 200 attend Horse Summit
This article covers the discussions that were allowed that night seeing as how the county didn't want to talk about the Waller Road rescue. It would be interesting to note that both Hope for Horses and Rose Corey were present at this summit.

Over the course of this time there have been many outraged citizens/horse owners who have voiced their opinions of the entire situation. Not just Hope for Horses has been the target of this outrage but the process of the county has also been in question. This letter to the editor posted again in the Eatonville Dispatch is a good example. Horses, Lies and Videotapes
speaks to those issues.

It took almost another month before the Appy colt was returned to Creekwood Farm. Hope for Horses thought it would be better for the colt to gradually wean him from his mother. ( He'd been weaned in the first place when he was taken to Rose's but reunited with his mother at Hope for Horses. The mare began lactating again so the foal continued to nurse.)

I don't understand why the foal was reunited with his mother in the first place. As a breeder when I have a mare who is not doing well with a foal at her side, I remove the foal. Then both horses have a chance to thrive. Together, it's a tough go. Why Hope for Horses thought this might be different in a rescue situation makes no sense to me. It would be interesting to know what the thinking was behind that decision. This is one of my questions I would like to have asked John Edwards.

In addition most breeder's wean anywhere from 3 to 6 months of age. This foal was "aged" by the vets at about 6 months at time of seizure. Again, why these decisions about this colt were made by Hope for Horses would be interesting to note.

I'd also like to note here this foal was born with angular limb deformities. With my experience with my twin foals I'm pretty well versed in this particular birth defect. I understand what causes it and I know what's needed to treat it. It's a difficult issue that needs to be dealt with.

This diagnosis is another one of those things that Hope for Horses decided was incorrect. To them the foal actually had a bad case of early cow hocks that were made worse by the muddy conditions. (this quote is from the Random horse post
Now, remember I saw this colt at Rose Corey's. He did indeed have angular limb deformities. Hocks were not his only issue. Of his four legs each one deviated in a different manner.

What's disturbing about this to me, is Hope for Horses repeatedly seems to ignore what the vets say only to decide for themselves what is or isn't the problem. Then they do whatever they think is best instead of going by vets orders. They seem to believe that they have so much more experience they don't need to be bothered with outside input from professionals. Yet, they can't even "see" what is right in front of them.
Their solution always seems to come down to "less" of something. Whether it be feed in their version of "ramp up" or farrier care for deviated limbs, both these decisions cost less. Is this a pattern......or sheer coincidence?

Teddy Bear is back! again written by Bruce Smith.

Since there was a difference of opinion on whether the foal was ready to be weaned. With negotiations involving state representative, Dawn Morell, (a horse person, thank goodness) a compromise plan was reached to have a vet evaluate the colt's condition.

Even after that was done, the county claimed the vet was against the transfer. But when Rose's attorney spoke with that vet, he said the horse was good to go. More proof somewhere between Hope for Horses, the county and Rose there were huge breakdowns in communication at the very least with lots of resulting problems. Although in that Random Horse post it looks like Hope for Horses felt after Rose's complaints about the stallion's condition they just want him in the best shape possible and after what happened with the stallion HFH documented like crazy people.

Then there were final issues with transporting the foal. Hope for Horses says those were the issues of an independent transport but by this time I don't know if anyone on this end was really listening to anything Hope for Horses said. The relationships between all three parties had deteriorated so. Rose picked up the horse herself. Teddy was home in late April.

To clarify , Hope for Horses billed the county until the point the owners gave up their rights. That was in April, the county was off the hook, so to speak, for anything more to do with the horses. Since that time they have maintained the rest of the herd of horses at their own expense. At this point ownership of those horses went to Hope for Horses. They are now free to sell them if they chose and keep whatever monies they make.

To be continued...............

The Backlash continues

Photo credit Bruce Edwards of the Eatonville Dispatch

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A Different Sort of Rescue - - Beginning Again...........

Some of you may remember that a while back I began a series about a rescue of an Arabian stallion and a appy foal. The series began with this post, A Different Sort of Rescue Story

I stopped posting for a while when I was contacted by John Edwards from Hope for Horses, the horse rescue organization involved in this story. He'd asked me if I was interested in their side of the story. I said, "Yes," and agreed to wait for their input before continuing the series.

However, once I posted A Different Sort of Rescue Story - Thoughts and quit writing about this rescue, John Edwards didn't follow through as he'd promised. Other than a couple of phone conversations and a couple of emails not much happened.

In that first phone conversation we discussed briefly the care of the 2 horses, Valor and Teddy. Then I wrote an email asking some initial questions about those horses specifically and some general questions about the others. In response I received an email defending Hope for Horse's right to solicit funds in their rescue efforts. I confronted John Edwards about not answering my questions and why I thought those answers were important if we were ever to get to the bottom of this issue.

John Edwards called me on the phone saying he was concerned that answering my questions was nothing but "he said, she said" and we had agreed not to go down that road. I explained that "he said, she said" to me meant accepting what he might say Rose Corey had said as truth or what Rose might say that HFH had said as truth instead of getting the information straight from the "first" person. When he'd asked me if I was interested in "the Hope for Horses side of the story" that's what I thought I was going to get, John Edwards answering my questions about what had happened to Valor and Teddy while in their care so my readers could hear both sides of this story.

John Edwards agreed that made sense to him and said he would answer my questions. This all happened within the first week. I have not heard from Hope for Horses or John Edwards since. John really didn't come through as promised.

John Edwards did say he was extremely busy and it would take a little time to answer my questions. There was flooding here in January so I gave him some leeway but I think that 2 months is more than reasonable on my part. Since there have been some "new" things that have happened in this story, I thought I should continue before it gets away from me and some pertinent information gets lost.

Picking up where I left off, Hope for Horse disputed Rose's claims that the horse was not well cared for while in their care. Again the Eatonville Dispatch covered the story, Hope For Horses refutes Corey's treatment claims

There is also this blog post on Random Horse by the people from Hope for Horses.
I mean really, Rose Corey, don't you have anything better to do
Obviously the tone of the headline doesn't say much for the professionalism of the organization. In it they posted pictures they feel dispute the claim the horse was not well cared for while in their care.

I have thought about this picture situation long and hard. Hope for Horses claims they were doing what they should with this horse. According to my conversations with John Edwards, they don't know what to say about the pictures. He just said the horse didn't look like that when he left their rescue. He suggested maybe the horse was dehydrated from a stressful transport, maybe the pictures were caused by bad camera angles, who knows. John Edwards claimed the condition of the horse had nothing to do with the care the stallion received at Hope for Horses.

John Edwards did admit that the horse was not getting free choice feed as had been written on the instructions of the intake vet. Suggesting that Hope for Horses knows what starving horses need, Valor had been on a feed schedule that John referred to as "ramping up." When I asked for more specifics, John said the amount of feed the horse was getting was gradually being increased so as not to cause issues for the horse. At the time Valor left Hope for Horses (2 months time) the horse still had not achieved the goal of free choice hay.

OK let's put the pictures aside and think about what the horse looked like when he got off the trailer. He was transported to the office of a veterinarian, Linda Hagerman, in Spanaway. In attendance were the vet, Rose Corey, county officials and other interested parties. Those people ALL gasped as the horse got off the trailer.......even the county officials.

Keep in mind that Valor was under the supervision of Linda Hagerman during the period of time he was in Rose Corey's care, before he was sent off to Hope for Horses in the first place.. She had first hand experience with what the Arabian stallion looked like when he was rescued in the first place. She also knew what the horse's condition was at the time he was taken from Creekwood Farm.

According to her examination of the horse at his time of return, she found Valor to be in deplorable condition. She was appalled at the way the county and Hope for Horses had carried out their mission in the case of this rescued horse. Linda Hagerman actually stated as much at a later county council meeting.

To be continued.........

The Backlash

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story - Thoughts

Part 1

OK, I've got to be upfront here and admit I've probably jumped to some conclusions here. I've been caught at least a couple of times in this series and I find the "reporter" within me cringing. I know better.

With that said, I got a call from John Edwards from Hope for Horses today. He asked me if I was interested in the other side of the story. Because I believe myself to be a fair person, I think it's only right that I give him that chance.

While we only had a brief conversation, I could see where there are communications issues with the three parties involved. Maybe the opinion I have drawn is affected by that. I would like to know more so I am going to speak with Mr Edwards and see if I can understand their point of view.

In the meantime I'm going to discontinue posting on this issue. It's clear from the comments that I am not the only one making assumptions and also I have led some of you along with me. I don't want to be responsible for "assuming" any more things that are not accurate nor misrepresenting anything. A lot of damage can be done that way and that was never my intention.

This, however, does not change my opinion that the two horses, Valor and Teddy, should never have been taken from Rose Corey's. The horses have thrived on her and Kelsey's care.

As for Hope for Horses there is a lot I don't know. I have lots of questions, tough questions and so far Mr Edwards has expressed an interest in answering those questions. He would also like people to know about the other horses that were rescued from that Waller Road atrocity that Valor and Teddy Bear came from. I think I'd like to know more about them too. So I'm going to take the time to give him the chance.......until then I'm going to open my mind to see if I can learn something.

The fact that I am open to more information doesn't change my opinion that the county made a royal mess out of this thing. They were not then, nor are they now, equipped nor prepared to deal with the rescue of horses. Finding a solution for THAT problem is really what was at the bottom of my posting about this subject in the first place. I think if the problems at the county level can be cleared up, things will be better for all concerned.

With the economy being as it is, this is a horrible time for horses. Having a county not set up to deal with this issue is a very sad situation under normal circumstances. At times like these it is devastating for horses and my guess is for the rescues as well. I sure don't want to add to their problems because I've only written one side of the story.

To be continued............

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story - The Second Rescue

Part 1

Just taking the horses away from Rose Corey and telling her it was no longer any of her business was not enough to dissuade the woman from getting to the bottom of what was going on. It didn't take Rose long to find out that although Hope for Horses was supposed to be a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization , they were not actually in compliance with those guidelines for the state of Washington. (This situation has since been corrected.)

As for Hope for Horse's motivation wanting to have all of the horses in their care, the organization was getting $4500 a month from the country for the care of these horses. Yet as you saw on the news clip they were soliciting funds from the public to care for these horses as well using the hard luck story to tug at people's heart strings. There's no indication what so ever in those stories that Hope for Horses is being reimbursed by the county, only the impression they are relying on the sympathy of the public for donations to care for abused horses. I wonder if the reporters had any kind of clue that the agency was being paid by the county.

Just for the record with my nearly 30 horses do you know what I could do with a budget of $4500 a month. And most of my horses are growing youngsters and pregnant mares that require more groceries. The rescue horses I've seen haven't required any more feed than some of the horses I feed here. Heck, even with the traumatic impact of the birth of my Arabian horse twins, I would have been in good shape. You're not going to tell me that those 15 horses impounded (with the one's needing the medical care being Valor and Teddy) that's not an adequate amount of funds.

So my question is what's with that? Is that how these things work? Do other rescues get paid to do what they do? Or is this person someone who's figured out how to work the system? What do you think?

Once the horses were taken, Rose wasn't just trying to figure out what was going on with Hope for Horses. She was also working to find out "who" this Arabian stallion really was. I'm not sure how she ever managed this but she did. I do remember her referencing his markings but she would have had to do a lot of searching to get the field narrowed down for markings to be useful but Rose managed to find the horse's registered name.

Once she knew what his registered name was, then she had pertinent information like the stallion's breeder and who had owned the horse in the past. She located the last recorded owner and found the horse had been sold on a contract to the people who had neglected him. That contract had never been paid off and there was a clause for repossession. The necessary persons were served with a notice of repossession.

That meant the person holding the contract was still the legal owner of this horse.
Despite the condition of the stallion, to save Valor, Rose paid the owner what she asked. Then that owner signed over the horse's registration and a written bill of sale. Valor now belonged to Rose even in the eyes of The (Arabian Horse) Registry.

Again by Bruce Smith in the Eatonville Dispatch Stymied by County, Graham good samaritan purchases abused horse It was clear the county wasn't really interested in what was right, only about being in control.

This took place in February but even then it took a lawyer and court hearings, not to mention more time, before the county returned the stallion to Rose. Still claiming they needed to "preserve their prosecutory evidence" it wasn't until April 2 that Valor was returned to Rose and Creekwood Farm. Although the Appy/QH foal known as Teddy was not released, Rose was given the right of "first refusal" for that horse as well. All of this was accomplished in an out of court settlement.








Now, if you ask me, a glaring issue with Hope for Horses comes up here. Valor had been in their care for around 2 and a half months. With the huge improvement the horse had made during his approximately 20 days with Rose, you would think with 2 and a half months of good care Valor would have been looking pretty darn good. However, that is not the case.

Bruce Smith wrote his fourth article in his series for the Eatonville Dispatch, Equine good Samaritan reunited with her horse It tells about the condition the horse was in when he arrived back at Creekwood Farm.

The horse looked worse than when he had left Creekwood in the first place. You can see the difference by the above 3 pictures that were taken when the horse arrived back at Creekwood Farm. Compare those with the one at the very top. It was taken at Hope for Horses when they did his intake after taking him from Rose. It's from the country records. While the picture quality isn't great, it's still obvious the horse was carrying more weight then than he was 6 weeks later.

There was a problem with the trailer ride too. The horse wolfed down a handful of food that had been in the trailer. From that the horse choked. The horse got off the trailer convulsing from the choke.

There's been a lot of accusations about this incident with the horse choking. Fingers pointed from Hope for Horses have blamed it on Rose saying she gave him the food so she caused the problem.

For me, I think putting the focus on the choking incident is a diversion to get away from the real issue, the condition of the horse. And the condition of the horse certainly plays a big role in the horse choking in the trailer in the first place would be my guess. If the horse didn't feel like he was starving for food he never would have gobbled food down in such a manner as to cause this type of choke in the first place. (This conclusion would be based on the fact the horse did not wolf his food down when he was first rescued. Despite his terrible condition, he ate his food at a normal rate.)

I think if a horse is so hungry that it can't have any food in front of it to travel because it will wolf it down and run the risk of choke, there is really something wrong. I transport my horses all the time with food in front of them. It's even recommended by some experts to help alleviate stress on trailer rides. So why should it be an issue as the Hope for Horses people implied against Rose?

In my book that would go onto the people who had been responsible for the care and feeding of that horse. They would be the ones responsible for the horse being that hungry. In this case that would be Hope for Horses. Wouldn't you say?

But again, let's not get lost in who caused the choke. The real question is why was the horse returned from a rescue in worse shape than when he was taken from the Good Samaritans? And why would an agency that took care of a rescue horse in such a manner still be considered for further work for the county?

This story isn't over yet..........

To be continued......................

Thoughts

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story - Another Seizure

Part 1

You would think from here the two horses my friend had rescued were out of the woods. She was interested in keeping both horses despite their health issues. Both were responding to the great care they were getting. Certainly you would think things were going well, you would never guess where things would go from here.

With the way things did go, I can't help but have some observations and reactions of my own. So I'm going to be interjecting those along the way as I try to relate what my friend went through trying to protect these horses. I think it takes wading through ALL of the junk, to see who is interested in the horses and who has other interests. So here goes........

With the entrance of Hope for Horses in this situation is really where this whole story begins to get hinky in my book. The rest of the herd (13 horses) were rescued and whisked off to unknown places as mentioned in the news story.

I knew at the time I saw this story on the news this was the herd the Arabian stallion and the Appy foal had come from. However, as I heard the broadcast I remember thinking there appeared to be more than the usual amount of drama.

My third rescue in less than a year and this was the first time such extremes were being taken. Horses in hidden locations and blah, blah, blah. Something about it was unsettling to me. Later on I was to find out that my gut feelings were justified.

In later broadcasts, the reporter mentioned the horses were not all at the one Hope for Horses location she was reporting from. It only had limited space so the balance of the horses had been moved to still more other secret locations of volunteers for care.........As you will see later, this information is a contradiction to what was stated by Hope for Horses as being important to the "integrity" of this case.

Shortly thereafter was the Region 5 mini convention along with a Board of Director's meeting. By then everyone on the board was aware of the confiscation of the entire herd because of the press coverage. Most at the meeting, however, knew nothing of the Arabian stallion or Rose Corey's involvement with the first two horses that had been confiscated.

It was at that meeting my friend made her request for funds. She came with past and current pictures, vet reports, the works. The board gladly granted funds to help defray the cost of dressings and medications for this horse and left it open for more help in the future if necessary.





Rose went home from the meeting and with the help of the local feed store, ordered (at cost....thank you King Feed) the supplies she needed to continue caring for the stallion. In addition to the supplies from King Feed there was a special item "appropriated" and altered to safely and properly support the horse's penis, a $130 mosquito net. It had taken being resourceful to something soft enough yet strong enough to do the job.

And then out of the blue on Saturday, January 19, Animal Control informed my friend that they were coming to get the two horses. Despite Rose's objections claiming both veterinarians thought the animals should not be moved because of health issues, the county agency moved the horses anyway to a Hope for Horses designated location. The officials even threatened to arrest Rose if she didn't assist officers and relinquish the horses.

As this time these horses had been in the care of my friend, Rose Corey, and her daughter, Kelsey, for 20 days. That was more than enough time for Rose and Kelsey to have given their hearts to these horses. Having the horses jerked away in this manner broke their hearts, not to mention what kind of jeopardy it may have been for the horses. These actions just really didn't make sense to those watching this story unfold.

Bruce Smith wrote this article (his third in what turned out to be a long series) about these horses for the Eatonville Dispatch County pulls abused horses out of foster care, causing uproar The community was outraged at the treatment of these horses and the good Samaritans who had taken on the responsibility of the animals in the first place.

I missed the article in the Dispatch. The next think I knew anything was amiss was when I asked Rose for an update at the next board meeting for the Daffodil Arabian Horse Association. It was then I was told the stallion and the foal had been removed from my friend's care.

The only reason I remember being given was Hope for Horses had convinced our county officials having the horses in separate locations would jeopardize the case. The county officials not having any experience with such cases did what they thought they had to do with little regard for the welfare of the two horses. Not having horse savvy people involved in this process was obvious.

For me, considering the condition these horses had arrived in, the recommendations of the vets and the care they had gotten it really didn't make much sense. It would seem to me you wouldn't want to be stressing horses who had been through such traumatic neglect by moving them again without it being for their own health purposes.

This decision by the county made no sense to me particularly when Rose had already made it clear she was interesting in keeping these horses. Like I said, it made no sense to me............and it didn't make much sense to lots of other people either.

Having been involved, albeit second hand, with rescues, I knew that most of the time herds seized are split up. My friend, Lilly, had housed one stallion out of a herd of around 50 because she was equipped to deal with a stallion.

Finding facilities that can accommodate an entire herd just doesn't happen. It is the norm for horses to be spread out...........it sure hasn't hurt any of those cases. I know the horse with Lilly was found a new home and moved long after he had totally recovered from his neglect. Each one I have followed has ended with the owner's rights being terminated regardless of how many different places that herd went.

Then there was that broadcast where it had been mentioned those horses were not all under one roof at the Hope for Horses facility. So much for they all need to be in one location for the integrity of a court case. So what's with that? Why was the health of these two horses jeopardized and what would become of them?

To be continued.............

The top two pictures of of the stallion's feet when Rose rescued him. The third picture is most of the supplies used to treat these two horses at Rose's.

The Second Rescue

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story Part 2

Be Prepared the picture of the stallion is disturbing and graphic.

Part 1

First off, let me say that I am recounting this story as I remember it. I'm pretty sure I will make some mistakes and be going back to correct them later. Hopefully this case will have a direct impact on how rescue horses are handled in the future so bear with me as I try to sort through all the details and give you the real picture.

I received an email with pictures about these horses within a day or two of their arrival at my friend's farm. I think from the start Rose could not stand not knowing who this Arabian stallion was. She made it her mission to find out who he was and where he'd come from.

In an email from my friend, On Jan. 3rd, three days after we picked up Teddy and Valor, in a meeting with Pierce County Animal Control (PCAC)
I was told we could adopt the 2 horses if the alleged abusers, after 15 days, did not post bond and no criminal charges were filed.



During this same time that video posted on YouTube of the rest of the herd stuck and uncared for in those muddy paddocks had caused a huge uproar. The resulting public outcry was difficult to ignore.There was so much back lash over those poor starving horses that the county was forced to take action.

Unfortunately our county is not set up with a plan to deal with horses needing rescue. Our animal control agency has no clue about horses, let alone their care or resources to even find the appropriate information. Somehow they found and hired Hope for Horses.

Again in an email from my friend The other 13 horses were impounded on January 7th one week later. Those all went to Hope For Horses.





I actually saw the 2 horses at Creekwood Farm about a week later. I was there for a board meeting for the Daffodil Arabian Horse Association. We couldn't help but talk about these horses and their situation at the meeting. Afterward we went to the barn to actually see them.

While there, the stallion was turned out into the arena for exercise so we could see how he was beginning to play. I remember clearly the way I felt as I saw this seriously under weight horse turned loose. My feelings were all over the place between feeling angry at what had been done to this horse, sorrow that any horse should have to live through such a thing and relief he was finally safe and responding so well.

While I personally have limited experience caring for a rescue horse that had been starved, I have friends very active in the rescue movement with loads of hands on experience. Through them I have seen and experienced enough to be informed about rescues and their needs.

I know first hand that the pictures never show how really bad the horses are. I also know what to expect in their recovery. How different horses respond in different ways and have different needs. Because of that I am aware of what the horses go through (both physically and emotionally) and the people who help them as well.

Watching this Arabian stallion in the arena I could see how happy this horse was to finally be getting the attention he believed he was due. Despite still being terribly thin, the horse strutted his stuff, tossing his head and moving about the arena trying to show us onlookers how cool he was. His regal carriage and charisma shone through despite his protruding ribs, exposed hips and infected penis. This horse was emotionally responding to the loving care he was getting.

Physically there were also visible changes. There was a marked improvement in his weight. He was clean from head to toe. Also there was less redness and swelling in his penis.

The horse's penis was requiring very special treatment. Not only was the horse getting antibiotics, there were dressing changes several times a day. After the penis was cleansed and treated, it was tied up with a support to help protect the sensitive nerves.

Without that support the added weight of the horse's infected penis flopping around could cause irreversible nerve damage. If the horse suffered nerve damage he would be unable to ever retract his penis. Not many people want to own male horses with their genetalia hanging all the time. It was extra important that this issue be dealt with faithfully for the well being of this horse.

The costs of this treatment were astronomical. Just the amount for bandages along was through the roof. Since I sat on the Region 5 Arabian Horse Association Board of Directors and have been involved in appropriating money to help with the rescue of Arabian horses, I advised my friend to request funds for the care of this horse. We went over what she would need to make that request at the upcoming board meeting.

During that visit I also looked at the other horse in his stall.When he'd first arrived he was afraid of humans. Out in the field they had rescued him from it had taken them hours to even catch him to take him in the first place.

The teenage daughter had made this little horse her pet project. Through many hours of loving care she had convinced him that she was worthy of being trusted. Now he walked right up to us, total strangers, to see what we had for him. In this short time it was remarkable that he'd decided maybe people weren't so bad after all.

I looked at this foal evaluating him with the kind of eye a breeder who cares about foals would do. He was smaller than my Arabian horse twins had been at this age. His poor little legs went in every direction. Because of my experience with the twins, I easily recognized the symptoms of the angular limb deformity this foal suffered.

Just as my twins' issues with development in utero had been affected by lack of nourishment, this foal had suffered similar issues because of his malnourished dam. Although the lack of proper nourishment had different causes, the end result was the same. The symptoms associated with premature or dysmature foals were definitely present in this little horse. The short stature and angular limb deformities of this foal were part of those.

Unlike my twins, this foal had received no medical assistance, proper nourishment or care for this issue since his birth. Now that he was rescued it was late to be starting on these things. My friend and I talked some about those issues, their cause and prognosis. It would be a long road for this horse as well.


To be continued............

Photo credit on the top photo of the appy/qh foal (Teddy) goes to Bruce Smith of the Eatonville Dispatch. The second photo (Valor) was taken by Rose Corey of Creekwood Farm

Another Seizure

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story

Unfortunately agencies that rescue horses are not always in it for the horses. This is one of those stories. I am not telling this story to cause harm to legitimate horse rescues. Stories like this need to be told to protect the honest rescues. When rescues like the one here are allowed to continue to function they suck up funds and kill support for the dedicated people who really deserve them. The story I am telling is all part of public record. It has been documented in the press and in court proceedings.

I want to warn people up front. These videos are graphic.



I've been wanting to write about this rescue story for a while. Ever since I first heard about the plight of this Arabian stallion I couldn't help but care. Then the system that was supposed to be protecting the horse managed to be manipulated with the horse getting caught in the crossfire. That made the Arabian horse's story all the more compelling.

Since I know the woman who ultimately saved this horse I have had somewhat of an inside seat since this whole process started. I've been hoping for more specific details to do an informed post. However, this first video was recently posted to YouTube so I figure it's best to just go with what I know. There's much more to this story than the video tells.

This rescue all began late in the evening on Dec 31 of last year. My friend got a call from county authorities asking her if she had room at her horse boarding facility to take a couple of recue horses that were in dire need.

My friend immediately arose to the challenge, hooked up her horse trailer and went to pick up the horses. With her teenage daughter, they arrived at the designated location to meet the sherriff and a veterinarian.

There was a small band of horses out in several paddocks in deep mud. The smell was atrocious. The horses were covered with mud, manure and urine and they were eating whatever wood they could find. These horses were so hungry they were even seen eating their own feces.

The vet had determined that two of the horses were in such dire condition they would not survive if not seized immediately. The other horses would have to wait for the slow wheels of the system to grind to get the court orders it would take to seize them as well.

The two horses seized were a bay Arabian stallion grossly underweight with a badly infected penis. It was clear from the extent of the infection this condition had been ongoing for some time. The horse's penis was so inflammed and swollen the horse was incapable of retracting it. In addition the organ was oozing blood and pus.

The second horse was a malnourished Appaloosa (possibly mixed) foal that the neighbors thought was about 5 months old. It was impossible to determine age due to the stunted stature of the colt. Not only was the animal extremely underweight but he had very substantial angular limb deformities. This foal was still nursing from his mother who was also in dire straights but since the authorities wouldn't let both animals be seized, the foal was taken hoping the mare would rally without the drain of a nursing foal.

The two horses were carefully loaded up and taken back to Creekwood Farm, the facility of my friends. The next morning both horses were inspected by another veterinarian and the long process of their recovery began.

While these two horses were getting loving care, the plight of the other horses came to a virtual standstill. The neighbors who had been complaining about the plight of these horses, final took desperate steps and posted this second video on YouTube.



As you can tell by what's said in the first video there is a lot more story to tell about the rescue of these horses. As much as I hate to say this..........

This story is to be continued..............................

Part 2

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