horse abuse

[rupper]

I have been keeping my eye on a full size horse at a residence in whick I pass each day to and from work. It looks like it is not being fed properly and doesn't have the proper shelter. On my way home last night, I noticed its penis hanging and approximately 3 to 4 times too big (some kind of infection) I suppose. I decided to report the situation to the local sheriff because we do not have a humane society in our county. The receptionist's tone of voice made it sound like I was wasting her time. I called back this morning to check if an officer had been sent to the location...the lady at the offce said an officer was sent last night.

My question: What do I do next if I am not noticing any positive results? I feel so bad for the horse, especially since now it looks like it is sick besides not being fed properly.

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Wow boy I don't have any experience here at all but if I were you I would take a couple photo's while the owner wasn't home just to keep on record in case the animal dies, you can take him/her to court for animal abuse. That is really sad, I hate hearing about these cases where people see their horses look like crap and just stop caring...that horse has a life, a soul, a will to live and he is suffering...waiting there for his owner to care for him...

I hope someone has some good advice, this kills me just thinking about it :no:

 

[Miniv]

Photos wouldn't hurt, as was suggested. You might also try to find out what officer saw the horse (and why at night???). So you can contact the officer and ask him what or if he reported anything. It would also be nice to know if the officer has any horse experience.

Good luck,

MA

 

[rupper]

I like the picture idea. However, is there any legality complications such as an invasion of privacy by taking pictures at a private residence?

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

There is, but if you get proof say a couple photo's every other day or once a week until one day...no horse is there....it proves a LOT to the police and to the judges. Just make sure you have 2 or 3 copies of the photo's in case someone along the way tries to destroy the evidence.

Unfortunately you can't take photo's and then go to the police with the horse still alive (I don't think?) but if you have proof that the horse is getting thinner and worse and then one day the horse isn't there anymore, then you have photo proof of animal abuse.

It would be a GREAT idea to call the station again and demand to know which officer went out there, and to speak to that officer to hear his/her report. And an excellent question came up, "Why at night?" if the police in your area are so blatent as to think an animal abuse report is something to put on the back burner then I think it's time to rile up a few people and demand the police opens an animal abuse division. Again here the photo's would help!

 

[Dorrie & Frank]

Even if they are not local the ASPCA will help - many places without animal control rely on them to perform the work especially in smaller communities without a big tax base.

 

[h2t99]

I would call the neighboring county's humane society and ask them what you can do, maybe they will send someone out! At least they may be able to tell you who to call. Good Luck

 

[rockin r]

I know of a horse this happened to in Fla. Severly swollen penis...He had several large "beans" pressing against his uretha. Gave the horse some ace, it literaly took a couple of hours to get them all out, because they were soo big we had to break them into pieces to get them out. But after just a few hours most of the swelling had gone down and in a few days he was fine....Hope this helps...Theresa

 

[Marty]

I know what you are up against.

Here we have no humane society, no animal shelter, no animal control, no nothing.

Surrounding counties will not come in here, they can't. They have enough problems in their own counties- no money, no staff, no room etc. and cannot jump the county line.

We have huge abuse problems here that do not get addressed by anyone. Just flat out no help for the animals here at all.

It's a very sad situation.

Any chance of speaking to the owner?

 

[Southern_Heart]

I wouldn't be so quick to jump on that one, as not really knowing the people and or whats going on. The owners might already know that the horse is sick and already be under a Vets care. Driving by doesn't tell the whole story and only lead to assume what is!!!

I would tread lightly.

You might just want to stop one day and ask the person as to what is the whole story. Then for sure you would have first hand facts to act or not to act on!

:

JMHO

 

[runaway ranch]

I agree with southern Comfort, however if after checking their is a genuine problem, contact your local extention office or state animal board. I did this (it took forever) but I did get almost 40 horses cared for.

 

[Minimor]

Taking photos is a fine idea, but only if you can take them from the road. If you go onto the owner's property without permission to take the photos, that is trespassing & the photos would be inadmissable in court. Stay on public property to take your photos.

 

[schutzandwhinnies]

If you have filed a complaint with the sheriff then it is public record and therefore so is the outcome of his investigation of the complaint. Call the sheriff again and ask what is being done. If your sheriff department is not taking action and the horse is not being delt with then have your neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc....drive by and take their pictures as well and also call the sheriff and complain. This way it is not just you, but a lot of others as well. The more pressure you correctly and respectfully within the law place on the sheriff they have to respond. If he won't kick it into high gear then call your mayor and complain that nothing is being done and if he will not put pressure on the sheriff, then you will be forced to call a news station and report negligence of your paid officials and the lack of enforcement for animals in your county. It is time these types of city officials take animal crulety to a serious level and start remembering who votes them into office and how maybe next election the animal folks just might not be there to support them. Power is in numbers when it comes to politics and your mayor and sheriff know this. Keep on them, just remember to stay within the law and be respectful. You have every right to be informed and expect answers from your paid officials. Keep up the good work and way to go for stepping in. If the people are not neglecting the horse and are working with a vet then they have nothing to worry about. You are just concered and are trying to help.

:

 

[Pepipony]

I have dealt with that here, with bad outcomes each time, they just allowed the horses to die :no: Like its been mentioned, take pics, consecutive days from a public space. Go to the Sherriffs office and verbally file your complaint. If nothing is done contact the media, TV or Paper. Still nothing? Contact the County agent or Brand inspector as well as an ASPCA type office, see what they can suggest.

In hindsight I should have been pushier, will next time.

 

[Nickermaker]

I had this same kind of deal happen to me. We had neighbors who were literally starving their hoses. I called the sheriff numerous times. They did nothing. I was asked by these neighbors to feed their horses while they went on vacation - feed I did - also took pictures. I then called the state vet - who asked if I had permission to be on their property - which I did, I was feeding - then he asked if I had permission to take the photos, which I did not. He told me he didn't care if I had taken them from our property which our pasture borders theirs that this was illegal. So I did email him the pictures - but he could do nothing on that - but he could act on the fact that I had made a verbal complaint since I did have permission to be over there and had seen it up close.

Also we had been called from them previous in the year - during winter - on 2 different times to drag a horse that had starved to death out of their pasture with our tractor so the rendering people could pick it up. The vet had even been called out on both of these and all he did was tell them that the horse was dying as it hadn't been fed right and it had no energy to get up during a snow storm. So why don't vets do anymore than this? I don't know - guess it all comes down to the not wanting to get involved - we tried we had called the sheriff's office - and all they did was come out and told them they needed to be feeding these horses more but never did a recheck.

Anyway - I still have the pics in file of the poor horse that I tried to get help for - but was too late - as the state vet sent someone out to their place with the brand inspector - they gave the people several options and they opted to have the horse put down. Which I felt terrible about but at least the guy was suffering any more.

But I would be very careful about picture taking - as even though I had permission to be on their property - I didn't have permission to take pictures even had it been from our property - as I mentioned above.

 

[Cronewolf]

Contact both the ASPCA and the American humane society. Also sometimes the local TV station will get involved. Do you have a local horsemans As. That might start the ball rolling. Ask your vet. they may know who th speak with. Ours do and will help get the right folks started. It's hard when there is no local level help but you can go national, and if there is ni local they will often step in and help.

 

[Mercysmom]

I wouldn't be so quick to jump on that one, as not really knowing the people and or whats going on. The owners might already know that the horse is sick and already be under a Vets care. Driving by doesn't tell the whole story and only lead to assume what is!!!

I would tread lightly.

You might just want to stop one day and ask the person as to what is the whole story. Then for sure you would have first hand facts to act or not to act on!

:

JMHO

Very good point, I worked at a barn and a lesson horse was cast and injured in his stall and his legs were quite swollen and he was very stiff and cut up - the veterinarian had medicated him, gave us instruction on his care and she wanted the horse turned out as much as possible so he could move his stiff muscles and start healing. He walked very slowly, with a limp and he looked sore.

Two women visiting the park where the stable was came up to me inbetween lessons when he was out grazing and moving with a limp and they were just short of telling me how cruel it was to let him out there... "he was in pain, he couldn't walk normally, yadda yadda yadda." I told them he was under a veterinarian's care, was on medications and the veterinarian wanted him turned out so he did not swell more and run a risk of colic for being in his stall where he would not have been moving around. (They gave me the "deer in the headlights" look.) It made no difference to these two ladies... in their minds, it was "cruel" for him to be out.

In Mother Nature's mind, it was healthier for the horse to be out so he could move and get on with healing as in the wild, a horse that cannot move is a certain meal for a predator. In my mind, the veterinarian was caring for the horse and gave educated instructions to support his care. The horse recovered, although I was waiting for someone to come out and check on our "abuse" of this horse. He is the pet of a young lady now and is fine.

I am not sure I would approach the owners myself but I would have law enforcement investigate - preferably an officer who has some experience with animals...or give law enforcement some background from a veterinarian regarding what might be wrong with the horse (beans, infection, etc - but I would think this has to come from a licensed veterinarian, not a concerned citizen) - granted the veterinary info is not applicable to this horse as he has not been examined but it will document what COULD be wrong and if the horse is not under veterinary care, the officer can then make his recommendations that the horse be examined by a veterinarian within a period of time or it then becomes documented neglect.

I am not a veterinarian or a lawyer...just my opinion on what could be done to help the horse if he truly needs it.

In the case of the lesson horse, if animal control had come out to check on us, we had written veterinary instructions, prescription medications and a dated bill that the horse had been seen and was under veterinary care.

Denise

Silversong Farm

 

[mmmorgans]

A friend of ours had an extremely old quarter horse that they loved dearly. The horse was under veterinary care as it did have many problems in its old age. They spent a ton of money on tests, meds, teeth floating, you name it. They finally knew that it was time to humanely euthanize the horse as he was very thin and not metabolizing feed properly. They made a family decision to euthanize the horse on a particular day when the family could all be there to say their goodbyes. The day before, the Humane Society paid them a visit as someone complained about neglect and abuse. They were extremely upset that someone thought that they were neglecting their treasured family pet.

Sometimes what looks really bad from the road is not a case of neglect at all.

However, I do know that there are way too many neglect and abuse cases out there that people turn a blind eye to. I applaud you for wanting to do something for the poor horse and hope that the outcome is good. Best of luck - and keep up posted.

 

[rupper]

Here is the latest update. I have my vet and the girls in his office working with me. I drove by this morning to take pictures but he was inside his tiny, rundown shelter. Hopefully I will be able to get pictures after school today. I also noticed boards with nails sticking out of them in his tiny turnout area. I am going to call the sheriff's office later today to find out what is being done.

On a positive note, I teach Middle School Language Arts. We are in the process of learning about Persuasive Writing. Quite a few of my kids have chosen to write about the need for a humane society in all counties. They are using this situation to defend their point.

 

[cjacobucci]

I would try and get more information about the situation before causing the horse owner too much greif. I have a mare and for a long time she was hypothyroid (too much thyroid hormaone). She looked like an emaciated skeleton, you could count every rib and her hair was falling out. She was a high stress mare and hated being inside, so we kept her in our pasture. Unfortunately everyone who drove by saw her. She was under the care of a vet and we were doing everything we could for her. On a happy note, her thyroid did return to normal and she's fine now and expecting another baby, but we had about two years that were pure heck because people thought they knew what was best for her when they didn't even know the whole story. We had several lawsuits against us, all of which were dropped, but we still had to go to court to prove our innocents. It cost us a lot of money. so much for innocent until proven guilty.

I just warn that you might not know the whole story and maybe there are some facts you son't know. Have you tried talking to the owner?

Just my 2 cents.

Carrie