Equine Protection Network
PO Box 232
Friedensburg, PA

• Funding to Cover Horses Care During Appeal and/or Facility to
Provide Lifelong Home

• Are there any Rescues willing to Take Two Horses and Provide
a Guarantee of a Lifelong Home safe from abuse, neglect, and
slaughter?

• If not why not? We need to provide the Court with reasons why
Rescues are not able to take these horses...The Court needs to
understand the state of Horse Rescue.


Sadly in this world most people only value a horse if it can perform
or produce, cats and dogs are not required to perform to have a home,
nor are exotics, why is our beloved horse excluded from the club?

In an ideal world these horses would have a home with a little girl
who all day dreamed of nothing but getting home from school so she
could run outside and spend time with her beloved horse- fussing over
him, grooming, putting braids in for the fun of it, and feeding him
carrots and apples, reading them stories, cherishing every moment she
had with her horse.

With the economy the way it is, it is doubtful there is anyone
willing to provide the EPN with the funding to care for these horses,
let alone a lifelong home for either of these horses. If anyone is
willing and able to do so, please contact the EPN, send us an e-mail,
leave a message at 570-345-6440, and then follow-up in writing with
the documents proving your ability to do so and we will pass them on
to the Court. The Court must have proof that those offering to care
for these horses have the means to do care for these horses.


BACKGROUND

Two horses, both geldings and both lame, one in need of shoulder
surgery to repair an injury from a T-Post 5 Years ago, are the
subjects of a cruelty case where the owners have been found guilty
and fined the maximum fines on all four counts, $1500.00 each. The
Court has offered them a reduction in their fines IF they voluntarily
surrender the horses and waive their appeal.

In court testimony it was demonstrated that the owners are repeat
offenders, do not have the funding to properly care and feed for the
horses, have failed to follow the instructions of their vet, ( who
testified against them) and do not have adequate shelter.

The owners' animals live in a flood plain with trees denuded of their
bark, amongst trash and junk with a wooden structure filled with
manure, junk. Huge sections of the "walls" and "roof" are missing and
the structure does not provide shelter that keeps the horses dry and
allow them to maintain their body heat. One horse is tied to an air
compressor with a heavy iron tow chain. The other runs free only a
few hundred yards from a busy road. In the past, a horse in their
care was killed on this same road.

The horse with the shoulder injury has a suppressed immune system, a
wound draining pus and blood that you can palpate 8 inches, and is
covered in buzzing flies feeding on the drainage covering his
shoulder and draining down his leg and onto his chest. His body
condition is fine. Last year he was starving; the owners were
arrested and his condition improved by the time the case went to
court. Currently his body condition is fine because he eats the other
horse's food. Therefore, we know he is not being fed the proper
amount...

The 2nd horse, 13 years old, is lame, his stifle and ankle are not
normal, he has an old injury and a scar that has damaged the coronary
band and according to the vet he needs x-rays to diagnose the
problem. When ridden he lies down after a few steps. Earlier this
year, he was a two on the Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart. Last
year he was a two until the owner was arrested and went to court.
Years ago the EPN assisted law enforcement on a call for no shelter
on this same horse. The horse was relocated and the issue was
resolved.

The owner has him because they love him and they have had him since
he was a year old. The owner believes it is fine for a horse that
does nothing to have all his bones exposed and the shelter is
acceptable.

It is interesting that the Russian government during the Siege of
Leningrad in 1941-1944 was well fed and warm while the inhabitants
froze and starved to death. The owner of this horse has not missed
any meals, even though they could stand to miss several.

This Can Go Two Ways:

1. The owners appeal their conviction. If that happens the Court
will order the horses forfeited. The horses will then be held as
evidence until the appeal is heard. It could be a year or more until
the appeal is heard. Funds are needed to cover the cost of their care.

2. The owners agree to forfeit the horses.

So what do we need?

If Owners Appeal

The EPN needs the funding to cover the cost of care and cost of
repairing the shoulder during the time the horses are held as
evidence. The horse will need to be transported to a university vet
hospital for evaluation and recommended treatment for the shoulder.
The EPN has assisted law enforcement during their investigation and
successful prosecution. It is vital for the case that the horses, the
evidence, be maintained properly or the case could be lost at the
appeal level on a technicality.

The cost of surgery is estimated to be several thousand dollars. A
ballpark estimate to care for these two horses including feed,
shelter, veterinary, farrier, and dentistry care during an appeal
lasting a year is $15,000.

If the EPN has to hold these horses as evidence we must have the
shoulder repaired, estimated to be several thousand dollars. A
defense attorney would have a field day if we did not. The excuse of
a lack of finances is the same defense the owners' are using, so the
defense would have a built in defense if the shoulder were not
repaired.

The other lame horse needs x-rays. He lies down after a few steps
when ridden. These horses are evidence in a crime and must be
maintained as such If they are not, the defense can have the evidence
thrown out with the case being dismissed or the owners acquitted and
the horses being returned to the owners to live in a swamp with no
shelter, no vet care, and not enough food to slowly starve to death.

What must be understood is that the Appellate Court with jurisdiction
has reputation for giving people 2nd chances, so there is the very
real possibility that after an organization has paid for the surgery,
x-rays, and all the other horse related care during the year the case
is on appeal, the horses will be returned to the owners, even if the
owners' guilty conviction is upheld!!...no money will be paid to the
EPN or any other welfare organization for the money they expended to
care for the horses.

If the Owners Surrender the Horses We Need:

A Rescue that can provide a guarantee of a lifelong home safe from
abuse, neglect, and slaughter.

The EPN has assisted law enforcement in the investigation and
prosecution of this case and is now assisting the court in locating a
rescue that has the funding and facility to care for these two
horses. Only non-profits qualify, although if you are an individual
and are willing to care for these horses for a lifetime, you can
qualify to provide these horses through a non-profit. If a home is
guaranteed, a non-profit is more likely to take on these horses.

Any Rescues that are Unable to Take these Horses - please submit
reasons why not - full, lack of funding, etc. We need the reasons as
to why rescues are not able to take these horses so the Court has an
accurate picture of the status of rescues available to take horses in
a cruelty case.

It is the EPN's opinion that the owners of these horses, not a
rescue, should be the ones to put their horses down. Responsible
owners make the decision to put their horses down when they cannot
afford surgery or to care for a horse that has no value in the horse
industry except as meat. It is not the responsibility of rescues to
make the decision to put down owners' horses and it is about time
that owners be held accountable for their actions. One reason Animal
welfare caregivers burn out is due to the high cost of humane
euthanasia, forced to kill animals because there are not enough
resources to care for them.

It is time that irresponsible owners make these decisions for their
own animals, not a handful of caring animal people forced to make and
carry out the decision to take hundreds of animals' lives in the name
of welfare.

It is our opinion, and other rescues we have consulted with, that the
owners should be the ones ordered to euthanize these horses, not a
rescue. There is no market for these horses and responsible owners in
the same position would be forced to make the unpleasant choice to
put down their horse because they did not have the funds to perform a
necessary surgery, or because no one wants their lame horse. Why
should these owners, guilty of neglect, be rewarded? Why should the
Public pay to fix their horses while responsible owners are forced to
put their horses down when they cannot afford surgery?

Yes we understand it is the horses that pay the ultimate price, but
responsible owners' horses pay that price too. It is time that
neglectful owners start paying part of the high price of horse
ownership.

In an ideal world these horses would have a home with a little girl
who all day dreamed of nothing but getting home from school so she
could run outside and spend time with her beloved horse- fussing over
him, grooming, putting braids in for the fun of it, and feeding him
carrots and apples, reading them stories, cherishing every moment she
had with her horse.

Sadly in this world most people only value a horse if it can perform
or produce. With the economy the way it is, it is doubtful there is
anyone willing to provide the EPN with the funding to care for these
horses, let alone a lifelong home for either of these horses. If
anyone is willing and able to do so, please contact the EPN, send us
an e-mail, leave a message at 570-345-6440, and then follow-up in
writing with the documents proving your ability to do so and we will
pass them on to the Court. The Court must have proof that those
offering to care for these horses have the means to do care for these
horses.

Christine Berry
EPN