We Don’t Call It Rescue. Taking Care of Horses We Believe Deserve Better……..

I have fallen a bit behind on writing or commenting on the repetitive anti-slaughter delusional thinking. I apologize….I was busy with live horses. Being out of date, I don’t work on lap tops or prioritize my day to meet the needs of The Movement. When we started this thing I wrote a quip about growing up putting a matchbook under the eight track tape, please refer to that when things get slow. It doesn’t mean I am screwing someone else’s boyfriend, ex-husband, or significant other in pursuit of horse facilities. It doesn’t mean I am gathering statistics. It does not mean I have been arrested for animal neglect or cruelty. Nor does it mean I have gone away.
I see we are discussing rescues. I have a very narrow mind on the rescue issue for several reasons. I feel the only “rescues” allowed to operate under the 501c tax exemption should be those used to shelter law enforcement animal abuse seizures. Period. End of story. Everyone else can operate under the same tax codes I do. Donations are paychecks. The panhandling, manipulation, and writing of romantic horse fiction to solicit donations can continue. Forum networking twitter with other anti-slaughter people will still be available for drama fixes. Nothing will change except the tax fairy will have flown out the window. Breeders, trainers, farmers, ranchers, and all other livestock and equine operation manage to operate within the present agricultural tax laws so I don’t see a problem.
We here at the ranch and our anti-horse cohorts have been grilled about what we do. Most of our new found friends seem to think all we have done most of our lives is dream up ways to kill and keep killing horses. We don’t really like horses we are in this only for the money. I shy away from personal stories. I want to wretch every time I read a pink nylon bridle infested story about an auction rescue dragged from the kill pen and held up as proof slaughter is evil. It proves nothing more than someone got a horse they like cheap. So with that in mind, my personal program has little to do with a nationwide issue either.
I train horses. I buy and sell horses. I get most of my business from personal referrals and this feeds the misguided opinion I have that I may know a little about horses. I was contacted earlier this summer by a lady having problems with her mare on the recommendation of a mutual acquaintance. It was kind of a long drawn out tale of dumb mistakes (politically correct term, inexperienced) for which the horse was blamed.. Here’s my newly formed opinion.
If you can’t tell the difference between a good saddle and the no-fit, wither pinching, cardboard treed, urine tanned sale barn special please refrain from buying any horse whose veins can be seen through its skin, has no fetlock hair, and a shallow mouth with little thin lips. As a general rule, these horses don’t have the dumb ass tolerance you need to be safe. It may be dangerous for you and not in the best interest of the horse’s future.
Maybe those urine line draft cross “rescues” are in exactly the right hands. Maybe not, I have heard some draft crosses can make excellent saddle broncs.
This particular owner wanted a second opinion on her horse. I offered some suggestions on how to try to solve what I believed after handling the mare and seeing her owner’s tack, a pilot error/training problem and left. Several weeks later the “horselover” and her spouse decide not to spend money to have me put more training on the mare. They don’t want to spend the money for any lessons either. I don’t think they believed they needed to learn anything more. It’s best to sell the mare. I truly do realize I had an indirect hand in that decision by not offering to solve their problems simply for the personal reward of making life better for a horse. Greedy horse killing ***** that I am I wanted to be paid for either the training or the lessons. If an owner has a horse in training with me I don’t usually charge extra for trying to teach them to handle the horse.
My job in this particular case is to taking the mare to a sale. I haul sale horses for owners quite often. I charge a flat rate for a week’s worth of sale prep, and so much a mile for transport. So goes the rest of the story for this little mare.
The mare had actually, at one time, been started by someone who kind of spoke horse. She was decently (not out of this world) bred, cute made, and with some consistent riding could get pretty handy pretty quick. I don’t have time to do that. After all there is limit to what can be accomplished in 5 days. She will have to go with pretty much what she knows but she is clipped, hooves trimmed, bathed and ridden a few times. I think she is too good to kill without giving her the chance. What?????? A pro-slaughter horse dealer doesn’t want a horse to go to kill? Remember I don’t have a personal stake in whether this mare brings $210 or $2,100. I have already been paid.
Now pay attention because this is the trade secret to keeping horses out of the slaughter pipeline. I know this has become increasingly difficult over the years, K.B.s being so sneaky, underhanded, evil, and all. They live to kill horses and they will go to all lengths to feed this addiction. I am going to let you in on the solution to the problem. If everyone practiced this one thing there would be no horses killed ever. It’s called a reserve bid. Yep, that’s all it takes.
Goes kind of like this. “Jim, you workin’ the ring today”
“When don’t I”
“Well, what’s this mare worth to kill?”
Looking her over “$210, maybe $225”
“I’ll cover her to $300. I don’t need her but I think she is too good to kill. I don’t really want her but I’ll cover her that much.”
“I’ll look in the rafters for some bids.”
I didn’t end up owning the little mare. She went home with a nurse and her daughter in law who were looking for a project. She was well aware of everything I knew and didn’t know about the mare and believe it or not it doesn’t take weeks , months, or years to read a horse. There was no more stress or horror at the auction for the little mare than the first show in a horse’s career or maybe the first saddling. It was just another day at the office for both of us. It really isn’t that difficult to keep your horses (or in this particular case someone else’s) alive.
The moral to this little story….had the “horselovers” been responsible in rescues/anti-slaughter way of thinking the mare would have been dead. I would have been out my fee and the buyer would still be horseless. Had the mare not met the reserve she would be here in training now on the way to meeting the reserve and hopefully much more. Either way, she’d still be alive because of her “greedy irresponsible” owners.
Works for me….
Written by RH1

What could be worse than slaughter? - update

This is an email I received concerning the most recent rescue of the rescued. The rescue being discussed has it's 501c3 status,they have a nice website, set up to take donations on line etc...etc... apparently they just don't have any sense? Anyway, here's the email and a link. If you want to read what the anti slaughter I loves horsies set are saying about this most recent atrocity follow the link.....

http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=AlexBrown&msg=41069.1
hey, RM, i wanted to post this link on the comment section of Thursday's blog, but couldn't get it to paste. if you can believe it, the story gets even worse. it appears that two rescues took their horses to the rescue that is starving and killing the horses. one of the rescues, when contacted about the condition of the horses, refused to pick the horses they took there up, and to date is still defending the one we're discussing. the other one has taken in horses, and is caring for them. one of her horses has died. SHE is being attacked, because she had horses at the rescue. what a friggin' mess!

What's worse than Slaughter? How about Equine Rescue?

see story










http://forums.delphiforums.com/ICERS/messages?msg=1555.1

The above links are yet another example of how Rescue has turned into long term torture for the horses unfortunate enough to fall into their care.While those on the Anti Slaughter side continue to re-live the past, and regale us with the findings of years ago, and talk about how things will never change, horses continue to suffer at a regular and alarming rate at the hands of those who are by their own definition more loving and compassionate than we back at the Ranch, on the Pro horse side will ever aspire to be.Thank God I'm on this side. I can't imagine the humanity involved in watching a horse slowly deteriorate day after day right in front of my eyes. What kind of special love and compassion is required to allow not one, but multiple horses to slowly starve, often walking over the dead carcasses of their herd mates in search of food and water that isn't there? The captive bolt? The smell of blood? The sense of panic when loaded onto a crowded trailer? I think it must pale in comparison to the living hell a horse must experience day after day when receiving the loving care only those blessed with a "special understanding" of the horse can supply. And what gifted person closes the door each night, walks into their own home and sits down to dinner while slow death is going on right outside that door? If I seem a little pissed off, or a bit cruel, well, I just am. I am so sick and tired of not only reading these damned stories, but the finger pointing and justifying that goes along with them. Hey, here's an idea, it would appear that Rescue is inhumane, why not get some legislation on the table to stop it? I think it's the moral thing to do before even one more horse enters the "Rescue Pipeline".Yes, I know there are a lot of good, responsible Rescues out there. I support some of them. I am just sick to death reading about the other ones while hearing about the inhumanity of Slaughter. And we are certainly hearing about the others on a fairly regular basis lately. I wonder what the Anti Slaughter side thinks about that?
Written by RH2
note:
RH2, I know you were being a little bit facetious when you said
“Hey, here's an idea, it would appear that Rescue is inhumane, why not get some legislation on the table to stop it? I think it's the moral thing to do before even one more horse enters the "Rescue Pipeline".
However I really do feel that there are not enough legal guidelines for rescues. Sure they have to clear a couple hurdles and jump through a hoop or two to get their tax exempt status (or so I am told) But there seem to be no physical requirements, no real rules to follow in the care and upkeep of the horses and facilities. Obviously there is no organization or officials inspecting facilities or checking on the animals even periodically. I am disgusted with the whole damn thing!!
Thank you for writing this, we all need to pay attention to what is really going on and not be fooled or side tracked by the anti side anymore.
R.M
ooops almost forgot.... Vicki......
she has her google alert set to notify her when her name is used. LOL

Gee It's Quiet in here...........

*note from RM - This piece was written a while ago by RH2 and I was delayed in getting it posted. I apologize to you rh2 but I also think it was karma. It seems quite appropriate to post at this time. Hope you all enjoy the read.......

Ever since John and Vicki decided to pack up and leave, it's been a little quiet in here.Obviously their followers, well.....followed suit.I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. When John Holland stated in the comment section of the now infamous "Opinion Blog post " the Anti Slaughter's fault in closing the Plants in America, I was not only surprised, but hopeful.I thought we finally had an opening to have a true dialog on where we may go from here. I was impressed with John Holland, and I can honestly say I never would have thought I would say that about him. Here was a man admitting to something that has literally affected a huge population of American horses in a devastating manner. And he was honest. You don't find that accountability much anywhere.
The Anti Slaughter side, for the most part, has tried to spin their culpability in this lack of foresight into ammunition not only against the Pro Horse side, but as further proof that even more Legislation is needed to end Slaughter. They have sidestepped the fact that their actions are what put American Horses in Mexico and Canada, and used the footage of the Inhumane methods by which those horses meet their ends to try to lay blame on the Pro Horse side. Mr. Holland's admission that it was in fact, the Anti Slaughter side's lack of foresight that caused this was, I believe the first time I've read an admission of their guilt.As for Vicki Tobin, she speaks of spin, and one needs only to visit her Website to see why she is so familiar with it.
She lays blame on the Pro Horse side for every bad thing that has happened to American horses, while neatly sidestepping her own part in it.She'll proudly tell you of the battle the Anti Slaughter side has fought to help the horses, while denouncing the Pro horse side for doing nothing. I can't help but wonder where Vicki gathers her information? Or is this opinion spoken as truth....or perhaps spin?I can't speak for all on the Pro Horse side, but I can tell Vicki that I was very active in the battle longer than many on the Anti side, being an actual horse owner myself. And while we parted ways when the Anti faction chose to get the plants closed in America and doom American horses to the journey they must take now to foreign plants, I by no means felt it was "all right" that transport laws were not enforced. Nor was I unaware of the Slaughter issue. I am all for the most humane method of Slaughter possible. And, no, I do not, have not, nor will I ever give in and use the more PC terms others use to make anyone happy. I call it what it is, and deal with the reality.
So, I get a little tired of hearing those on the Anti side preach on about how they are the only ones who have anything invested in this battle....or how someone else so clearly stated...how they feel they have "invented the wheel" where this issue is concerned.Like the Pro Horse side, there are those on the Anti Slaughter side who are working to make things better. I wish we could talk, because I think we could get things done. Unfortunately, these people seem to be in the minority. And they seem almost afraid to reach out. I wonder why that is?We had a chance here to at least have a talk. And talking is the first step. We're all individuals, and although it may be easier to lump us all into a group that some choose to label and hate, it won't get us anywhere
I for one, hope John and Vicki stop back in, and bring their friends. And maybe next time, they can leave their preconceived notions at the gate, and try to just have a conversation on where we can go from here. It may not seem like much of a step, but it may just be the start of a solution we can all live with.
Written by RH2

Number 184……

It’s fall. I love this time of year. Crisp mornings, dry sunny days, Indian summer, and the fall production sales. The Midwest, high plains, and south central states seem to have a sale going on every week end from late August to November. Breeders, owners, trainers, and auctions coming together to showcase a years or at least several months worth of work in one day. Many are private production sales with one or two breeders offering a specific program or bloodline. My favorites are the open special sales, most sponsored by the auctions for the horse people and stockman they do business with all year and every year. These sales offer the production from many small scale horse people and have some of the best and most affordable prospects available to the public.
Many of the horses have been put together by people who have participated in the “ride your horse to work” program for quite some time. They want a horse with enough motor to get a job done, handy enough to do it well, smooth enough not to put you in traction if you ride him further than the mail box, smart enough to learn it before he is too old to ride, eye appeal enough to be reasonably attractive while doing it, and last but not least, sound enough to make all of the above worthwhile. This is what they have set out to raise to sell. It’s a part of the industry which has taken the brunt of the anti-slaughter brow beating. These ranch programs are the “puppy mills” of the horse set we are being told. The auctions, although nothing like the ones described in the rants, are evil places of death and abuse.
The two most pressing issues for me in this slaughter/no slaughter debate:
1. The thought of losing these people and auctions while keeping the so called BYBs and the “high end” show, event, or race horse breeders. Hobbyist and tax deduction crowd. I don’t see this as any form of progress.
2. The thought of, in the not so distant future, seeing a common yearling colt wandering down the median of I-80 packing a broken leg as I often see stray dogs. The lowering of horses to the same value as discarded designer dogs no matter how they are destroyed is a hard thought for me.
So there you have it. The two reasons I keep hammering away to defend something I have always hated and earning the privilege to be called anything but a white woman by “educated” worldly folks. As Dad always said “I have been called worse by better”.
The AQHA (aka, the association causing this problem in the first place) sent an e-mail advertising an internet auction from some of the best in the business. Here are some of those horses. HYPP, among other things has been, at the very least, an embarrassment to the AQHA for several generations. In my humble opinion all n/h and h/h horses should have been spayed or gelded as a requirement for registration as soon as testing was available. I had one tested in 1994 so that’s been awhile. Had this been done, hypp would be only a sentence in the history of Impressive by now. I have been informed of my narrow mindedness on this issue already and have made a note to myself to do better. Don’t comment on what to do with all the wonderful n/h horses that are out there. Use them, care for them, but stop breeding them. There are enough wonderful n/n and hypp free horses to breed. Trust me the gene pool won’t be depleted without them.
I am all for reducing unwanted horse numbers. I don’t think is simply a matter of pointing fingers and cutting back production. We need to cut back production in the right spots. We need to get back to what makes a horse durable. Durability, ability, and long term marketability in horses makes us want to keep them around for awhile. Keeping them useful, sound, and saleable after the show ring win, track success or lack of it outweighs slaughter as the most pressing issue in the horse industry in my book. I feel most breed associations are showing and breeding without this long term goal in mind. But what do I know? I just ride the darn things. I also believe this is why the ranch horse, foundation shows, team penning, barrel races, roping events, and other off shoots of the breed shows are catching on.
This is most obvious in the halter classes of the stock horse breeds. Each stock horse breed association should require every judge to day work horseback on a ranch in big country for 30 days before they are granted a card. I think it would change drastically what is placed in the show ring as the epitome of these breeds. Maybe then we could get back a halter class being a way to season a horse for future as a rider instead of his whole career.
Back to the internet auction.
The stud below is a 10 year old by a world champion halter sire. He is obese and I realize that is not terminal. Making him less “massive” is the only thing pulling 200 pounds off him will accomplish. He will still be n/h and over at the knees. Ten years of being obese may or may not have contributed to the knee problem. I tend to look at a horse from the ground up. No legs, no feet, no horse.

The mare below was a two year old. She is out of a mare by a sire who founded a dynasty of pleasure horses and by a halter bred stud. I really liked the bottom side of this filly’s pedigree but I can’t disregard those knees. She is very back at the knees or calf kneed in common terminology. Her knees killed any interest I may have had in her tremendously bred mother who was also on the sale. She is a well bred young mare so she will likely be allowed a chance to pass on those knees.

The colt below was offered as a grade stallion. He is out the product of two world class halter bred parents but had the unfortunate luck of being h/h. A foal of 2008, he is ineligible for registration with the AQHA. He was listed at $100.00 last I checked the auction site. Less than the cost to cut him in most places. Not to mention the health problems he will face the rest of his life.

Or here is an h/h filly. Not only is she h/h but in this photo appears goose rumped. She is listed as the perfect cross for an n/n stud, having a world class pedigree she is certain to produce a winner. She is a foal of 2006 so she is eligible for registration. Both of these young horses are offered by a program of national recognition in the AQHA. Statistically she has a one in four chance of producing an h/h foal no matter what she is bred to. I couldn’t win the lottery with those odds but I would darn sure get an h/h foal.

This conformational mess also run is listed in the foot notes as a “pretty own daughter” of a world champion. Her sire is a household name in the halter horse world. If I remember correctly she too is n/h.

N/n or n/h, she is ewe necked, camped out behind, and sickle hocked. I would assume she inherited these faults from somewhere.

So there you have it…..five horses packing world class pedigrees, N/h or h/h (except for one) and structurally compromised but still being held up as examples of what we should be breeding by people who should know better.
What has all this got to do with number 184? Not much really except according to the Horse Breeding Police these “proven” horses from “real breeders” are what we should be breeding/buying not him.
Number 184 is a stand up looking 2009 sorrel stud colt cataloged in an open consignment fall breeder’s sale coming up in western South Dakota. He is by a line bred Sugar Bars/Doc Bar stud and out of a Doc O’ Lena, Dry Doc bred mare. His breeders have only a few colts in the sale. His parents and grandparents have no show records. He is the kind of horse according to the horse breeding police we should stop breeding.
I don’t know about you but if he looks in the flesh like he does in this catalog picture I think he looks like a future saddle horse.
Granted he is 4 years of feed, fitting, and at least 120 days riding away from being that fancy gelding. Sounds like a long time and it is from start to finish.
He might get hurt. We might have a recession. We might have too many horses. Several rescues might go out of business. A lot of things can happen in four years. On the other hand he might be worth looking up. He might be worth staying to see sell. He might be worth the wait. I heard buying babies described as “buying hope”. I thought it was a poetic way to put it. Kind of corny, but true.
I find more hope in a trailer load of #184s than in one of the “world class” horses above. I find more hope in him than the constant woe in the martyred saving of rescues. Let’s hope we don’t look back to find the #184s, those who raised him, and those who turned him into one of those good riding geldings have been lost somewhere in the charge to a politically correct horse world. Meantime, if I were going to the sale I’d take the chance on him. He’s down at the end of the sale, he’s sorrel. He could be a real deal and we all need to buy a little hope now and again.

written by RH1

Opinion Monday moved to Tuesday this week

Rescue Programs Representation....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u8DL_B0pW8
This is a link to a video recently posted on youtube. And apparently the cause of a bit of trouble on a message board this past week.The trouble began when a poster questioned the condition of the horses in the video.They are all well fed and in good flesh, on that I think we can all agree. If they were lounging around at home, I don't think anyone would have a problem with how they look.The problem arose because these three horses are owned by a Rescue. And they were at Fair. The poster who got in trouble was reprimanded, by the Moderator of the Forum, no less, because they commented that the Mare needed grooming, the Miniature Horse still has part of his Winter coat, and "little Wilbur" is wearing a halter that is too big for him. All of these to me, are valid points, especially the halter issue. I keep looking at those big, floppy ears, and those long, spindly legs, and thinking that one attempt at an ear scratching could spell disaster for the little guy.The Moderator obviously privately e-mailed the poster, telling them to stop posting about the horses, because the poster addressed it on the forum. The Moderator's comment was something to the effect that the poster had made two almost identical posts on the subject. I've been a member of, and a visitor on a lot of Forums, and have never heard that there is a limit to the number of posts one can make on a subject, or that there is a particular way you need to word your posts. I can't help but wonder what caused the Moderator to feel they needed to step in and stop what seemed to me to be a fairly civil exchange of words?I've seen far more heated discussions on many forums, in fact, I've seen FAR more heated discussions on the forum where this took place. So I can't help but wonder, what is the reason for the attempt to stop what seemed to be a passing comment that appeared to be a valid one?Rescue programs are under scrutiny right now. If you choose to represent yours to the public, wouldn't you want your horses to be well groomed, with halters that fit? And if you are going to shoot a video and post it on the Internet, why wouldn't you go in and brush all of them off before filming? These were the questions that were asked that got the poster in trouble.You can take a look at the Video yourself, and ask yourself the question....What is your first impression when you see these horses, knowing they are from a rescue and at a Fair representing that Rescue facility?
written by R.H.2

Maybe the Rescue Community Should Review the Laws of the States in Which They Operate

Or Good Intentions Don’t Always Give You a Get Out of Jail Free Card.

I ran across this article in the archives of the Sierra Vista Herald while researching something else. I decided since I was kind of behind on what I was actually trying to do I would throw this out for comment.
The article was originally printed in Dec. of 2007. I think it coincides with the “only we have the horses best interest in mind” attitude prevalent in the anti-slaughter/rescue community. Here is the link to the original article along with the reader comments. http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/12/23/news/doc476df77bc2815810704201.txt Many readers, although they had no idea what type of person this ranch manager was, jumped to make the whole incident his fault. I thought this was a rather interesting position to take from the information given in the article. What do you think?
WHETSTONE — When stray horses are found and there are questions about ownership, there are specific steps that must be followed while attempting to locate an owner.First and foremost, call the Arizona Department of Agriculture Animal Services Division at (800) 294-0305 and report the stray horse.Failure to do so is illegal.In a Dec. 14 arbitration hearing between local rancher Les Shannon and Whetstone resident Ken Wendt, arbitrator Charles Newmark found in favor of Shannon for that reason.
A misunderstanding about who was contacted when a good Samaritan found a horse belonging to Shannon, who is the manager of Sands Ranch, will cost local rescue group Care for the Horses and Wendt the money that was invested in the horse while in their possession.In July 2006, Whetstone resident Terri Moreno found a stray horse and, concerned for its welfare, caught and cared for the animal while attempting to locate an owner. After several months, Moreno contacted Care for the Horses, wishing to turn the horse over to the rescue organization.“We knew that Terri had called different authorities in an attempt to find an owner, so we assumed the state livestock board had been notified,” said Ann Jost, president of Care for the Horses. That assumption is where the organization made its misstep. Believing everything possible had been done to find an owner, Wendt, who is one of the Care for the Horses members, offered to foster the horse. “Ken took over the horse’s care on Feb. 10 (2007) and actually adopted him on March 21,” Jost said.Last July, equine veterinarian Lucinda Earven and her husband, Wayne, were at Wendt’s property to perform dental work on the horse. After learning the animal’s history from Wendt, the Earvens questioned some of the things they were being told. For one thing, Wendt believed the horse had possibly been ridden across the border from Mexico and then released. “That just didn’t add up,” said Wayne Earven, who is a former livestock inspector. “This was a well-bred, well-trained little horse, nothing like the Mexican horses that come across the border.” As the conversation went on, Wayne Earven questioned where exactly the horse had been found.“A lady who lived on property close to Sands Ranch found the horse, so I asked Ken if anyone had bothered to contact Les Shannon to see if he was missing a horse,” Wayne Earven recalled. When Wendt replied he had not, Wayne Earven offered to make the phone call. But Wendt said he would do it. Within an hour, Shannon was at Wendt’s property to claim his horse.An arbitration hearing was scheduled when Care for the Horses sent Shannon a letter requesting “reimbursement for costs we incurred while providing a service for the horse that was done in good faith.” Shannon refused to pay the $1,011 that the organization was requesting, so Wendt wanted the issue settled in an arbitration hearing.“I was without a valuable ranch horse for a full year because they failed to contact the state livestock board when my horse was found,” Shannon told Newmark during the hearing. “As soon as the horse went missing out of our horse pasture, I searched for him for three days. When I was sure he was gone, I notified the state livestock board. I contacted Jim Self out of Willcox and filed a report.” Shannon argued that had Care for the Horses taken the proper steps and contacted state officials, his report would have matched up with the one they filed. His horse would have been returned immediately, before any of the parties incurred costs for keeping the horse.“What they did was illegal,” Shannon flatly stated. “In this country, people used to hang for keeping horses illegally.” Armed with three witnesses to testify on his behalf, Shannon had state livestock officer Brad Cowan and both Wayne and Lucinda Earven at the hearing.While Cowan was careful to say he didn’t believe the organization acted intentionally to deprive Shannon of his property, he did reiterate that state law describes exactly how livestock will be dealt with. “Care for the Horses should have called me,” Cowan said. “I have revisited this issue with Care for the Horses and they know what they need to do. If there are questions about ownership on one side, then they need to contact us. We’ve had to take horses away from Care for the Horses for similar situations in the past.” Cowan said there was “no intent” on Wendt’s part in keeping the horse.“I think he’s a victim of circumstance,” the livestock officer said.In his statement to the arbitrator, Wendt said, “Care for the Horses is not on trial here today. The lady who found the horse advertised that she found him, so we thought every effort had been made to locate the owner.” He then added, “When you feed and shoe someone’s horse for six months, a thank you would have been appropriate, but that still hasn’t come.”At the conclusion of the arbitration, Newmark said he wanted more time to consider the decision.He said, however, that money is not awarded when something is done illegally. “From the witness statements, he (Wendt) did the wrong thing,” Newmark said. “Can he collect money for doing the wrong thing? I don’t think so.”On Thursday, Shannon received Newmark’s decision in the mail. It stated: “The arbitrator has considered the evidence presented by both parties. The plaintiff’s evidence is insufficient to support the claim. The legal process for holding and finding a stray horse was not followed. Plaintiff’s claim is illegal.”Ed Hermes, public information officer for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said Care for the Horses got a “stern warning” from livestock officer Brad Cowan. “I think this whole thing was a misunderstanding on their part,” he said.
posted by RH1