Agister's lien sale of West Wind Morgan horses

[quietann]

Update: Blatt must have lawyered up. The photos of the horses from last week are gone, and the Saving Westwind Morgans group on FB is paused (which means no further posts, comments etc) until 2/25.

The first hearing for the cruelty case is on 1/27 but will probably only be his plea.

ETA: Everyone involved has said they’re in it for the horses, but a few are upset about the FB group revealing details of what happened. Mr. Blatt is not well liked in the area because of his reputation for not paying his bills, but this seems to be a fairly recent development(2021 or 2022) according to people who worked for him before then.

[OverandOnward]

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Understand that there may not be a final answer to the sheriff’s case at this next court date. Interested to hear what the plea will be.

[quietann]

Saving Westwind Morgans group news: the group owner is trying to delete the group but says everyone has to leave it first??? I’ve never heard of that.

She says that there is no need for the group because “the horses are being cared for.”

And all comments in the posts have been deleted.

This is so weird!

[OverandOnward]

I wonder – it’s possible that a different person is now leading the group. Even if they are posting under the previous person’s account and name.

A few days ago there was a long impassioned plea to help horse owner Blatt. After all of the hullabaloo to round up buyers for his horses.

[trubandloki]

I believe the admin of a group can kick people out of their group, so if this person wants everyone to leave their group they just need to kick all the people out and make the group private and not visible.

[MorganMaresVT]

As of this morning it’s gone

[enjoytheride]

My worst guess is that a “kill pen” will purchase all of them, then threaten them with a trip to Mexico with jacked up prices.

It happens with Arabian farms all the time. Although hopefully this is public enough that the kill pen people won’t want to get involved.

[quietann]

The thing is, it’s pretty clear now that the whole thing is getting swept under the rug. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this thread vanishes, once Blatt and his lawyers find it.

If I read correctly above, Montana law allows seized horses to be dispersed before a criminal animal neglect/cruelty case is finished, so they may well disappear into the kill pen circles.

Just a few weeks ago, a number of well-bred foundation and Lippitt Morgans were found in a Colorado lot. Around 2020, someone new to the breed had bought out the stock from a breeder in distress, among other horses, and very rapidly ended up with too many horses. Some of them may be showing up at other dealer lots.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3900281500218605&id=2846038425642923

[IdahoRider]

@quietann

If I read correctly above, Montana law allows seized horses to be dispersed before a criminal animal neglect/cruelty case is finished, so they may well disappear into the kill pen circles.

They can be sold to satisfy the lien, but if there is a criminal case pending (as there is here) the horses can’t leave. So even if all these various factions had purchased the entire herd during an auction (because they were being offered as one lot: you were bidding for all 86 horses), they had to stay in place (with the new owner paying the bills) until to criminal case was over.

There now seems to be one or two people leading the effort to care for the horses. This may or may not be to make sure the owner gets them back fat and healthy or it could be in order to snag the younger, registered horses for breeders. These people are on opposite ends of the country from Montana and have no idea what Montana laws are, what a Montana winter is like or what the locals have experienced at the hands of the owner over the past few years (he is said to be cranky and abrasive, owing many people money). This disconnect from Montana in problematic to say the least.

The main “point man” is asking for $12,000 a month in donations of cash and services to tend to the herd with the owners blessing.
Sheilah

[quietann]

Is this being done elsewhere on Facebook or a different platform? The “Saving Westwind Morgans” FB group got taken down.

The east coast person I’m aware of, CH, was told by Blatt to butt out. He’s a knowledgeable horseman, but I’m not sure he really understands Montana horse keeping, or managing a herd that large.

Moana Morgans is in Montana and had offered to take them and eventually help distribute them; they’d have the financial and legal resources but they also seem to have backed off.

[IdahoRider]

@quietann

Moana Morgans is in Montana and had offered to take them and eventually help distribute them; they’d have the financial and legal resources but they also seem to have backed off.

It is my understanding that they were told to back off by CH. CH believes that he can talk the owner into being reasonable and working with him eventually. And in the meantime is trying to put together teams of volunteers to work in shifts and donations in the tens of thousands monthly to care for the horses. It is a big mess.

The information is on CH’s Facebook page.
Sheilah

[OverandOnward]

@IdahoRider

It is my understanding that they were told to back off by CH. CH believes that he can talk the owner into being reasonable and working with him eventually.

Maybe I missed it up above – who is CH? What role does CH have in this situation?

[quietann]

Christian Heidorf. I thought he had a chance with Bryan because they know each other and are similar in temperament.

The last post he made on FB about the situation was a week ago. He has not commented on that post since Tuesday when Bryan lawyered up, so I don’t think he’s still trying to help?

[Kinda_Kooky]

Unrelated to my knowledge to the West Wind Morgans, but there seems to be a concentration of Morgan lovers here that that might be able to help this guy, registered name “Momintums Blaze”.

4328 Super Nice Reg Morgan Stud “Momintums Blaze” - Bowie Livestock

Don’t mean to derail, just a nice Morgan horse in need!

[Mountainbellls]

I can’t imagine that this refers to another case. If they’re 1600 # round bales, that’s about 20#/horse per day, so they’re going to need quite a few bales, depending on how long this goes on for. At least it’s been a fairly open winter so far around here, so maybe some folks feel they can part with hay.

Madison County Sheriff's Office - Montana

[quietann]

I’m sure that’s the same case. The Morgan community was ready to step up with cash donations a few weeks ago - because very few of us live anywhere near there - but people are pretty spooked, I think.

[OverandOnward]

So … just wondering … why would any sheriff’s office seize a LARGE lot of horses at the beginning of winter, without the budget to care for them. OR … did they think this would all be resolved before now?

I wonder what is going on behind the scenes.

Maybe if the owner wasn’t feeding them properly to get them through winter, the seizure was truly a humanitarian act, to be sure they didn’t end winter with a herd full of skinny and dead horses. That would be very hard to sell / place, not to mention possible public criticism from not acting earlier. But that’s wild speculation on my part.

[OnAMission]

IME in MT, winter is exactly when most horses are more likely to starve to death or go without water. Every time I’ve been around having to call the SO about neglected horses it’s winter, the grass is under snow, conditions are bad, water freezes, nobody that was already disengaged with feeding their horses wants to go outside at all, hay is expensive and a physical task for the lazy/old/overwhelmed/disabled/etc.

Bigger hands can buy hay, use a tractor for round bales, hire or provide caretakers and a few news stories bring out the helpers. Winter lasts until June; horses on the struggle bus in November aren’t going to see spring time grass. Madison Co. is still very much ranch country and increasingly wealthy and there are provisions there that can get to the horses by people well able to do so. Also, everyone in MT wants a horse or five.

[OverandOnward]

How is water provided during these winter months? I am assuming that temps in Montana stay well below freezing for weeks, maybe months.

Pasture keeping horses in that winter – I know that many people do it successfully and have done for generations. But still. The ‘eating snow’ for water thing only goes so far. Plus if horses are more dense in an area, they may trample the snow beyond that point. And winter tended to mean losses, in one form or another.

When I lived in CO, with a well-maintained board barn, providing water meant a lot of electric heating. Otherwise horses were dehydrated. And that led to one health issue after another. I found an amazing electrically heated water tub that kept the water at about 50F regardless of the temps.

I’ve known southern people who know nothing about truly northern winters to visit northern states in the summer and be so amazed at the natural beauty, they think they want to move there. I’m always concerned that their animals will take the hardest hit – both indoor and outdoor animals. That level of cold is beyond their imagination if they haven’t experienced it for themselves.

[Mosey_2003]

I don’t know about MT specifically but I’ve seen a number of people that run kerosene or wood-fired tank heaters for their cattle that are out in it.