That person is equally culpable in the abuse, then. Neither the owner nor AM deserves that (or any) horse. This is just sick. AM is bad on his own level, but for the owner to see their horse abused and go, yep, let’s have some more of that, thank you. That’s just as evil.
Any word on how his veterinarian partner figures into all this?
I’m speechless.
OMG. Truly horrifying and heartbreaking.
It’s heartbreaking. And incomprehensible.
That poor, poor horse.
Speaking of Andrew’s owner, who at one point had at least three horses with him …
I’m not sure what to make of that really. Caroline P. must be smarter than to operate on informal verbal agreements so who knows what the whole story is there. The dates line up with the horse moving to Andrew though.
I read the decision - they had an unsigned agreement, I.e. it was in writing but for some reason it was unsigned.
I’ve heard from a source in the local eventing community he is sending two horses he owns off to be sold, and that he and his partner (the vet) are planning to head out west. Good riddance to both. If true, those of you in the Rockies and Western US - keep an eye and ear out.
The entire AM situation is truly troublesome, but honestly, I think the idea of a veterinarian who is knowledgeable of the abuse, supportive of the abuser and participates in covering up said abuse with treatment is possibly even more troublesome for me.
Ugh. As if there aren’t enough crappy “trainers” out here.
Yes, to this.
This is absolutely disgusting to read. I hope the others you refer to are outed at some point.
Exactly. Admittance and apologies go a long way, neither of which the public has received so far 
This makes me absolutely sick! I’ve seen some
of these practices in the Western world, but starving or withholding water for event horses seems downright dangerous to me. Makes me wonder about how common colic is with UL horses who go through this!
Then there is me, refilling the water before I leave the barn because I want the buckets as full as possible always!
I hate these people!!
Doesn’t anyone check the barns? Is there no way to hold them accountable to this? Are they hauling in the morning of dressage?
I hate to be weird, but when I’m at a show and I’m doing night check, I put my eyes on every single horse in the barn mine is in. I’m normally last out, and if I find something that needs urgent attention I call the number on the contact card. No food/water would get a call from me.
Respectfully disagree as someone who has been an FEI steward for many years. When we go through the barns at a competition we do look at water and the condition of horses. It’s one of the reasons we ask for contact numbers on stall cards.
my girl is fussy about cold water, so I give her a full bucket of warm when I arrive, which she drains, and another full bucket of warm water before I leave.
this time of year, when we do not have water in the paddocks and before we get snow to quench a bit of the horses’ thirst, always worries me.
This is completely an anecdote. I first started eventing with (wait for it) a 6 yo OTTB stallion in my late 20s. First horse I ever bought and got him for $500. I was competing at a well known venue and my horse was a little forward in warmup. A big name trainer and competitor walked up to me and said that I should withhold his water for at least a day to score better. The appalled look on my face must have convinced him that he was way out of bounds giving me that advice. BTW, AIR we were 7th after dressage, which was a major victory for me! And the next time BNT spoke to me was to compliment me on something we’d done. That stallion was a wonderful horse. I could breed him and compete him on the same day, and no one realized he was a stud. But he was enthusiastic under saddle!
It seems that some people are unaware of the scrutiny that happens now in FEI stabling.
The loose stallion that injured the mare was something that the FEI did not want repeated, and now the administration of meds or fluids without the knowledge of the rider or owner (remember Nicholson’s lack of anger management towards the vet and the kerfuffle surrounding that, and now the recent death of Chromatic the jumper) have resulted in changes.
It took a long time to get the rules to address those wrongs, but the requirement of food and water have been on the list for quite awhile. If the stewards miss it a fellow competitor will notice.
When I did night check for the barn (USEF shows), I did as @endlessclimb does. Looked at every horse on both isles. When I was the only one there, it didn’t take that much longer than just tucking up ours (we had at most 8) and lack of water would certainly be noticed.
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