This is a really sad case coming out of California.
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/timeline-animal-cruelty-investigation/103-309e6a9a-9275-4741-988a-4fdbeee21f1e
The owner, Jan Johnson, operating under Tres Cruzes Land & Cattle Co was arrested with a $625,000 bond (which she posted within days - she can’t feed her horses, but she’s already out on bail).
She owns the APHA stallion “All the Wild Details”. Her barn manager, Justine Fitzhenry, has been posting publicly as recently as this month - offering 2025 breeding contracts, trying to sell some of the horses which ended up being photographed by the Sheriff’s office in the seizure. (How Justine isn’t facing charges is beyond me.)
Another one of Jan’s properties was also busted this week for harboring an active cockfighting ring - 30 dead birds, 60+ live: https://stocktonia.org/news/public-safety/2025/01/09/cockfighting-ring-in-lodi-busted-2-arrested-dozens-of-dead-roosters-found/
As a long time APHA exhibitor/owner/breeder, a lot of us knew there was something “off” here for a long time. Personally, I would see them post horses in a “fire sale” (which I can appreciate/understand) but then immediately turn around and purchase other horses which didn’t make any sense. They’ve long been breeding their own mares to their stallion(s), but most of us around the country only see tidbits on social media - which makes it seem like foals are being moved to good homes and everything is unicorns and rainbows.
APHA and other breed associations have been made aware of these charges. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds. There is a lot of unsubstantiated talk on Facebook currently about previous experiences regarding dead semen shipments, breeding reports not filed, etc.
The rescue group housing the seized horses is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oakdaleequinerescue.OER
