But, as noted above, she would still have to be licensed, and at least in our state, there is no way she’d be able to explain away that conviction and get a license. Other states are even tougher, where one conviction for anything and you can never get a license.
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The NetPosse count is now up to 30 owners reporting. How many others are too embarrassed to report, because they know their horses are long gone?
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Here is the Willie update, it’s not positive 
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Wow – tried, convicted, and executed in the court of social media.
I am not ever going to defend someone who sent any horse to slaughter. I bought my first horse out of New Holland in 1992, a few years before ANYONE in the mainstream horse industry was paying attention to the issue. The TB mare I pulled from a kill pen in 1993 at NH I still have and care for, she’s 30 now. I do not condone behavior like what has been attributed to Fallon.
But, let’s see what the facts are and what happens in court.
There was not social media back then to make it a big deal but it was something that even I knew about and was talked about in 1992. So I do not know what ANYONE you are talking about, but your anyone does not include everyone, not even close.
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This story just makes me want to vomit. All those horses previously loved given over to this heartless parasite. :grief::disgust:
She gave them a forever home allright. Dead is forever.
And she paid for her new truck and trailer on their bodies.
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I admire your equanimity but after watching so much money being wasted on the Cosby trial, sometimes the basic essentials are enough and the court of public oppinion is more just than our legal system. I hope we all remember her name for decades to come and that her punishment will be absolute omission from the horse world. As a person she defrauded, I know enough. Just to be clear, as the daughter of a Judge I believe in our legal system, but some things require rough justice.
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NetPosse is up to 31 owner reports.
I’m sorry, but I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - if these horses are sooooooooooo special to their owners; then why in God’s name are they not supporting them in their retirement years? :mad:
What this Fallon woman did is wrong, no doubt about it. But these people who are giving away older horses who they’ve used up is wrong, too.
According to her complaint with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, Lindsay posted a craigslist advertisement offering her horse Willie for free to anyone who could give him a better home to live out his retirement years. He had become lame and suffered other health problems that made it difficult for him to walk. Lindsay hoped she could pair him with someone who already had a horse so he wouldn’t be lonely.
“He was a really special horse,” (Lindsey) said, fighting back tears. “Not a mean bone in his body.”
I’m sitting here, honestly pissed, because this horse had to spend what were probably his last weeks in terror after living a comfortable life for many years with his owner because she didn’t want to take care of him once he had become lame and riddled with health problems.
Life lesson to anyone reading: It is your responsibility to take care of your animals when they reach a point that they are no longer useful or are riddled with health problems. If you cannot do that, you are certainly welcome to give them away - but you must always understand that once they step foot onto that trailer to leave your care and custody you have absolutely no control over and get no say so as to what happens next in their life.
Being a good, responsible owner sometimes means making the tough calls - go ahead and prepare now, I promise you every living thing gets old. In fact, if you have or plan to have a senior horse, you should probably plan out what happens at the end - it’s either going to have to be retired (whats your plan) or die of sickness/disease (what budget do you have before you say enough). I understand shit happens in life, but people have to understand that this magikal world where other people take on your problems (including old horses with health problems that make it difficult for them to walk) is a very, very rare find. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
It takes two to tango. One scumbag to run this scam, and another scumbag to dump their old, ailing horse right into her arms.
/flamesuiton
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Yes. I totally take responsibility. I bought the horse, starving, out of a backyard situation. I kept her two years and although she got a gorgeous coat and was happy, she was irreparably lame. She was tattooed and had visible scars and a left front pastern as big as a softball. This sounded like a perfect pasture situation and I was totally taken in. I was prepared to put her down if she seemed like she had too much pain. A hard lesson and I will not excuse my neglect for her welfare.
eta, do not drink wine while looking at Craigslist. Someone had sent me a rediculous picture and I started looking around and saw her awful picture. A 13 year old had created the add. I tried to put it out of my mind but ended up going to get her, thinking it would be a good deed. Big mistake, but at least she had a couple of good years. Wish I could post pictures here. It was a remarkable transformation.
I just want to say how terribly sorry and sad I am for you. You meant the best, you trusted someone… an evil piece of work who manipulated you terribly into believing that the horse would be cared for as you wished 
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Thank you for your compassion, Pocket. I do, in fact, agree with Arelle. Our two retired hunters, who were aces in the field for 11 years are here and will have a place with us untill the end of their days. Unforeseen circumstances might make us put them down, but I will never hand them off for someone else to give a “forever home” ugh, hate that term. Even though many years ago I was sold a lame horse and totally screwed by a young woman criminal I did not think a nicely dressed young woman with a nice rig raised any red flags. I should have known and can only say that this little mare deserved better but I didn’t have the history with her to make me more diligent. I am lucky to have a horse property, but boarding a retired horse you cannot ride for ten years is a huge burden. I have watched friends do it, good on them. For many people who want to still ride/compete, it is just not an option. I guess it is sadly just better to put them down than have them go to situations where they have a horrible death. This haunts me. There are no easy answers and few easy placements. We all really do need to have a plan. Especially if we ourselves are aging. Thank you for understanding.
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Something very similar happened to a good friend of mine here in Mass. The woman to whom she gave her horse to was very convincing, signed a free lease contract and gave regular updates until she went radio silent. When my friend went to investigate, she discovered the woman had a long history of taking free horses and then telling the owners they had “died.” These scammers have good stories and generally con a lot of people before their names start coming up in searches.
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There appears to be an update on this topic.
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No way! On COTH?
News of this scam has been floating round FB for a couple of years. So, so surprised to see that it was a vet student, FF’sS, and now a COTHer, too?
Thanks for the update
she ought to be in jail.
atlanta tv reporters have always been great about following these stories.
I just read this thread for the first time…it is horrifying! I cannot fathom how anyone could do something like that, let alone someone studying to be a veterinarian (and according to the update, supposedly still studying with plans to graduate in May? If that hearsay is actually true, I’m shocked that at the very least the college hasn’t made a movement for her temporary suspension with possible expulsion dependent upon the hearing of her case). I certainly hope she gets the punishment that she deserves to have. This is unfortunately a very real lesson on just how careful you have to be with re-homing any of your animals at any points in their lives…I’m so very sad for everyone who was involved in this nightmare.
Sadly, in today’s legal climate, Tuskegee cannot expel her for conduct not to do with the school. Tuskegee already said that unless there is a conviction, they can do nothing. She was actually sent her assignments to keep up during her first jail visit, until she made bail, and went back to the classroom. If they try to get rid of her, then her lawyer will sue Tuskegee. So far she’s only been accused, not convicted.
If she’s convicted, it could affect her ability to get a license to practice, however that’s in the future. This woman from reports has been doing this for years, and some family members admitted they knew what she’s doing, and said nothing. My guess is nothing will really happen to her.
This woman had a very convincing story, and fooled a lot of people, and I hope something can be done legally, but I’ve seen too many animal cases that resulted in little or no penalty against the person. I think in the end it will be a slap on the wrist, and the only thing people can do is refuse to employ any veterinary service that employs her.
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Tuskegee can expel her, IF their code of conduct allows it.
I work at a university. Our code of conduct includes some items that may apply to her: such as “Possession of property the student knows or has reason to believe may be stolen or misappropriated.”, or, “Commission of any offense prohibited by state or federal law or local ordinance.”, and “Any attempt to commit or conceal an act of misconduct prohibited by these rules is subject to sanctions to the same extent as completed acts.”. There is a well-defined process for the disciplinary process, and students are informed of the fact that yes, they can be held accountable at the university for actions outside of the university campus.
This is a terribly sad situation. Just heart-breaking.
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