My first post on this thread!!!:lol::eek::lol::eek::lol::eek:
Y’all are batshit craaaaazy!!!
Except DMK who has been my hero since 2001, and Lauriep who is just plain awesome!
[QUOTE=Lynnwood;6826066]
Just to sate you. Honest answer in this case and in the case of all my horses and patients I’ve handled. The decision to keep a horse at a referral or medical center is normally a combined effort between owner/legal representative/Medical attendants.
Our doctors decide when a patient is ready to be released they make suggestions to the owner/legal guardians and then treatment plans are followed through. UC Davis certainly would have NOT kept the horse if it felt he should have been gone sooner. Last I checked they are not a boarding facility.
BTW DMK <–veterinary technician large and small animal on and off for the last 17 years the off was some time to raise my daughter.
To more specifically answer your question. If the horse were mine I would be following the treatment plan laid out by the attending veterinarians.[/QUOTE]
That’s fair enough (managed a post op layup facility with a surgical facility attached for - then moved to an industry closely aligned with the medical field - I use words like “less acute setting” carefully). But I admit, I find it hard to believe that if you had such a horse come into your care, that horse would not be discharged to you in within 48-72 hours. Because you can provide that level of horse management, right?
I’m saying I have the same expectations of the organization that seized the horse. I expect that they can fulfill the needs of basic horse management, because after the initial evaluation, I see no evidence that RS needed a more complex level of care. Maybe you disagree, but honestly, I have never seen or heard of a horse that stayed that long in an i/p setting, receiving nothing more than basic medical management, unless he was potentially contagious. Which he was not. You are right that UC Davis is not a boarding facility, but they acted in the same capacity as one for the majority of the horse’s stay.
RS needed his wounds cleaned, he needed a sammich, a visit from the dentist and the farrier. That could have been capably handled outside of UC Davis so I am left to wonder why he did did not get discharged to one of their facilities they should maintain as part of their obligation to Marin Co. My suspicion is that they simply do not have the facilities to handle any stallion, regardless of his condition. If that is the case, that is a glaring failure on their part, and not one I think anyone (least of all Rising Star) should have to pay for.
And because I feel like every post needs this clarified (again):
This does not mean that I think JB should have retained possession of RS.
It does not mean I approve of JB or wish her well.
It STILL does not mean I like sparkly black stallions, because I do not.
It does not mean I am saying that UC Davis is behaving unethically.
It does not mean that I think MCHS didn’t have cause for seizure.
It’s still more complex than that.
I can appreciate that seeing the flaws in many sides makes for no fun.
[QUOTE=Lynnwood;6825792]
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/578327_10151501899124612_1821101250_n.jpg
From what I read on the physical exam on intake it says
MS:BS 3/6 Symmetrical muscling with ribs visible on both sides but vertebrae still covered with muscling.
Under discharge instructions 9) A complete blood count and chemistry was submitted. The CBC reveled some inflammation and there were changes on chemistry due to anorexia and muscle damage.
Also about his feeding. If his Chemistry reveled anorexia their moderate feeding plan certainly in on par with the idea that you have to gradually wean them up to full feedings when you suspect starvation.[/QUOTE]
Any horse that gets kicked in the teeth and stops eating from the pain in the mouth can go into ketosis in just 2 days. Glucose snaps them out of it in 5 minutes. Painkillers allowed him to eat again. If he was malnourished it is the duty of the veterinarians who treated him in the setting of a legal court case alleging neglect to put that in the report. So I am still looking for that in the report.
[QUOTE=Acertainsmile;6826075]
DMK, how many horses with head trauma have you treated? Just curious and an honest question.[/QUOTE]
Several came in my barn when I ran a post op facility (thank you babies and starting gates). I’ve had way more memorable fun with corneal ulcers with fungal complications though. And jaw fractures. And a really funky brain tumor in a broodmare that delivered twins. Safely. Both of them healthy. Couldn’t say the same for mom though. But that was because of her tumor under her skull between her eyes. Fascinating necropsy though.
But just out of curiosity, are you equating lacerations/wounds that happened to be on the head and neck with the medical terminology “head trauma” which is more generally accepted to mean injury to the skull or brain? Because my horse came in with a cut on his cannon bone the other day, but I didn’t think to equate to a condyler fracture even though both involve cannon bones.
I’m not in disagreement with you DMK. The reasons I suppose will come out in the laundry 
As far as perhaps medical boarding. I have primarily worked in referral facilities but early on in my career worked for a facility that did all of the counties abuse/neglect management cases. We did keep animals for them that were receiving treatments that needed to be documented/recorded by licensed professionals because of on going court cases.
In the middle of an investigation of this sort, I believe any HS is required to hold the seized animal until all criminal charges have (at least) been filed, and secondly, ownership settled (the non owner providing care and custody control can be held liable) . Most horses are ( often secretly located) fostered until such time as they can be returned to the care of the owner, or re homed.
I have not seen any of the sources list any criminal charges being placed on Jill Burnell as of yet,.
I am a horseman, I have a stallion, I AM set up to efficiently care for and protect my own stallions from danger, but I am not set up, nor would I “foster” any stallions.
IF my local HS asked me to foster a STALLION in this condition, I would not touch it with a ten foot pole. I cannot think of ANYONE in my county who would volunteer…
RS may very well be residing at UC Davis at the moment because it is the safest place for him, until all the necessary legal issues have been settled so that he can skip the “foster” stage and go to his “permanent” place.
Unfortunate for all involved.
IF I was going to speculate, I would guess that, if RS is his owner, she is forced to sue MHS as her opportunity to prove that she is the legal owner, and to hurry the process of gaining possession.
I’d like to elaborate on the blood work. While the values are ‘within normal limits’, the indexes are off. When the indexes are off, the values can not be taken for face value and are ‘open for interpretation’, which is not something you put in a report, which should just state facts and observations.
Based on the indexes, it looks like it has been going on for some time.
Anorexia per se has not ‘time frame’, however ‘starvation’ does imply a time frame and an accusation, so the first word is legally correct to use, the 2nd is not. Starvation also implies ‘lack of objectivity’ (there is blame) and that is not UCD’s job. This is not UCD first rodeo.
Also indexes don’t change ‘overnight’, it is not a 2 day process, it takes a long time for indexes to change, weeks, months.
I do think RS lost. He would have had a great home with Rising Star, no doubt aabout that in my mind. He would have had a great (working) retirement. Not many people are set up to handle, or house stallions. That is likely why he stayed longer at UCD.
And why is it that I am crazy with no class? Because I stood up for MHS and Leg Up, and questioned whether the sale of Romantic Star for $100,000 had ever been completed? As Rising Farm’s announcement confirms, it hadn’t. I assure you I have no agenda. I just hate to see things get ugly right in front of my eyes, and sometimes - against my better judgment - I can’t keep my mouth shut. I hadn’t read this thread in 3 weeks. When I started reading it again, I noticed that several posters had made good points that, for some reason, were ignored. I merely repeated what they said in a more “catchy” way.
I have no problem with Ronda. She was dragged into this mess, tried to do what she felt was the right thing, and ultimately made the wise decision to get out. Based on what I know about Rising Star Farm (it’s high professionalism and good reputation), I could have predicted 3 days ago that it would happen. It’s ridiculous to blame COTH for her decision. This is just a forum. It was never the role of anyone here to decide legal questions one way or another. What’s gone on here is nothing compared to what would have come out in a costly and ugly legal battle.
If you are going to insult me, DMK, send me a PM, and we can exchange names and phone numbers.
DMK & lauriep - You have called me crazy and lacking class and having an agenda. I assure you I have no agenda. COTH does not have the power to make legal decisions. Romantic Star was never assured a home with Ronda without a costly and ugly legal battle. I have no reason to believe that Ronda is anything but honorable, honest and professional. Rising Star obviously has a great reputation. But take a deep breath and try to think objectively. The sale of Romantic Star apparently was never finalized. Ronda never said it was. Do you really think the people who were being sued by Jill’s attorney were going to sit back and not defend themselves?
This made me sad for RS. ( no other agenda, comment or implication).
Once again, we’re getting into needless personal commentary on this thread. We understand that it’s a passionate topic, but we’re going to close the thread again, pending further developments.
Mod 1
