I’m so sorry-hope you can work something out with the “rescue”.
I would be on the phone with every reporter in the area and sending them pics and info etc and you cannot stop until something is done. Start rattling cages. Now. This is why these places get away with such. Where is this place located? Pls PM me if you want. I’d like to help you.
[QUOTE=Lynnwood;7201498]
I am just going to go ahead and post photo’s of the horse arriving and the photo’s taken this past Sat.
I can’t even begin to explain how sick I am over it.
Yes hes 32 and yes hes not an easy keeper but this is not acceptable.
http://i41.tinypic.com/34ovbkz.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2ainhq9.jpg
Editing I’ve thought about it and the Horse is at Mill Creek rescue/retirement in Alachua FL[/QUOTE]
Oh that is horrendous! And not acceptable in any way.
Start rattling every cage you can. [edit]
Some of the horses on their site do not appear to be in very good shape (some are obviously, hopefully! “before” pictures - but “Archie” is clearly not thriving).
I had a long talk with one of the officers in charge of large animals. He said over and over again how great that place was and how wonderful their care was. We got disconnected and he even called the owner and asked “whats up with Max”
The old guy had the audacity to say the horse was skinny before he got there. I have BEFORE photo’s was he fat nope … was he a bag of bones not even close.
If the sheriffs department isn’t going to step in and do their job who do you contact next ?
[QUOTE=nashfad;7201719]
I would be on the phone with every reporter in the area and sending them pics and info etc and you cannot stop until something is done. Start rattling cages. Now. This is why these places get away with such. Where is this place located? Pls PM me if you want. I’d like to help you.[/QUOTE]
That’s where I’d be, if the retirement place doesn’t step up to the plate somehow, by either letting him go somewhere else or taking notice of his needs. No old lesson horse deserves this! :no:
[QUOTE=Lynnwood;7201252]
The farm he was abandoned placed him in the retirement/rescue.
Where his is only takes in retiring government horses and abandoned horses.
Everyone I spoke to gave the place rave reviews.
I had concerns about this horse thriving there from the onset and expressed them to both the person who sent him and the retirement facility owner.
Quite frankly I was not impressed with my conversation with the owner , I left hoping it was just him being set in his ways as an older person but that since everyone said the place was wonderful things would be ok.
Editing to add I know photo’s were taken of the day he left for the facility and when he was visited and the weight loss discovered. Once I have them in my hands after I email the ACO in that area I will post them here and the rescues name.
I am doubly concerned that they are just going to give the ACO the BS well he’s and old 32 year old horse story and it will be sufficient.[/QUOTE]
Would the vet that initially let you know this was happening be able to help in any way? If the “rescue” won’t budge, I’d rat them out in a big way.
Just for perspective a picture of Max as a young 18 year old. He’s never been a fat horse always a project to keep weight on. I don’t understand how they can just let him waste away. Even a quick kind end would be better.
I agree with contacting the media with the before (12 weeks ago) and now pics. Let the public outrage override the good ole’ boys.
[QUOTE=Lynnwood;7200964]
A little pre story. When our family sold our boarding/training facility one of our former students asked to take a particular schooling horse to retire him. We agreed. He was at that time 29 and mostly retired anyway taught a few walk lessons for small kids…went on a few trail rides.
There was some checking for the first 6 months horse was thriving.
Fast forward to two months ago I was informed through a local vet that he had been abandoned by the person who took him at his boarding facility and they had made arrangements to transfer him to a retirement facility in the state that takes in government horses and abandoned horses.
I contacted both the barn owner and the retirement facility. Offering assistance both said the horse was good etc etc. The retirement facility houses the horses in large pastures and I brought up concern that this particular horse both cribs and has anhidrosis and does not thrive in a field environment. Retirement owner got a little huffy and stated that the horse would never be confined when I suggested that he need to be housed under fans during our hot FL summers. I left it that they could contact me for anything any time.
Today I got a phone call that one of the people from the barn where he was boarded/ abandoned went to visit him and he has lost 300 or so lbs since his transfer there 12 weeks ago. He is cribbing non stop (fences are not hot wired) nor are they giving him either supplement that she (the person who went to visit is paying for). As an aside they offer a sponsorship program and on top of buying his supplements shes paying 50 dollars a month to “sponsor” him.
She informed me that after baling her eyes out any attempts to talk to the facility owners were met shut down. They even rebuked the idea of putting a cribbing collar on the horse. Both owners are in their 80’s and the facility is basically run through volunteer support.
I am at a loss as to what to do. As I understand they don’t believe the retirement facility would even consider sending the horse back to where he was abandoned both the barn owner and the women who sponsors him were agreeable to that.
I am broken hearted at the thought that he is basically starving to death because none of his special needs are being met.
I don’t want to rat out the facility. He is a horse that by all means is high maintenance and I would even agree that if hes not thriving there putting him down would be acceptable but it sounds like they are just going to allow him to waste away until he dies of his own. Going there he was robust fit and as healthy as one can be at 31
If anyone has any solutions or suggestions how to handle or mitigate the situation I’m open to anything.[/QUOTE]
I would rat them out in a New York minute. I have seen one of these “sponsorship” programs at work at a so-called program about 20 miles from me and it was a trainwreck. Get this horse the help he needs before he dies.
[QUOTE=Alex and Bodie’s Mom;7201225]
Let me see if I have this right:
“Retirement facility” is owned by older people who don’t want to take care of the horses properly (at least, not this one).
They do not adopt out the horses they take in. Instead, they give people the privilege of paying for the horses on the property with a “sponsorship program.” And working with them for free, of course, via their volunteer program.
The horse has lost 300 pounds in 3 months and they see nothing wrong with this and are unwilling to do anything about it.
That’s not a retirement home; that’s a hoarder who’s figure out how to work the system. I know some legit rescues do this, too, but this doesn’t sound at all legit to me, IMO. Rat them out.[/QUOTE]
Yep. The one I saw worked under the guise of a “therapeutic riding program” without any sort of certifications or 501c3 status, but told people they were a not-for-profit and offered tax write-offs for donations. They got caught up with, however.
Put together a list of email addresses for various people – ACO, police, TV stations, etc – here and let COTHers help you motivate the current owners to release the horse to you.
netposse.com might also be a place to post the information
They cover a wide area helping to “out” people / places like this
Can others close by go there and possible take more photos ?
[edit] seriously, go media, contact the DA, the local senator
Call and ask them to name their price, everyone has one espesially people like that
That is beyond “old horse thin” thats emaciated
I have no advice but wish you the best of luck in getting him back.
This retirement place does not sound like they are doing a decent job at all with him, it is up to them to decide of “their” horse’s fate. If the poor guy has lost so much weight in their care, it states the obvious (they are not able/want to do it properly) and their most reasonable decision would be to euthanize him, which is not something they seem to be considering.
Having not seen the state of any other horses there it’s hard to label them as hoarders but they sure sound like they want to hang onto this one until he decides to go.
TOTALLY NOT ACCEPTABLE - That is animal cruelty
Oh dear God! No wonder you are upset. Poor thing probably has ulcers by now too and he needs major intervention NOW . No way in H#LL should a horse look that different in 12 weeks!!!
That place LOOKS wonderful but your horse OBVIOUSLY is not thriving! Shame on them !! Shame on them! Shame on them!!
Call HPAF - Morgan Silver and ask her help! Call the State Ag dept. Contact the Sheriff’s office AGAIN and do not take no for an answer. Get you hands on that horse! [edit] I don;t care what the place LOOKS like.
I’m out of state until the end of the month or I would go there that’s how enraged I am.
The grey Arab on their website looks thin too. I’ll bet there are some more horses that just can’t thrive in that situation. (My horse would have LOVED it but she lives on air).
If they are indeed a 501©3 then their books are supposed to be open for inspection. It seems to me that there should be some investigation.
I am so mad about this I forgot an apple pie in the oven and now it is charcoal topped!
Heartbreaking. Jingling so hard for you. It would take everything I had not to just go pick up the horse under cover of night. Let us know what we COTHers can do and we’ll spread the word!
Don’t you know that all retired horses think its heaven to be kicked out to pasture? OMG. I see 2 choices. Either start making the retirement facility owners life hell on earth by shouting this everywhere or tell them first what’s going to happen and if they don’t release the horse, go for it.
I would/could really appreciate some numbers possibly hounding the local ACO/Sherif and perhaps the rescue itself to release the horse back into our custody.
The barn owner where he was abandoned has paid his sponsor ship the entire time he has been there and is more then willing to take him back. They literally thought he’d be happier at a big retirement facility then their small private place.
Again the rescues name is Mill Creek Retirement home for horses
Website: http://millcreekfarm.org/home.html
phone number (386)462-1001
email: rhh@millcreekfarm.org
Phone number to Sheriffs (352) 955 1818 whom I have spoken to and sent photo’s but who insisted they are good people and that sort of thing doesn’t happen there 
Below is what I have told OP I feel she needs to do YESTERDAY----: this calls for extreme action now--------it has worked here in other cases
Here is what I would do immediately. I would contact the FL state agency that does the license or whatever it is called for a 501 entity. Because they have to be registered with the state. I would send the pics and the info to them because if they are not doing what they are supposed to do, they can get in big trouble and I would also contact the IRS about them. As much as I despise the IRS. And make sure to send everyone pics. And at the same time, I would alert every news reporter in the area and all law enforcement offices. And if there is an HSUS (again I am not a fan of theirs) or ASPCA, I would notify them----and I’d do this on a daily basis. A group of us had to literally go stand in front of starving horses here last yr in order to get attention because law enforcement was doing nothing----you can do that with a sign saying “the horses here need help” and just stay off their property. You can stand on the side of the road. And let the newspaper know you will be there and have a friend there to video everything. I know this sounds extreme but extreme measures work. For some reason, I thought someone had said the horse was in KY—I am in TN and not far from there. What large town is Alachua close to. folks need to start calling the law enforcement offices now and the FL state Dept of Ag. You either jump in 200% or jump out. Keep me posted. Do you have a street address for this place? I will start calling FL tomorrow. When it goes nationwide, folks start to panic and usually do the right thing.
If anyone has the numbers for any of the agencies above I would greatly appreciate them.
LauraKY If you have that HSUS number I’d appreciate it.
