thats what I was typing too!
Always,
FairWeather
If you ever reach total enlightenment while you’re drinking a beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. - Jack Handy
And think this is a great idea, Suzy.
Of course, I would be even more excited if I got to come visit you. 
Robby
Put together a website of contacts.
Always,
FairWeather
If you ever reach total enlightenment while you’re drinking a beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. - Jack Handy
Have a page with the Henneke (I think) scale? someone correct me if thats wrong. I’m thinking of the weight scale for determining if horses are emaciated.
For example. People may think they have a hard keeper…when it can be much more that that. I can put a picture up of my “HARD KEEPER” Phoenix. He’s thin, but in GREAT health. His coat shines, he has energy, he holds his weight etc.
Actual PICTURES of horses that are going downhill and need help.
I dunno…just rambling
Always,
FairWeather
If you ever reach total enlightenment while you’re drinking a beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. - Jack Handy
I was one of the people on the poster’s side, hopig that the rumors were untrue. I offered money to help pay for a blanket, others offered their own blankets, in September the poster was advised to get a veterinarian to the property asap. Nothing helped. Under the circumstances, when so much energy and emotion had been spent on this issue, to have it turn out the way it did, was devestating to all involved. It hurt.
Years ago, when I was about 11 or 12, I went with a friend to look at a horse that was for sale. When we got to the barn, no one was there so we strolled in to try to find the sale horse. What we saw still haunts me. Two ponies who were standing skeletons. They barely had the energy to life their heads. In front of each of them were full to the brim buckets with sweet feed. My friend and I both scooped the sweetfeed into our hands and tried to feed it to the ponies to no avail. Looking back, I assume that either the feed was bad or the poor things teeth were incapable of helping them eat. The worst thing I ever did was not report the facility to any agency because I just didn’t understand at that age why those horses wouldn’t eat. I hate to think of any other animal with that look in their eye. Do I think at this point that there should be someone going out to farms and stables checking to make sure the animals health meets certain guidelines? You bet. Call me a fanatic - having witnessed with my own eyes the effects of ignorance or cruelty, I would much rather lose a little freedom than to see another animal lost to pain and suffering.
Behind every good woman lies a trail of men
Sorry this idea went off into people thinking it was some sort of equine policing network. My idea was for anything but. Heck, I absolutely do not have the time to be randomly checking up on people, nor do I have any interest in doing that. I was thinking of offering help when and ONLY when asked. Although the ASPCA obviously has the best intentions, they are falling short as other posters mentioned.
Here’s just one example of what I was envisioning - a network of people with their phone numbers/email addresses posted. Assume that 14 year old Amy calls because her horse has a nasty cut. For the sake of argument, let’s say the parents aren’t home, the vet can’t get there for at least an hour because of another emergency, and you are only 10 minutes away. You could hop in your car with betadine and bandages in hand and at least provide first aid treatment until the vet gets there. Another scenario might be that you can’t get there any faster than the vet, but that you can ask Amy questions regarding the injury and offer her advice on stopping the bleeding or cleaning the wound while she waits for the vet.
Hurray, the Last Chance Corral! Something positive on this thread! Love, a former Hocking Hills [Ohio] resident!
Yes, Hilary, you did a great job of clarifying what I was suggesting. And, “ayah,” I am in NH.
Doc Ellen – great post. I’m glad to know how the various agencies work.
ie, making ourselves available in future cases. You are right - we BBer’s are all over the place and we should help out where asked.
Now, I’m not talking about barging in on people or sticking our noses where we don’t belong, but if they ask for help, offer to come over address the problem. If we can’t learn from our past, how can we prevent this type of situation from happening in the future?
Just a thought.
- C
And let’s hope the next person with a problem WANTS and TAKES the help and not the sympathy! We’re all here to lend an ear AND help!! Just have to ask!
Barb 
Nice thought, suzy, but help is one thing, BB posters taking it upon themselves to show up at someone’s barn and attack them the way M-J was attacked, no thank you! I know that’s not what you have in mind, but after that last situation I think there are a lot of busybodys who would just love to swoop down and blast away.
Those of us who greatly pamper our horses need to acknowledge that other folks do not do so. I’m not talking about lack of care, here. I for one, saw a red flag when the vet finally got to Seger and dewormed him immediately and said to keep doing it for 4 days! Now, if that horse had been regularly dewormed, do you think that would’ve been done? Rasping teeth & deworming needed asap? Well, there you go. Needed things had obviously not been done. But I’m digressing…back to the point…many rural people care for their animals but they are considered livestock, not pets. I’m not talking about M-J here but her parents. I have known farmers in IL and in NW PA who take good care of their animals, but absolutely will not lay out the prohibitive sums we do if the animal gets ill. If it thrives with good food and care, great. If it fails or has ongoing problems, especially a ‘luxury’ animal like a horse, they have the animal put down. That’s their reality. Again, I would believe M-J when she said her father said ‘you have other things to do with your money and a bullet is cheaper.’ I don’t know who they are or what her parents do, but I have with my own ears heard farmers say exactly those words.
sorry i didnt mean to post that!
After reading through ALL the posts on this subject.
I guess I’m a bit upset about the whole thing too, and how this child was attcked on this board.
She’s a child for gosh sakes!!
There were so many people coming up AFTER the fact and damning this child for what she didn’t do. I actually felt sorry for her.
Yes, a horse died, but that is a result of a problem that we have very little knowledge about. Her family structure and how it works or doesn’t work. Sounds to me like she was doing all she could, her dad wanted the horse put down. The dad probably got his way, and the poor kid, afraid of being attacked by everyone on this board, made up something that she thought was reasonable. So that she didn’t have to tell you that her dad made her put the horse down. This is my theory anyway.
She knew if she told us all that, that we would have lost it, and we did anyway! The kid couldn’t win no matter what she did.
Yes, the poor horse is dead, but the child is the ultimate loser in this situation. Apparently, the only support system that she felt comfortable with was this board, and what did we do???
We attacked, belittled, damned, accused, and treated her like an adult that she is not.
Just my .02 cents worth.
As far as a system of people who can come and help or give advice IF ASKED. I think that’s a good idea, as long as we don’t come back to this board and report on what we think is unnacceptable and wrong. Like what happened in M-J’s case. This can’t be a place where we come back and discuss and gossip about someones hardships.
I too live in ranch country and while I doubt that some of my neighbors would cough up thousands for colic surgery, I’d also bet dollars for donuts that all their livestock have adequate routine maintenence and feed.
I also understand Muley’s fear that a BB version of the PETA people might start descending on posters.
I have woven wire fencing with a strand of barb across the top-while it is certainly not ideal-I would pound the tar out of anyone that came onto my property and implied that my fencing constituted abuse.
So I do think a very clear line must be drawn here.
My other fear would be that those that needed the most help would fail to recognize it because of personal issues.
From what I can deduce, the poster that inspired this thread had people that she could have called on in the immediate area and failed to do so.
Maybe we should set up a therapy site as well?
(no, the last was not serious)
I think in some cases, and despite my post on the other thread, by which I still stand, what’s needed is a virtual big brother or sister.
I can only assume from MJ’s posts, as an example, that she lacked for friends - perhaps by reaching out to those who are clearly lonely we can also prevent similar tragedies from repeating themselves.
I know that most of us venture to this BB in search of information, fun, or relatively innocuous comraderie, and many of us don’t have the time or energy to invest in the problems of others, but perhaps at times a little friendship can be as effective as a ‘rescue’.
I never, not in a million years would enter someone elses farm uninvited. Very bad manners. But if needed I am ready, willing and able to help out someone nearby. I have a 9 horse trailer (polo ya know) so but me on the list!!!
but in the interest of education, I will.
In NC, this network of horse people already exists. It is called REINS. It stands for Regional Equine Information Network. It’s a group of horse people (who must pass a test) organized to help new horse owners or anyone that needs additional knowledge. REINS is organized by the NC Extension Service and more info may be obtained by contacting your county agent.
It’s a good idea to offer support if people need it but we would have to be careful that people don’t start thinking they are the horse police and butting in where they aren’t wanted. They should only get involved if invited to. No one should take it opon themselves to personally get involved in someone elses affair unless that person specifically asks for help.
Anyone in the Long Island/NY area if you need help or are going away, I am HERE!! I am not a vet or an expert but I can help!
Barb
add me to your list. my email is in my profile.
