This is just sick, and I can’t bring myself to look at the fotos :-P. WTF?!? The persons who allow this will pay for it in the fullness of time; you can count on that.
My Equines, all of my “pets” for that matter, are my responsibility. We have an accord, and they will be with me “Until death do we part”.
I have had two Senior Horses pass on; Banjo at 36yo, and Oily at 31. My boy George is 23yo, and Rosado is 5. He may well out-last me, but as long as I’m on this side of the horizon the deal stands.
Once I get to the other side, I will be looking for my old friend Banjo; I made him a promise when we said “Goodbye” . . .
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It truly is jaw-dropping how people can defend the most egregious practices with horses with the, “I’ve been in horses all my life/ this is like ignorant rubes complaining about fly masks blinding horses/ we don’t need newfangled nonsense like fancy fitted saddles, downtime after work, appropriate shoeing and safety helmets”-type of attitude. Sometimes it may be that they’re covering their asses to stick more horses in a field and make more money, or kids on sore lesson horses, and other times (like with hoarders) they seem genuinely unable to see what’s obvious to the naked eye.
I hope some legal solution is worked out so these horses can receive appropriate food, care, and a humane solution.
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VHSA has removed her from the approved judges list.
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Huzzah! 
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This situation is not the horse owner’s fault. No way!
This is not a case of people just getting what they paid for.
A few years ago, $300/month for a place where the horses lived outside in a herd seems like pretty normal board, and it should include basic needs (hay/water).
This situation has me so angry, but the last people who should have a finger pointed at them is the owners who thought their horses were being taken care of.
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You do not. Poor horses.
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A few years ago board was $300?
Where? For retired horses?
If you’re paying $300, corners are being cut.
Big ones.
For the people unaware, most older horses cost more to care for, rather than less than they did before retirement.
Twice yearly dentals, they still need hoof care, they might need specialized feeds, or multiple meals a day which means more man hours delivering said feed .
Old horses =/= cheaper.
And I’m sorry, but if you’re trusting someone with the care of your animal, verify things are what they are purported to be.
You don’t think they’re being cared for… You know, because you visit and confirm it.
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You might not realize it, but some of these horses are NOT old. Retirement does not always equal old.
And yes, Three years ago for pasture only, no amenities, $300 was not crazy cheap board.
Note, I am not saying it was top of the line board, I am simply saying it is not rock bottom board like you are trying to make it out to be, and blame the owners for this horrible care caused by this barn owner. These horses are starved and the only one at fault for it is the barn owner.
Where do you get that board includes dentals and hoof trimming and all that? Are you reading it somewhere or making that up?
My board does not include hoof trimming, dentals, vet care. I pay my board and I pay the other professionals for that other stuff.
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In this part of the world, retiree board for $300 - $350 a month gets you a pasture, run in shed and a round bale October - March and someone to eyeball the horse once a day. Many retirees do just fine in that situation until dentition/digestion means they require more care
It doesn’t get you twice daily feedings of soaked beet pulp and senior and blanket changes. That wasn’t what these owners expected.
The horses in this situation DIDN’T HAVE A ROUND BALE. In Virginia, in February. There was no supplementary feed or forage. They were expected to survive just on pasture forage, year round.
Yes, of course the owners should have checked on the horses, but they absolutely were not getting what they were paying for.
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And they too look like crap.
Because $300 care doesn’t meet their needs.
Clearly.
If the owners aren’t present, or paying for it then the retirement farm must handle that, correct?
If the owners aren’t present to confirm the horses are fed, I doubt they showed up to hold for the farrier.
Since they couldn’t bother to give even crap roundbales out I doubt this place was also doing all vet care, hoof care, dental care.
And if I don’t get billed for those required services, then I should wonder if it’s getting done.
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Because the owner of the retirement farm wasn’t providing the care she promised.
And the $300 price point was from years ago, I have no idea what these people were paying currently.
But I’m pretty sure they thought it included hay in the winter.
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If I’m quoted a super low price, I’m going to be suspicious corners are being cut.
So we agree
Which is why I hope this serves to alert others that cheap board, that you’re not confirming is adequate care for your animal to survive on, probably isn’t.
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I find it really strange that you want to shift blame for this to the owners.
You can get decent retirement board for a normal keeper in Central Virginia for $350 a month.
You can. I kept my own horses for years this way - pasture in the summer, round bale in the winter, and they stayed in great weight and health.
Hard keeper, teeth challenges, truly geriatric, yes, they require a higher level of care.
The fact remains that these owners DIDN’T receive what they were paying for. And the non-retirement board horses were fat and shiny, and the owner of the farm was a well known and respected judge and competitor.
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Best news ever! This person is despicable.
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I’m not shifting all of it. Where did I say that?
By they are responsible to some degree imo.
Ok, but I’m also seeing the suggestion that the owners aren’t all in VA, but from various areas of the country and couldn’t see their horses routinely.
And she set up a foundation to pay for care of privately owned boarders? That just seems a bit odd to do. And should have been a red flag.
If you can’t afford board on your horse such that you need a foundation to raise the money to do so…
So the horses were boarded out of sight, where some couldn’t visit regularly (but some could and did?) and they trusted someone whom they didn’t actually know nor did they confirm the care was good somehow.
That’s my “problem” with the owners, whether board was $300 or $3000… I hope this serves as yet another reminder that owners really, really must check on their animals.
Accepting pictures from the person neglecting them as proof they are ok is naive.
COTH has seen this, now, several times where animals are given to or boarded with people, not checked on, and suffer.
And then it happens again.
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Well done VHSA. Sounds like this was past due.
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Forgive me if I’m misquoting @2bayboys, but it sounds like at least one of the owners was aware of the horse’s condition and is okay with it, so I would certainly blame them! Didn’t it say upthread that some of the other retiree owners knew about the horses’ condition and were okay with it?
I don’t live in the area, but in my (high cost of living area), $300 board (if that’s what they were paying) would be a red flag. In fact, once someone did advertise $250 monthly board on my local horse page, and rather than “when can I move in,” people were asking, “what’s the catch” in the comments. It’s not clear what the agreement was–perhaps the owners knew (as horrible as that sounds to all of us) their horses would not be getting adequate hay in winter.
It’s possible she was taking advantage of owner ignorance and told them all older/retired horses are thin, or it’s possible that the owners were struggling financially, unable to bring themselves to do an “economic euthanasia” and turned a blind eye to the photos or a bunch of possible scenarios. If they knew the horses weren’t getting any hay, simple math is the horses are burning more calories in winter and getting less to forage on.
But yes, ultimately the responsibility is in the owner/manager’s hands to either offer adequate care for retirees or tell the owners they need to find a new situation/ pay more in board if she can’t afford to care for them.
It sounds like she was also running a regular operation on-premises, though, and those horses were in good condition, just the retirees were neglected? Hard to believe other horse owners were coming and going and ignoring the poor horses.
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I think that most of the owners are out of town and trusted the farm owner, a well known respected (former) judge whose own horses are always impeccably turned out and presented at every horse show.
I only know of one owner who is defending her and thinks her own horse is just FINE, despite his obvious deplorable condition.
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I’m glad it’s just one! And yes, this would be horrible regardless of the circumstances, but the fact this person was a prominent trainer and judge makes the betrayal worse.
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To clarify before any more blaming of the owners goes on:
Goochland Virginia is not a high cost of living area. The farm is a nonprofit. 300 is maybe the base rate? Many of the owners were paying significantly more for additional feed and services due to additional care needs. One of the horses who is currently hospitalized was paying 560 a month for pasture board to include supplemental feed which is on the higher end for the area. One brought her horse there after asking several professionals for the best quality retirement care with no expense spared. This was not a case of people finding the cheapest they could locate and getting what they paid for.
I am hopeful that animal control has been thoroughly motivated as of today. 11 horses have been removed from the property so far.
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