Sad situations that are going to be happening too much...

[sketcher]

[QUOTE=mbm;5151075]
even the above post by Sketcher, while from the heart is also assuming quite a bit.

the tone of this thread has changed… now instead of innocent until proven guilty we have people saying "well, as long as she downgrades, of gets her life in order " etc.

it isn’t up to US to decide what is right or wrong for PP or anyone else!

if you feel the desire to offer help - that is super, but to do it only because PP will change her life to something you think it should be - is well controlling.[/QUOTE][I]

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it to come off that way but I can see way it sounds that way. I did not mean to personally suggest she should downgrade her life. I meant that people could decide how/when to help based on what they decide the mitigating factors are for them and that people are capable of making judgments on when to help and under what circumstances. Well, at least I used to thing that…until after this thread.

I just meant that people are not going to blindly start sending stuff, resulting in enabling someone to continue forever. That seems to be what some people are worrying about. I just meant that there is a way to help her regardless of what information comes to light (or does not come to light) and people should be given more credit for determining when and how they will help without judging them for doing so. I think it is sad that people would stand back and do nothing ‘just in case’ someone is undeserving for “insert reason to be mean” here.

I fell down and shattered my ankle badly once - before cell phones were everywhere. Cars drove by me, some slowed down then kept going. Not one person stopped to help me. It was about 15 degrees outside and I was lying on an icy sidewalk. What did those people assume about me that made none of them stop? That I was going to rob them? That I would sue them? What?

This sort of feels like the same thing - people are driving by and making assumptions based on limited info but even worse than driving by, they are stopping for a moment to add to the assault.

[Thomas_1]

[QUOTE=ASB Stars;5150525]
It isn’t about you, Thomas. The world does not, as shocking as this may appear, revolve around you.

However, typical of YOU, you have turned this into an attack, and of course, I should concult with YOU about MY little issues. (all of our issues would be small, compared to say, yours)

I pulled a link that you don’t agree with- fine- it doesn’t change the fact that, at least over here, in the former colonies, hoarding is classified as a form of mental illness- in all of its permutations- from animals to “stuff”.

My post was directed at all and sundry. If I want to direct something, in its entirety, at YOU, I will remember to label it accordingly.[/QUOTE] I’m terribly sorry about that error. It was the fact that you quoted me and addressed me directly and kept using the word “you” that threw me!

It wasn’t that I didn’t agree with the link. It was the fact that I found it somewhat hilarious that you should chastise folks for querying whether animal hoarding is actually a medical condition and then cite an opinion from a housewife who fancies herself as an interior decorator.

Note to self: Don’t ask ASBStars for a referral for medical treatment.

[Bogey2]

I also used an old bathtub for water years ago…never killed a horse because of it.

For those of you with the nasty man streaks. Shame on you for piling on. PP does not deserve this. The horses are not in bad shape. I agree she should not be breeding but there are a lot of things a lot of people should not be doing and one of them is the behaviour towards her on this board.
The lack of compassion in the horse world never ceases to amaze me.
We are not talking about someone who is faking a rescue, or screwing people out of money.

[edit]

[inca]

[QUOTE=EqTrainer;5150094]
It is sad to see that people think nothing of the fact that this person came home to an empty farm and her home ransacked and personal possessions stolen. Regardless of the how and why, what a grim situation.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree. I am glad I don’t post much any more because the lack of compassion by the majority of posters is appalling and very, very sad.

I keep thinking about how horrific it would be to be gone, have made arrangements for your animals care and then find out that they have been seized. And that photo of the paint rearing while being loaded makes it even worse. Did they make the trip to wherever they are being held safely?

I had a sitter no-show on me. And this was someone that fed for me twice a week for months. Luckily my trip was just overnight. But, I came home to horses that had not been fed or watered for over 24 hours. And one was on stall rest due to an injury so she was completely out of water. I guess if authorities would have come to my place, my horses would have been taken. It was horrifying to come home and discover they hadn’t been taken care of while I was gone. Hard lesson learned and now sitters are required to check in with me daily. If I don’t hear from them by a reasonable time, I call them. Makes it really hard to go anywhere and relax and enjoy a vacation when you worry about your animals.

Based on those pictures, there is no way the animals had NO food or water for over a week. They would have been in a much worse condition if that were the case. If those animals are starved, then ACO in Texas better get busy seizing horses because I can drive around my county and find lots of horses that look work than PP’s. (Although I do understand that if they indeed had no water that there was probably no choice in that matter.)

Just sad that no neighbor or friend was there to contact PP and inquire about the situation before the animals were seized.

I do hope the situation works itself out for PP and her animals.

[magnolia73]

I still stand by my staunch belief that no more grade horses need be bred, particularly in the middle of nowhere Maine.

Yes. I wish people who breed horses as a business model could see some of the free to cheap horses that are out there right now. Cut the (^(&^&*%^ balls off your stallion unless it is a proven sporthorse or a breed for which there is demand.

I see free Arabians, TB’s, QH’s and the prices have dropped on warmbloods as well. A dear friend of mine got an “American Warmblood” for free. Have you seen the quality of CANTER horses these days?

You will not make money off of a foal bred in your backyard unless you cut corners… in a bad way that maybe attracts the attention of AC and makes your neighbors hate you.

[chaltagor]

[QUOTE=sketcher;5151130]
[I]
I think it is sad that people would stand back and do nothing ‘just in case’ someone is undeserving for “insert reason to be mean” here. [/QUOTE]

Well, someone who buys saddles, show clothes and then goes on vacation when they can’t afford hay is undeserving to me.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

But according to her posts, she did buy hay.

I am not saying people should jump in and give money, but I am not ready to lynch her either. How would you feel if the scenario I posted above is closer to reality than some of the attacks thrown around?

I do also have to say that if someone can afford plane fare, 3 weeks off of work, and lots of new custom outfits, they can feed their animals AND build that barn I described for $2000+ without help.

I am also quite sure I could build it by myself, without help with the exception of getting the waffleboard roofing up, but I could build the barn and put some tarps over the roof supports without help.

[JoZ]

@inca;5151164

Just sad that no neighbor or friend was there to contact PP and inquire about the situation before the animals were seized.

This reminded me of something I’d be happy to forget. When we evacuated our entire barn in January of 2009 due to a record-breaking flood that put our barn under 3-4 feet of water, we had our horses up at the local fairgrounds.

I was staying 20 or so miles away at the flooded property (the residence didn’t flood… much anyway) taking care of the small animals, and working full-time from home. My two horse partners (sisters) were in Arizona at their father’s funeral. A friend was feeding the horses a.m. and p.m. in addition to his own job, and doing a quick/rough picking of the stalls (we actually used minimal bedding and stripped the stalls every couple of days because it was less time-consuming!).

I got a call from a woman who told me that a group of people were discussing calling animal control because two of the horses had tipped over their water buckets and had no water.

I pretty much lost it at that point – how petty and mean and thoughtless. I wanted to take them by the collective throat and say “for the love of God, pick up a @$%^% HOSE instead of a PHONE!” Some of the things I’ve seen, I think neighbors and passersby can be about the cruelest things imaginable.

[BelladonnaLily]

Haven’t read past page 14 yet but two things:

Two horses in two separate incidents in our area have been hit and killed after getting out of their pasture. And there is no indication that those horses were in substandard fencing. Having been cited for loose horses and having fencing THAT deplorable really does raise eyebrows. At the very least, I would have turned down the tickets and stayed home to look after the horses until better fencing could be secured. Leaving them in a round pen for two weeks to take a “fun trip” is sad and irresponsible IMHO. And well, poverty is no excuse for filthy and junky. I’ve seen poor families with very neat houses and clean children and pets. If her health issues are keeping her from properly maintaining the facilities necessary to keep horses and run a breeding operation, then she should be rehoming, not continuing to breed and accept giveaways. Sounds like the authorities did her a huge favor going into winter…

And for Lisa Cook and others wondering why the “circling of wagons”…happens all of the time here. You can have IDENTICAL situations…one involving a poster with 4,000 posts and another with only 100 posts. You can guess which one gets defended to death and the other is crucified. I’ve witnessed it. It’s sickening. Didn’t COTH just crucify another lady that supposedly did a very similar thing?

Now, back to page 14 to see if anything has been cleared up. I’m with the group that is suspicious but reserving judgment.

[chaltagor]

[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;5151294]
But according to her posts, she did buy hay.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, my impression was that it was a big deal to buy it. And then she had to sell a saddle to pay for it. I know how hard it is to buy hay on your own when you can’t afford a tractor load, which is why I would never criticize someone with that difficulty. But it is also why I don’t go on vacation or show my horses. I don’t even have a cell phone. Perhaps that’s why I am disgusted at people who give aid or money to others who squander it.

[dalpal]

[QUOTE=ASB Stars;5150539]
I did not say she was a hoarder, for the record. I simply wanted to provide further information about hoarders, as, if there are any shades of that in this situation, or any other, it should be better understood.

And no, I am not posting this for fear of a libel suit. :lol:[/QUOTE]

Did I mention YOUR name??? I think some of you seriously need to think before you spout off at the keyboard.

[equineartworks]

wow…this is really sad all the way around

I get the whole poor thing, we are a family of three getting ready to live on a NYS unemployment check a week for the next 6 months with a whole bunch of mouths to feed. But the horses are cool, they will be well fed and warm…no vacations for me though lol! But that is my set of priorities. And it sounds good in theory to say what PP should and should not do and how she should live, but in the end they are her horses and she will determine what her priorities are. I have people who judge me harshly because we never go on vacation…go figure! You can’t win for losing!

With all the rain we had the horses could have had small ponds to drink out of until recently. Let’s be honest, we could all hire someone who swore up and down that they would give the best care only to find that they don’t do a damned thing. Reason number two why I never go on vacation :lol:

While I have always enjoyed PP posts she has always struck me as someone who needed help with her farm, but always stopped short of coming out and asking. I wish she had

[Rhyadawn]

This is just sad…

[goeslikestink]

1st time i have read this as work nights now

blooming heck,

my prospective - no excuse in one is in sound mind to go buy cothes and go off somewhere to do xyz then its not a mental illness of hoarding
as one has the money and the means to do and go xyz

and havent spend it where its needed and as for a breeding barn
well

photos dont lie- the place is a tip
and she advertises as a breeding barn - awful

looks like some old pykie yard as coulnt care less about the horses and make as much profit and do little for them
seen it before and its degusting

god i havent got a posh yard but at least mines tidy and well run
and the horses are well fed clean and tidy have rugs clean paddocks and clean water
there no excuse for poor management regardless of posh or not

and as for a sitter thats hearsay - what one does and do isnt always whats written as fact

as the photos and videos dont lie and the reports clearly say whats been found
no excuse what ever way you look at it

[ASB_Stars]

[QUOTE=dalpal;5151370]
Did I mention YOUR name??? I think some of you seriously need to think before you spout off at the keyboard.[/QUOTE]

HMMMM…a bit tetchy. No, you didn’t mention any names- you simply threatened.

[sketcher]

[QUOTE=goeslikestink;5151442]
1st time i have read this as work nights now

blooming heck,

my prospective - no excuse in one is in sound mind to go buy cothes and go off somewhere to do xyz then its not a mental illness of hoarding
as one has the money and the means to do and go xyz

and havent spend it where its needed and as for a breeding barn
well

photos dont lie- the place is a tip
and she advertises as a breeding barn - awful

looks like some old pykie yard as coulnt care less about the horses and make as much profit and do little for them
seen it before and its degusting

god i havent got a posh yard but at least mines tidy and well run
and the horses are well fed clean and tidy have rugs clean paddocks and clean water
there no excuse for poor management regardless of posh or not

and as for a sitter thats hearsay - what one does and do isnt always whats written as fact

as the photos and videos dont lie and the reports clearly say whats been found
no excuse what ever way you look at it[/QUOTE]

GLS, I apologize in advance because this will be a bit harsh but I believe you can take it.

I should think you of all people should know what it is like to be judged based on an internet persona so it surprises me that you are willing to judge so harshly someone with a chronic illness which can at times be debilitating. I mean really. You can’t type and can’t use the spell check nor put a coherent sentence together and people, including myself publicly and in private messages, have defended you and told people to back off because they were behaving ignorantly towards you without having an understanding of what your situaton is.

So, it seems to me that you reap benefits of belonging to a community where people understand and feel/behave in a protective manner towards you. PP has also been a member of this forum for a long time and posted extrensively. Why should she not be accorded the same consideration. I fail to understand why you can not at a very minimum bite your tongue in this situation.

The problems with fibromyalgia:

1. sometimes you feel great/normal and can proceed as usual
2. sometimes you can’t get you butt out of bed or have excruciating and disabling pain and fatigue.
3. many people have decided fibromylgia doesn’t exist and people who claim to have it are making it up and looking for handouts. People are judgemental and ignorant about fibrobmyalgia. As are many Dr’s but that’s another story.
4. anyone who has a chronic and debilitating illness goes through a process of coming to grips with it in terms of how they will let it affect their life. Some choose to fight and try and keep what is important to them at high physical/emotional/financial cost. That is a different process with everyone.

Please try and keep in mind that this could be a more complicated situation than many understand. Or I should say, want to understand.

[dalpal]

[QUOTE=ASB Stars;5151478]
HMMMM…a bit tetchy. No, you didn’t mention any names- you simply threatened.[/QUOTE]

Threatened? :lol: What I said was simply the truth…you can say whatever you want as long as you can back it up. Once you cross that line, it’s libel. If you guys want to continue down that path, please be my guest. I have no opinion on the situation…I will leave that up to PP and the authorities (as it should be)…I find the entire thread deplorable.

If I were PP, I would certainly be printing this thread and showing it to a lawyer.
Along with another thread started by one of these posters on another horse board.

Some of you spout yourselves as horse professionals…breeders, trainers, own boarding barns…and this is how you act in your profession…trashing and gossiping about others in the horse world??? If I ran a horse business, I would think twice about gossiping on internet equine message boards. Potential clients may be turned off, I know I have been by many of these posts.

[Thomas_1]

[QUOTE=mbm;5150969]
whats wrong with selling stuff you own to create income?

not everyone can have a trust fund, well paid husbands or high paying jobs… some of us get by (alone) and sacrifice to have horses…

i literally cant believe the judgement on this thread, the speculation, the meanness…

this entire thing should be a HUGE wake up call for ANYONE posing on the boards… do NOT post anything personal. and for gods sake, dont dream, dont think out loud, etc etc.

in other words… it is very very clear that any and everything someone says will be used against them in the most creative ways by folks that have never met you and will never have to see the damage they cause.

i am sick about all of this and dont know why this thread is allowed to o on when it is clearly cyber bullying.

45k hits? close to 500 posts?

come on![/QUOTE] You can stop posting whenever you want!

Oh no… seemingly you can’t. There you go again!

[QUOTE=mbm;5151075]even the above post by Sketcher, while from the heart is also assuming quite a bit.

the tone of this thread has changed… now instead of innocent until proven guilty we have people saying "well, as long as she downgrades, of gets her life in order " etc.

it isn’t up to US to decide what is right or wrong for PP or anyone else!

if you feel the desire to offer help - that is super, but to do it only because PP will change her life to something you think it should be - is well controlling.[/QUOTE] It seems to me that no matter what people say you judge it to be wrong.

At the same time you’re constantly wittering on behind an anonymous persona about how wrong it is to judge.

Mind you, you’re not the only one!

Puts me in mind of a pack of snappy little Chihuahuas yapping behind a gate.

It’s also totally disheartening that so many are seeking to protect and defend just striving to achieve minimum standards.

[SmokenMirrors]

[QUOTE=sketcher;5151502]
GLS, I apologize in advance because this will be a bit harsh but I believe you can take it.

I should think you of all people should know what it is like to be judged based on an internet persona so it surprises me that you are willing to judge so harshly someone with a chronic illness which can at times be debilitating. I mean really. You can’t type and can’t use the spell check nor put a coherent sentence together and people, including myself publicly and in private messages, have defended you and told people to back off because they were behaving ignorantly towards you without having an understanding of what your situaton is.

So, it seems to me that you reap benefits of belonging to a community where people understand and feel/behave in a protective manner towards you. PP has also been a member of this forum for a long time and posted extrensively. Why should she not be accorded the same consideration. I fail to understand why you can not at a very minimum bite your tongue in this situation.

The problems with fibromyalgia:

1. sometimes you feel great/normal and can proceed as usual
2. sometimes you can’t get you butt out of bed or have excruciating and disabling pain and fatigue.
3. many people have decided fibromylgia doesn’t exist and people who claim to have it are making it up and looking for handouts. People are judgemental and ignorant about fibrobmyalgia. As are many Dr’s but that’s another story.
4. anyone who has a chronic and debilitating illness goes through a process of coming to grips with it in terms of how they will let it affect their life. Some choose to fight and try and keep what is important to them at high physical/emotional/financial cost. That is a different process with everyone.

Please try and keep in mind that this could be a more complicated situation than many understand. Or I should say, want to understand.[/QUOTE]

If her Fibro is so bad…she can go ride at the WEG, someone elses horse and if I read what she dribbled out, a rather fractious mare, she can get all dressed up for what, 6 classes and still function, still go walk around and see everything, spend money her bank account doesn’t really have. But yet someone with this debilitating disease should be felt sorry for? I certainly don’t for her. If she can do all of the above and Lord knows what else, then she can bloody well take better care of her horses, but that’s right, you and everyone else can find excuses like the one above for her to use in her defense.

I have had some major trauma in my family before and I STILL got out of bed, I still took care of my horses and I still got my responsibilities done. PLEASE! Spare the sob story about illness and her disabilities.

[Huntertwo]

@mbm;5150969

i am sick about all of this and dont know why this thread is allowed to o on when it is clearly cyber bullying.

45k hits? close to 500 posts?

come on!

At this point, 4:36 PM Eastern time, you have posted more than anyone else, besides one other poster…:rolleyes: Need I say more?