HiCaliber Horse Rescue is starting to look a lot like the Starlight Sanctuary. Laura Bell’s craziness must have rubbed off on Michele and Romney.
It’s sad. Hi Caliber was on the right road but has recently taken a sharp left turn right in to a cement wall.
I hope they can take a step back and get back on the road. Doing business with the Thompsons is the same as dancing with the devil.
It would be helpful if the blogger just kept to the pertinent people’s names instead of calling them by Charles Manson and etc… I get that the blogger is frustrated but it distracts from trying to read for comprehension.
What I wouldn’t pay for a few paragraphs here and there. Important story that is just really hard to read.
Never heard of any of this before seeing the thread yesterday. Given that I have no way of verifying any of it, but seeing no one disputing the basic facts of the tale, the one thing that raises my flags is a California rescue going as far as Louisiana to pick up horses … and, so many horses.
Do horses no longer need to be rescued in California, or closer to California? What was the deal with the Louisiana source that theirs were more appealing to be rescued than the cases that were closer to home? I gather that this was Shedrow’s whole point - something more was (and is) going on.
There are several OTTB second-career finders active in Louisiana and across the border in Texas (a lot of interaction between the states). And ‘regular’-horse rescues as well. Plus, the area generally is one of the denser horse populations in the U.S. I have no doubt that a good many of those horses able for survival could have been re-homed closer to where they were in Louisiana, including across the border in Texas.
It would be interesting to know the real reason this California ‘rescue’ is fixated on one horse lot in Louisiana.
Definitely a very disturbing story.
These people are a real piece of work if what has been posted is true. Read the comments at the bottom of the page about Romney and the loss of her son. It really opened my eyes to the character of the players in this drama.
Id posted awhile ago asking about the rescue, if they were on the up and up, etc… After the comments I got, I decided to hold off on donating and I’m glad I did.
I read a little on their FB page and they were fundraising for 5 horses which were “owner relinquished”, but failed to mention that these horses came with a $ 10,000 check. When that was pointed out by the family member who provided the check, the editing fingers quickly changed some of the initial post.
Sigh…
Posted in the Visitor Posts:
EsEl Cooper
I was a volunteer and I have to say this and I am very sure I will be banned, sobeit.
I worked in equine rescue in the 80s in Northern CA. I have seen more horrors of what man can dream up to inflict on horses to the point I had to quit because of the nightmares. I hate slaughter, I have been a breeder of Arabians and a professional horse trainer for 25+ years and if I came to the ranch today, I would walk away and immediately report you to Animal Control and the Attorney General.
You have far too many horses on that property to properly care for them.
Let me repeat that: You…… Have……Too……Many……Horses.
San Diego County states only 10 horses per USABLE acre with an administrative permit. Do you have that permit? If so, please post it so it can be seen. The ranch is just under 12 acres total, with the private residences, roads, gullies, outbuildings and ponds, that brings the total usable acreage to about 8 acres, 9 max. So a maximum of 90 horses is all that is allowed. When I was last there (in April this year) there were over 100 head and that was before the LA horses came in.
Yes, these horses were saved from the slaughter pipeline and that is a very good thing, but if you don’t have the time or manpower to touch each and every horse each and every day then you have too many. PLEASE, hire people who actually have the knowledge and empathy to take care of these horses because they are not being properly cared for because there are far too many on the property and you keep bringing more and more in every week. Horses are disappearing, you can’t or won’t provide receipts for medical or dental work for each horse.
I have some serious concerns about the horses that just disappear and are never heard from again. Where are they? Can you give an accounting of each and every horse with CURRENT photos (not ones from intake or adoption photos)?
Pens need to be cleaned every day, the ponds are a haven for mosquitos and relying solely on volunteers is not the way to keep these horses healthy and actually thriving. Throwing hay into the pens and hoping that all the horses will be able to eat is not the correct way to feed these horses. The alpha horses eat and the omega horses don’t. That is not the way to feed. If you have to feed that way, then you have too many horses to take care of properly.
I am not a hater, although I am quite sure I will be branded as one. I was an ardent supporter and a volunteer but I can no longer be a party to this feedlot posing as a rescue. Hi Caliber signed their souls to the devil by going into business with Thompsons when there are so many horses in CA that need the help.
So ban me if you wish because what I am saying is the truth.
So open your accounting books, keep accurate, up-to-date records on the horses and touch each and every horse each and every day and for God’s sake, don’t bring in any more horses until you’ve thinned the current herd (without shooting them in the head) to a reasonable number that can be properly cared for. HiCaliber was started with good intentions but it is out of control.
Saban should have seen the vet immediately, and never go back to Fice. Fice is an abusive a**hole who shouldn’t be allowed a mouse for a pet let alone be near a horse. Why you let him actually adopt horses from you when you turn down really good homes I will never know.
Michelle, I know you hurt your back quite badly but you need to be boots on the ground every single day, you have to have trusted, knowledgeable staff that truly know about horses that are boots on the ground every single day keeping detailed records of each and every horse on the place. Michelle you ARE Hi Caliber and you need to act like it. So pull up your big girl panties, quit whining and sniveling for the cameras and truly help the horses you have.
Romney, woman no parent should ever, ever have to bury their child and my heart bleeds for you but don’t use your son to bring in donations, it’s wrong and it shows a true lack of class.
So villagers, take your best shot at me because I’m a big girl who’s been around the block more than once and I KNOW how to properly care for horse and not treat them like inventory (your words Michelle) or livestock sitting in a feedlot without shelter or proper feeding methods.
I won’t be back to the ranch and I will miss the horses but I can no longer associate with a feedlot posing as a rescue.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program
Hi Caliber definitely has some issues but the Shedrow Confessions people are just crazy. Read some of the stuff she writes- she is clearly obsessed with these women in a deeply unhealthy way.
I’m surprised this trash got posted here or that people are supportive of it. Promoting someone’s borderline-stalking Wordpress blog isn’t improving the status of rescue horses or this lady’s mental health or anything at all really.
These posts are not about the person(s) writing the blog.
It’s about a “rescue” which isn’t a rescue at all.
CBER did have a lot of defenders before most of them finally stopped drinking the Kool Aid.
I know all about HICaliber. If you want to have a post about them to discuss their current issues or those specific to rescues-that-get-too-big, you can do it without bringing the crazy shedrow blog person and her mental problems into it. It’s a trashy blog, written by someone who clearly has a personal issue with some of the women at this rescue. It adds nothing to the conversation about responsible rescue and I think it has no place being promoted here on another forum.
My concern is this California rescue taking horses (esp. OTTBs) from Louisiana, which is not so far from me. And the Louisiana trip info is abundant on HiCaliber’s own Facebook page so didn’t need the blog for that.
Something is not right there at all. I can’t figure out how any part of that was in the best interests of those horses. They were not saved as they were not going to slaughter, they were put through more trials and tribulations, and survivors are now out of reach of possible adopters in La/Tx. Can’t see how it benefited the local horse community either (I mean Louisiana/East Texas, which is almost the same horse community in some respects.)
I’ve been checking this thread from curiosity if anyone else from outside the rescue is posting information here. Especially on future trips to Louisiana that may be in planning stages.
Not reading the blogger links as I got the picture from a couple of the blog posts and don’t need more of that. HiCaliber’s FB page also seems rather dense and less than straightforward, so having read the posts on the La trip, not spending much time there, either.
Oh well … should unsubscribe, this thread doesn’t seem to be useful re the Louisiana horses past and future. Will look for information closer to that area.
I tend to be skeptical of “rescues” simply because so many of them turn out to be shady, and it definitely sounds like this one has some major issues.
That said, I have to agree with snowrider … the blogger comes across as more than a little cray cray and seems to have some sort of creepy, unhealthy obsession with the people running the supposed rescue. And all the referring to them as Charles Manson etc doesn’t help her case.
CBER, AC4H, ARM, Forever Morgans… SO many that played fast and loose with the rules.
Yeah everyone calls you ‘cray cray’ for keeping up on what they are doing until the state AG, or FBI beats down their door. 
The shady ones overshadow the good ones… and then when people realize that the smoke everyone has been pointing out as evidence of something smoldering is actually a wildfire… , they think ALL rescues are shady, and they get stingy with their donations.
Meanwhile decent rescues that do things ‘right’ are struggling to do the good works they do, on threadbare shoestrings.
Had to change the title as the blog entries are evolving.
Today’s story line shifted to Louisiana’s sweetheart Tara and her wonder boy(friend) who runs the Thompson feedlot.
I’ve read all the posts on the Shedrow Confessions blog and am horrified at this whole mess. This “rescue” and the people associated with it are disgusting on so many levels. I will be following this blog and hoping for an outcome in the best interest of all the horses stuck at this hell-hole.
If you want to see more of one of the Hi Caliber people, tune into the TV show with the original show about abandoned storage locker auctions, and you’ll see one on there with a friend who was a cast member, but they trimmed the cast down, so he’s one of the former cast. You can see the T shirt/sweatshirt with Hi Caliber on it. I was watching the show the other day, and did a double take when I saw the logo.
Ugh, no thanks. I have seen enough. It seems like they enjoy making videos more than taking care of their horses, so I’d rather not encourage them.
I"m not one to usually get involved in these type of things, but this whole thing with Saban has really rubbed me the wrong way. To summarize, there is a kind lady who offered to pay for treatment for a horse named “Saban” from this rescue. After HiCaliber accepted her initial help and dropped him at the hospital using her funds for diagnostics, she agreed to continue paying for his care and board as long as he didn’t go back to HiCaliber. She networked to find him possible homes, but HiCaliber absolutely refused. Now they are sowing the seeds of wanting to put this horse down. There is way more to this story. Below is her Facebook post with a quick summary of her ordeal -
https://www.facebook.com/pam.schmidt…nf&pnref=story
For those of you who don’t want to read the blog, which I agree is confusing, just know that this “rescue” currently has 100+ horses at their 10 acre facility, many without shelter from the sun. It has been in the triple digits in Southern California this week. They are not fed properly and their pens are filthy. Many of these horses have ongoing medical issues that are being ignored. New horses are not properly quarantined, leading to diseases spreading. Their horses are shot in the head, not always successfully on the first try, instead of paying a vet to use lethal injection. I could go on and on.
All I ask is that people are aware. If you “like” this rescue on Facebook, please consider withdrawing your support. There are so many other rescues that do things right. These people are hoarders who are making their living off the generosity of horse lovers and the horses in their care are suffering on a daily basis.
I really agree with this. I think it is a shame that this horse, Saban, who had the offer of a soft landing, was denied a chance at a decent life by Hicaliber.
Wow! I just read the comments following the latest Shedrow Confessions.wordpress entry:.‘Just another Manic Monday’.
I think what appalled me was the growing list of horses that have gone ‘poof’. They were at over 80 from the 2016-2017 period, with more still being added.
I know a lot of people don’t like Shedrow’s writing style, but I have to say, it certainly seems to be well researched and carefully done. And the blog seems to have been around awhile.
Between the Saban issue, and the lack of transparency in the accounting, I have problems. I work as an accountant specializing in non-profits, and there are enough red flags at Hi-Caliber that I backed away. I’d been considering donating, but between Hi-Caliber’s own posts (and disappearing posts), and the stuff from the Shedrow blog, that even if you subtract 75% of the information on both and only assume 25% is truth, there is still enough smoke to warrant a large fire. That, plus other antecedent evidence gleaned while researching, the truth is weighing against the rescue.
There are too many good ones out there to spend time on something suspect. Unfortunately, it’s the horses that lose.
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