Me too. A nice mare completely destroyed by a bunch of…well, if I use the words I want to, the post will be censored and I will get a warning.
That asshat Andrew Fice is going to get himself killed through his ignorance and brutality…and the sooner the better as far as I am concerned.
That would be culling the herd…
way too many horses and im sorry horses heading to the works isnt an emergency
I read the blog religiously, but cannot get through more than a minute or so of the “live” HCHR events. Just horrific.
Shooting 16 horses since the start of the new year is disgusting. And the way they tortured that poor Johnny Cade was despicable. Should have taken him to the clinic days ago instead of letting a psychopath play “vet” on FaceBook.
I completely agree. Please, oh please, let this place get shut down soon.
This is the most egregious case of abuse and neglect of a horse by a rescue organization, a horse that died possibly as a result of these actions, as well as the outright fraud that was imposed on people who donated money for his care, that I in my sheltered life have ever come across.
Thousands of dollars were raised from donors to provide this horse with the best care possible. The horse had a body condition score of 1 and was frequently collapsing. The three vet practices the rescue said were involved with his care have all denied that they were ever involved, denied in writing that they examined or treated this horse in his last couple of weeks. The rescue claimed that a vet told them the horse would not survive transport to a clinic, and that also was a false statement, apparently made to keep the horse at the rescue facility, where funds could be gathered without incurring any actual vet bills. (A well-equipped horse ambulance service is located near the rescue facility. A reputable vet clinic is only 30 minutes from the rescue facility. Neither were brought in to help.)
And that’s just a piece of the story of the way the rescue abused this tragic horse during his prolonged end-of-life struggle. His suffering through long-term starvation at the hands of others is unconscionable. To then fall into the hands of a ‘rescue’ organization who just wanted to take advantage of his obviously pitiful condition to bring in funds that were never used for him is appalling.
RIP Johnny Cade, at least you are at peace now.
Exactly. They could call in the humane society to get him up, but even then, they wouldn’t get him in the trailer to the hospital. They SEDATED him multiple times after he went down in his stall, in part so that they could drag him outside on a tarp. When it got too cold for him out there is when they decided to call in the humane society’s large animal rescue team to get him up and take him back inside. Even after all this, for days, they continued to hand walk this horse. The horse that had “quarantine!” written all over his stall was dragged about the property to be showcased on Facebook live so that he could bring in more donations. At one point they rigged a “sling” for him and dangled him from a tractor bucket in front of their barn. In the span of a year I have gone from supporting them, to being on the fence, to openly despising them. By those further in the know than me, we are being promised that the wheels are in motion now to end this charade. I can only hope it is soon. I’ve never seen a horse as exploited as Johnny Cade was, and I hope to never see it again. But lest they be forgotten in the drama over this one horse, we can’t forget all the others. The horses who were shot for being arthritic pasture puffs, or blind in one eye. They deserve their justice too. RIP Major and Aviana, and Johnny Cade.
I can’t imagine how these asshats are going to be able to hang on to their 501©3 designation much longer. No receipts for vet work, for one thing. Several area veterinarians have publicly stated they are absolutely NOT working for, prescribing meds for, or consulting on cases for Hi Caliber. They (HC) wore out their welcome at San Luis Rey Equine Hospital.
Evil people.
Synopsis
So HiCaliber did a lot of fundraising for Johnny Cade, did not use most of those funds as no vet was ever called in for him, so clearly Johnny died with a lot of care money still in the bank. But that money was not used for the horses discussed in Shedrow’s blog post linked above.
And then HC headed back to “auction” (no, as it turns out, they are no longer buying horses from auction) where a pitiful mare who was so painful in one hind foot that she wouldn’t put it on the ground was purchased from a flipper. While claiming this mare was from a “poor family” who was taking advantage of HiCaliber’s new program - the euth program for poor people! Yes, the economically disadvantaged can turn their horses over to HC for euth … oh but wait, they don’t turn them over, HC must buy them. And, you guessed it, fundraise for them !!! And the families never deliver them to the parking lot, a flipper does.
It is estimated by mole reports from inside the organizations that they are raising two or three times the actual purchase amount for each horse. HC never, ever says how much they raise each week in the parking lot. Not for individual horses, and not overall. They just say they need more, all the time more.
The mare Galle stands tied to a trailer on 3 legs with her 4th suspended in air as much as she can manage, for hours in the sun in the parking lot. Galle is given no pain relief during this nearly 1 hour video.
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue/videos/1581409778607686/”]https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue
/videos/1581409778607686/
Fundraising was engaged in vigorously through the live feed while the mare stood in the parking lot. However, what the donors did not know, but was caught on Stealth Video, was that the flipper had already taken his money for her and was gone. While HiCaliber was still on live feed begging for funds to buy her.
The Stealth Video is in Shedrow’s post linked above, and here.
https://youtu.be/GgMEF05Acks
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1627569973955892&set=g.477625899255565&type=1&theater&ifg=1”]https://www.facebook.com/
photo.php?fbid=1627569973955892
&set=g.477625899255565&type=1&theater&ifg=1
The mare Galle arrives, getting out with great difficulty due to her bad foot. The guy in the white shirt and hat is a well known flipper.
[URL=“https://shedrowconfessions.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/nacho2.png?w=291&h=266&zoom=2”]https://shedrowconfessions.files.wordpress.com/
2018/01/nacho2.png?w=291&h=266&zoom=2
Then this poor mare endures a 2-hour trailer ride back to HC. The next day she is euth’d by gunshot without having ever seen a vet.
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue/videos/1582559705159360/”]https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue/
videos/1582559705159360/
At least she didn’t have to endure HC’s inept attempts at vet care, without a vet, as did Johnny Cade.
What this mare needed was a horse ambulance ride to a vet (a horse ambulance is in the area), with a chance to possibly recover. Maybe even immediate pain alleviation could have been done with 20 minutes in an epsom salt soak instead of a bullet, just for starters. Or be euth’d once a vet determines the situation. But who knows what would have been best for this mare, because that was never determined by any vet.
And btw, no auction was ever involved. HC didn’t even go to the auction house to save horses from auction as they used to do, because what they buy is sick, crippled and lame, and not eligible for auction. HC is now just meeting flippers in the parking lot. With the auction going on somewhere in the background, for HC’s purposes just for staging.
The only horses brought to this part of the parking lot are for HC to buy, and HC buys them all. The flippers bring no other horses to this parking lot area. They drop, collect their money and leave. It’s a meeting place and that is all.
While the fundraising goes on and on and on. Especially profitable thanks to their “euth program” which means they don’t have to care for them. Euth or not, HC raises the ‘purchase price’ ($200 for the mare) PLUS $650 ‘responsible rescue’ money that is supposed to be for initial treatment as needed, and the first 2 months of care.
If they euth the horse shortly after arrival, as was done with the mare and another horse they bought on the same day, nothing is ever said again about the responsible rescue money. Nor do they state the total amount raised for each horse - not once, not ever.
HC claims these horses originate with owners here and there, but somehow HC doesn’t go out and see the horses at home. Only the flippers deliver them to the parking lot. No other owners have shown up to date.
And, euthing as many of the new ones means reducing the added numbers. The total equines on the 11 acre facility is now well over 180 and and grows every week. The entire 11 acres is not actually usable due to steep terrain. They also have multitudinous problems providing care, shelter, water and poop removal for this many horses, even with generous volunteer help. The horses are crowded in pens, most without any shelter.
Oh and they’ve expanded to other species as well. They may still be just under 200 horses, but they are well over 200 total HC-owned animals, now that cattle, pigs and goats are being brought in.
The local Animal Control knows and does nothing, claiming conflict of interest because to HiCaliber board members used to work for them. Other oversight authorities are getting reports from many sources, and supposedly the wheels are now grinding slowly, not just on animal abuse, but also on fraud, practicing vet medicine without a license, controlled drug violations, etc. But what comes of this remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, every week HiCaliber gets their hands on more horses, more animals.
There was a comment to Shedrow’s blog that it is illegal to buy injured horses in an auction parking lot. Can /will any authorities pursue that?
What I can not understand is why they are not hit hard by zoning ordinances by the county? It would seem they do not have a permit for this many horses, so why are they allowed to blatantly ignore the zoning and not be held liable?
Lets talk manure management, can you imagine the waste produced in one day from that many horses? What is being done about it, other than the mountains they have piled all over. This amount of waste is an environmental hazard, not to mention the horses surrounded by the ever growing piles. Can you imagine the flies? The parasites that are being passed along in the waste?
I think the county has to step in, I can’t see any other way for them to reduce their number as they certainly do not adopt them out.
This is a great summary.
It amazes me that this has been allowed to continue for so long. Surely someone must have a contact with the IRS or FBI that could get an investigation started. The number of laws being broken and fraud being perpetrated on all fronts is astounding.
And I cannot believe that any person who claims to love animals would donate to an organization that “euths” so many, without veterinary oversight. :no:
Poor Galle got no pain medication, but Michelle got herself (as witnessed by someone there monitoring HiCal) an injection of pain meds in the ass from one one of her underlings.
If you want to follow it and learn some ways to report, in addition to the Shedrow blog, the HiCaliber Horror Story fb page is a good way to get in-depth info and the latest events. Admittedly there is a huge unorganized set of data to plow through. Shedrow may have more gathered info where it is accessible, although that blog tends to reported more chronologically than by topic.
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/groups/477625899255565/?ref=bookmarks”]https://www.facebook.com/
groups/477625899255565/?ref=bookmarks
What I wonder is if any other rescue fraud was on this scale, of total money and total animals, or if this is a record of some kind. Michelle herself said some time ago that they were taking in between $60k and $85k per month. HiCaliber has estimated they handle from 200-300 horses per year. This is a huge operation being run principally by 3 people, with volunteers providing labor for the horses. (Conditions for the horses at the ranch are dismal, as one can imagine.)
The IRS, FBI, state and local oversight agencies:
People are filing reports and pushing hard to get action on a myriad of fronts. This is a mill that grinds very, very slowly, according to those in the know. Some agencies appear to be aware and at work on it, but haven’t yet gotten to the action stage. But certain other agencies are ignoring, delaying and making excuses.
The list of areas with evidence of non-compliance and violations by HiCaliber are so numerous, it is hard to list them all. These violations are touching on numerous agencies, which in a way is a good thing as if one is not acting, another may be go forward on their end of it. Animal abuse is just one of many areas. It is legal to practice vet medicine on your own horses but not on any other horse, and those horses are all owned by the ‘rescue’ organization and not the individuals treating them without the assistance of a vet.
The one ironic saving grace is that what HC posts on FB is often enough for any interested observer to file a complaint or report with some agency.
HiCaliber is also behind on their tax filings. Their paperwork is slipping to the point where their continuing 501©3 status is being questioned, as it can be lost if things aren’t done properly.
On the other hand, the shameful, egregious dereliction of duty on the behalf of some of the closest local agencies is mind-boggling. I don’t know how the HC neighbors put up with what goes on over the fence, other than that the terrain adds some vertical space to block the views, noises and smells.
The vet question:
HC sometimes claims that a vet is seeing certain more needful animals, but will never say which vet, or show a bill, or a written diagnosis or instructions for care, or anything from an actual vet. Not even a paper with the logo and name markered out, just to prove the vet was there. Shedrow has some pretty good evidence of what is really happening from first-hand accounts, that is, sick and injured horses not seeing a vet.
HiCaliber said that 4? 6? vets were helping with Johnny Cade, but eyewitnesses say no vet saw him during his last couple of weeks of life and after he became critical. The 3 vets who have worked with HC in the past and who are geographically closest were all contacted to ask if they had treated Johnny Cade. All three replied in writing that not only had they not seen or treated JC during his crisis period, but that they had all talked on the phone with Michelle (the head of HC) who said vague, non-urgent things about an unnamed horse (“he’s hungry”). All three of the vets were given the impression that one of the other vets was treating him. Michelle was trying to get IV bags and bloodwork from them and that was all. The words “you need to get it from the vet who is treating him” didn’t seem to resonate with her, she’s good at wheedling.
Now, any other rescue will proudly share the name of the vet, as the vet will share their work with the rescue. HC claims any vet they name will be harassed, but not only is that doubtful, in any case a conscientious vet will not let that stand in the way of treatment. And other “good” rescues don’t have that problem anyway.
Info on the two principals who keep this going … this was done several years ago when HC first moved to their current location. These are the two who are front & center.
http://www.hicaliber.org/meet-the-board
And they’re already grifting for horses that they say won’t run through the auction because they’re so “skinny” and the owners are “afraid” after what went down last Tuesday (probably so they can avoid anyone witnessing the parking lot deals since that appears to be all those women do these days and just use “auction day” as their excuse for being there). The pictures are all manipulated (taken at angles, etc) to avoid identifying features that would likely be a dead giveaway to them being at Misner’s feedlot or something like that.
it’s disgusting what they’re doing.
Today was “auction” day, the day they buy flipper horses and fundraise for … whatever. [INDENT]“We are starting the day in the red.”
“I’m worried about going in to auction on such a tight budget, but we had to do the right thing.”[/INDENT]
Today they claimed they were taking videos to share with their vets. They are implying that the vets are diagnosing and recommending without seeing the horses, only through the video.
They told people not to post how much they are giving. People often do that as a kind of rally. They did today as well.
They did get heavy criticism on their page from a couple of posters for walking a mare around to show that she could barely walk, she was in such pain. You can hear the walker being coached to make “tighter turns” to show more pain, and other revealing remarks. Watch it all the way through, it’s short.
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue/videos/1588349591247038/”]https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue/
videos/1588349591247038/
Their statement on their page is [INDENT]"She hurts and can’t turn or walk very well 
Edit to add: We aren’t making her walk to be a$$holes. We have to make her walk to demonstrate the discomfort for our vet, to prioritize her rescue, to fundraise, and for comparison in the future. If I cant show how bad she is, we cant help her!!!"[/INDENT]
They also posted [INDENT]“We are limited on the pictures we can take/use today in an effort to protect the privacy of the sellers being harassed by keyboard warriors.”[/INDENT]
They have never showed sellers on their photos and videos. They can easily change angles to not show the trailers, some of which are identifiable to individual flippers.
They are picking up all the animals they can haul home, it would seem. This is a recent change. [INDENT]"There are beautiful heifers here, lots of drop calves, young Holsteins, jerseys, goat families etc.
Help us get them safe by using PayPal …"[/INDENT]
They definitely follow their ‘haters’ very closely. Many of their more defensive posts are addressing questions posed by ‘haters’, not by their villagers.
Apparently, they followed someone to the bathrooms, demanding to know who this person was.
They’re lying through their teeth about about a lot of things.
It’s all on their FB page. Much of what is posted there is all the evidence anyone would need. If the link isn’t active, copy-paste on an internet tab and it should come up.
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliberHorseRescue/”]https://www.facebook.com/
HiCaliberHorseRescue/
Asked questions on the FB page and got blocked.
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