Nobody is discussing the price of the horse as pertaining to the USDA testing protocols. We’re discussing a number of different aspects of this sad situation, the public support/PR aspect being one; the GFM itself didn’t have to be a mess, but it is somewhat one due to trainer’s lack of social media savvy. To me the bigger issue is both the trainer’s posts on FB and many of the replies - the trainer needs someone to curate those posts and delete the more crazy replies.
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Speaking of which. I don’t know how much it costs a shipping/quarantine company to be the title sponsor for a Grand Prix or horse show. But I wonder if it would be worth a similar financial cost to the company to get out from under this PR disaster.
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Which company, Jet Pets? I don’t think they’re suffering from a PR disaster tbh… they have a monopoly on that coast apparently, they can suspend their official business pages temporarily while this blows over (which it will), and thus far no one outside a tiny circle of trainer and horse forum has picked this story up.
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Exactly… and that is saying something!
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Well, this thread alone has more than 66,000 views so far among their target audience of horse people. The company probably has less of a reason to worry about the opinion of the typical man on the street.
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I imagine many of those views are repeats of the same people engaged in this discussion and following the saga.
But again - if someone wants to import a horse, this story may make them consider the potential consequences of a horse not passing USDA checks, but I doubt many people think Jet Pets are the bad actor here, especially as it’s actually unclear whether they are charging the high rate (as in that trainer per her own posts doesn’t know the current day rate). And they’re not responsible for the horse popping positive.
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I concur.
Does anyone know if the horse is still alive? Is he just continuing to sit in quarantine, while they figure out whether or not to put him down or try to get someone else to front the fees to ship him back to Europe? Is there a point at which Jet Pets legally just take possession of the horse… sort of like one abandoned for an unpaid board agreement? But what do they do then? Put him down… or ship him back themselves?
What a nightmare .
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I’m curious if it would be possible to structure an international sale so that title to the horse passes to the buyer upon the horse being released from quarantine in the destination country. This way, the seller would take on the risk of the horse not passing the entry requirements–the seller would, in essence, be warranting that the horse can be successfully imported.
One reason this would make some sense is that a horse dealer who sells dozens of horses per year is better able than a hapless family to absorb the “1 in a 1,000” risk that a horse fails the entry requirements.
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At the end of the day, the horse should have been sent back. The trainer gave them terrible advice, and I find it hard to believe that in the entire United States and/or Canada, another equally suitable horse couldn’t have been found.
instead, the trainer publishes this incredibly unprofessional tirade that won’t do anything to help the family, and she’s probably been the one encouraging them to keep the horse here, racking up a massive bill. I feel for the family too, but at this point, they’re in deep. I don’t know what they’re going to do if $36,000 was a stretch to begin with.
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It might be possible, but I don’t know why any sellers would want to upend the existing system to take on the additional risk.
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Similarly, who would spend good money on a horse with this questiona le health/history at this point? He would be a hard sell unless he was already in some country back to living a normal life and deemed healthy.
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Well, one reason would be to increase the pool of people willing to import. Having learned about this situation, I would never take the risk of importing. I imagine when these kinds of stories spread, others will feel the same.
A smart exporter might realize s/he could increase market share by giving buyers assurance they won’t face a “Hireno” type problem.
I can imagine that lots of horse dealers would figure there was nothing actually wrong with the horse, other than the fact that he’s been on stall rest for two months. But that still does not cover the problem of his current bill, or the cost of shipping him somewhere else, if his health paperwork got straightened out.
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I would tend to agree that there is likely nothing wrong with the horse. The stress of the trip probably got him run down enough to spike a fever and have questionable blood tests but nothing positive. I don’t think I would have issue with owning him.
Is there a quarantine period prior to shipping or just a one time blood test for glanders? So horse tested negative in Europe with a better blood test for Glanders, then he some how contracted it in flight or even at the quarantine facility in the US. As the owner I would sue Jet Pet’s for not have properly clean facilities at the shipping point, in the plane and even at the US quarantine facility. If the horse truly didn’t have Glanders when he left then he got it from some thing or another horse enroute. Either there was a horse onboard that is a carrier or has Glanders but somehow tested negative or there was one at some point on the plane or at either facility where the horse contracted it. Have they retested any other horses that were on the flight?
Maybe impossible to prove but the horse got it somewhere if the USDA is saying that is the case. I wish the owners would demand or could demand the European test be done here. Otherwise I would be looking to sue to recoup my costs claiming the horse was exposed inflight or at the facility in the US. Make them prove otherwise because he left Europe with a clean bill of health.
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It’s a bit of a tangent, but many years ago, I was flying out of Miami with some horses. At the airport facility, there was a herd of ostriches in a little pen. We were told they had been there for a LONG time. I don’t remember now if it was a paperwork issue, or a payment issue, or what. But it sounded like they could be there indefinitely. I don’t know what ever became of them, but obviously it’s not unheard of to have complications getting animals in and out of the country. So I hope they can figure out a good resolution for the current situation with this horse.
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I feel so badly for the child involved in this situation, she must feel such guilt but it is not her fault!
I am mostly very shocked there is no insurance here and no contracts. There should be travel and mortality and sickness insurance, no? Whoever had the custody of the animal in customs should have the insurance agreement for it- I have flown many small animals and that is always the way. Sometimes the agent services are “door to door” and sometimes just to the runway but it is always spelled out. I think maybe the family needs to stop trusting their agents and hire an attorney and see if they truly are responsible for all the costs. Also the rise in fees would not be allowed with a contract.
This is the problem with making private government services like quarantine. The owners of the company make a lot of money with their monopoly and the public has to pay and pay with no choices.
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Yep, I got exactly the same feeling. Especially when you read her letter and she was saying stuff like “I personally believe he will eventually test zero on the cft eventually!!!” Im sorry but if you are not a vet get out of here with your “personal beliefs” about what this test means.
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I think a seller would say their responsibility is to deliver a horse that meets standards for shipping, which this seller did because the horse passed the outgoing screening test.
But a seller is not going to take the responsibility of the horse during transit or after arrival because the seller has no control there.
If you bought a horse in NY and it had a health certificate, but it arrived ill or injured, wouldn’t the onus be on the shipper, not the seller?
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I can imagine that trying to enforce a contract from another country would be difficult if the seller had second thoughts about taking back a horse as well.
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There might be something - not glanders/ B. mallei because the WB is consistently negative, but at this point he’s probably cross-reacting with something. He’s had what, 3 or 4 positives in a row? This isn’t a lab contamination or a true false negative where there’s nothing to react with, but more likely a consistent cross-reaction with some other bacteria.
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