# So Sad



## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

Our neighbor has about 12 acres of pasture across the fence from us with a pond and about 6 horses. She doesn't live there but has a guy come feed and check on them every now and then. She's an attorney so I have her office number but she never gave us her cell or private number so when something goes wrong with her horses I just call her office and leave a message. We irrigate our pasture and keep it mowed so it has no weeds or brush so it is very lush and nice but she never does anything to hers. We just don't get much rain here so you naturally only have growth a few months a year unless you irrigate. Our horses are never sick but hers seem to always be having one problem or another on that over grazed brushy ground. They have no clean water but must drink out of a stagnant pond. Yesterday, we saw one of her horses caught up in the fence rolling around. My husband rushed over and got it out but it couldn't get up. I guess it had colic because it was bloated and kept rolling around. She has a little filly on her about 4 months old. We called and left her a message but it was the 4th so of course she was not at the office. I had no way to get in touch with her. We have not seen the horse today and the filly is calling out for her so I have to assume she is under the brush dead somewhere. Now the baby has no mom, no food, no clean water, and is crying. I have no idea when she will come to check on her horses. I would love to take the baby and raise it out. That is awful young to be weaned, especailly if she isn't getting good feed to make up for it. But, not my horse, not my place, not my problem. I just can't seem to get that through to my heart though! What would you do?


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## Zilli (Apr 1, 2012)

Well, I wouldn't let the poor little thing suffer!

Is there a local humane society or animal/horse rescue group that you could at least contact?

Law enforcement?

Heck, if nothing else, I would contact the local media (if you have one). There's nothing like an animal neglect story on the 6:00 news to get things going.

Please do what you can for that baby. And maybe for the momma horse, too. The possibility that she could be suffering somewhere breaks my heart as well.

To be honest, I don't understand your hesitation.


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## Kazahleenah (Nov 3, 2004)

I would save the foal.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

You might need to contact animal control or sheriff's department. If they have her name they can look her up and contact her.

Why does she even have animals?


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

I would check on the mother and save the baby. Call someone and report it. Thats a bunch of bull that the owner is so neglectful. I would have to do something about it. Bring the baby to my place until the owner was contacted and the mother if she was still alive. Bill her for all services and if she makes a peep about any legal action...tell her to go ahead. I would also be taking pictures of the pasture, the baby and the other horses and document document document how often someone comes to take care of them. 

Good luck to you in whatever you decide.


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## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

It is a whole different world down here in south texas (less than an hour from the border). People literally tie their horses out in the yard and on the side of the road with a rope to graze and have no water in this heat. They bring them back home at night and water them then. I see starving horses all the time in plain site yet law enforcement doesn't do anything. They do good to round up the kids that are neglected here. It is a poor area with lots of problems so no one really worries about the animals so there is no one to call or complain to. This woman does better than most. Her adult horses are not skinny since she does hire a man to come throw hay over but this young filly cannot make it on hay. She is in great shape now because she has been nursing but not sure how long before she starts to go down. I have told this woman numerous times that I would call her when needed if she would give me her number but she apparently doesn't want me to have it. The last time I called her office and left a message about a sick horse she sent the vet out and never called me back or said anything about it so I take it she doesn't want to hear from me. It is not my land, not my horse, so I'm not going to tresspass and start a war with the neighbor. She will eventually show up and when she does, we will offer to buy the filly and care for her but I feel sure she will say no and think it will be fine in the pasture with the grown horses. If that mare is out there dead, we all will know it soon in this heat. Not sure how she will deal with the carcus. We have been hoping she would give up and sell out since she has no time for the horses and never comes to see them. If so, I want to buy it so one more reason not to get on her bad side. I'll let you know how it goes.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Before we all get out knickers in a twist, I don't see anything suggesting that there is gross neglect. Just because somebody doesn't do things the way somebody else does, doesn't mean that it's a brutal situation. There has to be water somewhere on the land or all of the horses would have been dead long before now so I'm not buying as sure the horses warrant a call to the authorities. Another thing to consider is that in certain parts of the industry, foals are weaned at that age and do just fine. This one is at an age where she's already drinking water and eating grass so there's not even a slim chance that you're going to get her on a bottle or convince her that powdered milk is going to replace mom in any sort of way.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Ditto what wr said.


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## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

They do have water. Like I said, they use a pond. I suspect that may be part of what is making the horses sick. With very little rain, the pond is filled from the irrigation canal and then it evaporates and filled again. This happens over and over for years until many of the ponds around here become contaminated. We even get warnings not to eat the fish you catch from such ponds. I really think the owner thinks she is taking care of her horses and I agee, as things go down here she does a better job than most. I just hate to see this small filly raised on hay and pond water with very little grazing or no grain. No one has even touched this filly so they are missing valuable time in her training. None of my business and like you said, not all people do things the same way. So, I'll try to buy it if I can and if not, I'll try not to worry about it. Thanks guys.


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## Susan Mary (May 8, 2004)

Get into the pasture look around see if any dead horse, if so check on the foal. If the foal is doing ok just wait and watch. If not take the foal home and when someone comes looking for it explain what you did to keep it alive.

My feelings on any animal they are at the mercy of the human. If a human cannot take care of them shame on them. Step up and take the foal don't let it be left helpless.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Miss Kay said:


> No one has even touched this filly so they are missing valuable time in her training. None of my business and like you said, not all people do things the same way. So, I'll try to buy it if I can and if not, I'll try not to worry about it. Thanks guys.


This would be a classic example of different people doing things differently. When I was breeding, I left my foals with the mares until after weaning (she knows her job better than I do) and I didn't start any training until that time and it was nothing more than handling, haltering and such. If the filly is only 4 months old, I'm going to say that there's a lot of valuable training time left in her. 

I really do feel that you basing your reactions on your opionions of how it should be done and you're not looking at the fact that there are many other ways to do it right. I also think it would be very unwise to go tromping through someone else's property, looking for a carcass, unless you have a strong desire to be charged.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Miss Kay said:


> It is a whole different world down here in south texas (less than an hour from the border). People literally tie their horses out in the yard and on the side of the road with a rope to graze and have no water in this heat. They bring them back home at night and water them then. I see starving horses all the time in plain site yet law enforcement doesn't do anything. They do good to round up the kids that are neglected here. It is a poor area with lots of problems so no one really worries about the animals so there is no one to call or complain to. This woman does better than most. Her adult horses are not skinny since she does hire a man to come throw hay over but this young filly cannot make it on hay. She is in great shape now because she has been nursing but not sure how long before she starts to go down. I have told this woman numerous times that I would call her when needed if she would give me her number but she apparently doesn't want me to have it. The last time I called her office and left a message about a sick horse she sent the vet out and never called me back or said anything about it so I take it she doesn't want to hear from me. It is not my land, not my horse, so I'm not going to tresspass and start a war with the neighbor. She will eventually show up and when she does, we will offer to buy the filly and care for her but I feel sure she will say no and think it will be fine in the pasture with the grown horses. If that mare is out there dead, we all will know it soon in this heat. Not sure how she will deal with the carcus. We have been hoping she would give up and sell out since she has no time for the horses and never comes to see them. If so, I want to buy it so one more reason not to get on her bad side. I'll let you know how it goes.


I was suggesting calling AC or sheriff because they would be able to look up a home or cell number for her to let her know there was a problem with her horse. 

The baby is old enough to wean. Not ideal but if the other horses look okay, the baby should be fine. Horse do just fine on hay only and no grain. I have almost no pasture so my horses have hay year round. Horse not in work don't need grain. Both of mine are easy keepers and even being ridden regularly rarely get grain. I give them alfalfa in place of grain.

Just me, I would probably sneak over and make sure the mare isn't suffering.


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## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

This morning, the foal is with the other horses and no mom in sight. They either came and got her (which we did not hear) or she is dead by now. Buzzards and time will tell. As for me, I'm not going on to an attorney's property uninvited unless I see an emergency that I can help as in getting the mare untangled from the fence. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for all the support and interest.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Mom is dead. The baby would more than likely stay with her as long as she was alive. At least you know she's not out there suffering. The baby should be okay.

What a bad position to be in having to watch that happen. 

Maybe now the mom is gone, she will be willing to let you buy the baby.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

It is too late to help the mare, but if one knew who the vet was (often as not they have their name/clinic name written on the truck) you could call the clinic and say something to them. They should know the owner based on the situation described alone.......


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Oregon Julie said:


> It is too late to help the mare, but if one knew who the vet was (often as not they have their name/clinic name written on the truck) you could call the clinic and say something to them. They should know the owner based on the situation described alone.......


Mares sometimes die and foals can do fine being weaned at 4 months so I'm not sure what would be the point of stirring up trouble for somebody with no proof of abuse, neglect or mismanagement. 

I'm must be a bit on the dense side because I'm just not seeing any cvlear evidence of abuse or neglect.


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## JanO (Jun 17, 2003)

[QUOTE\]
I'm must be a bit on the dense side because I'm just not seeing any cvlear evidence of abuse or neglect.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree. Just because things aren't the way you'd do it, doesn't mean it's necessarily the wrong way. However, if the mare died and is not disposed of properly I would be concerned if I lived close. I definately would call animal control or someone else out to take care of the carcass. When the fellow comes to check up on them for the owner I'd certainly speak to him and let him know that leaving a decomposing horse carcass left unattended is not neighborly of them.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I wouldn't want a carcass beside my place either but bylaws regarding things like that vary greatly and I'm not sure how close or how small each property is so I'd want to be very sure I had the legal right to started making phone calls. 

It has been my experience that when we start telling our neighbors how to live and do things, the situation can get really messy in a huge hurry and there's always the chance that an angry neighbor can find just as many reasons to return the favor.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

I doubt there are any laws regarding carcass disposal, or if there are they most likely aren't enforced from what the op says about where she lives. 

It's fairly common practice for farmer type people to let scavengers take care of dead animals. It doesn't take too long before the carcass is gone. 2 to 3 days here and there would be no trace of it. There was a big discussion about this on the cattle forum recently - the op in that thread was just incensed that her neighbor dealt with carcasses that way. I don't think we ever quite got it through her head that that's common practice - though many of us would've at least dragged the carcass to the woods.


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## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

I agree. The deed is over and done with and I can't help a dead mare so I'll go about my business and not worry. I guess the point was, I was watching this poor horse die while her baby cried and there was no one to help her and the owner didn't leave any way to contact her. I much prefer to raise a foal on a high plane of nutrition but I'm sure it will live, at least for now. This woman has every right to throw horses out on a pasture and leave them be. Just not the way I do it. So, next time one goes down and dies, I'll try to stay in so I don't have to watch. As for the carcus, I'm from a rural background and have no problem letting it go back to nature. It doesn't take long here with the heat and scavengers. I love my privacy and independence so I will respect hers. Case closed! Thanks for all the points of view and for keeping it civil.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Miss Kay said:


> I agree. The deed is over and done with and I can't help a dead mare so I'll go about my business and not worry. I guess the point was, I was watching this poor horse die while her baby cried and there was no one to help her and the owner didn't leave any way to contact her. I much prefer to raise a foal on a high plane of nutrition but I'm sure it will live, at least for now. This woman has every right to throw horses out on a pasture and leave them be. Just not the way I do it. So, next time one goes down and dies, I'll try to stay in so I don't have to watch. As for the carcus, I'm from a rural background and have no problem letting it go back to nature. It doesn't take long here with the heat and scavengers. I love my privacy and independence so I will respect hers. Case closed! Thanks for all the points of view and for keeping it civil.


Oddly enough, your tone doesn't seem all that civil or respectful of the thoughts of others and your recent comments are much different than your previous concerns. 

If you watched the mare die, why didn't you call a vet or put her down if you thought she was suffering?? 

If you want the foal, why not make and offer?

Why do you feel this woman is throwing away horses? Has she had many die, are the others in poor condition? If so, why would you wait so long to report her and why not mention the poor condition of the herd before now?

As for giving you her numbers, that is something you should have sorted out a long time ago and not wait until you have an urgent situation.


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## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

Are you kidding me. It's not my horse so I'm not going to put it down. I would make an offer on the foal if I could get in touch with the woman. Remember, I've been leaving messages but she does not return them. 

Just never mind.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Miss Kay said:


> Are you kidding me. It's not my horse so I'm not going to put it down. I would make an offer on the foal if I could get in touch with the woman. Remember, I've been leaving messages but she does not return them.
> 
> Just never mind.


Once again, you only answered one of my questions in a roundabout sorta way but if you've left a message offering to buy the orphan and she hasn't returned your call, I would say her answer is pretty clear.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Miss Kay, a woman I ride with, who is also a vet, said her easy keepers are horses that were raised on pasture with no grain before adulthood. The hard keepers (same breed) were raised with a more limited turn out and were grained regularly. She did admit it could be just a coincidence and that she hasn't done or read any actual studies, but it does make sense. 

Not saying either is right or wrong but that the baby, and other horses, should be just fine with no grain.

I used to be one that always provided grain and supplements and vitamins. One day I realized my mare just didn't look good. She was always just a little too thin despite all I was doing for them. I tried different kinds of grain, different amounts, etc. Then I decided to just simplify everything. They still get a good quality hay and a flake of alfalfa or soaked cubes. Now and again they get a scoop of whole oats to share between them. They both look fabulous. No supplements. No vitamins. Makes life so much simpler!


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

DaniR1968, my horses are on grass in the summer and hay in the winter and they're always in great condition. The only time we would grain is if we have a specific reason.


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## JanO (Jun 17, 2003)

My horses are on pasture 24/7 in the spring & summer. In the fall and winter I feed good quality grass hay, and maybe some alfalfa or orchard grass if I can get some, because there is no grass in my pastures. My horses look great. I don't feed grain unless I want to give them a treat or to give them a dose of diatomaceous earth for about 30 days in the fall, and again in the spring.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

I was on a 5 day ride. One of the great vets in the area was also. I asked if I was cheating my horses/donkeys/mules by not graining them. The vet laughed and said, "You've been holding that mule back for 3 days so you don't pass the trail boss and you're asking me if you should grain??!! If that mule or any of your stock need grain, you'll know it."

It's been a lot of years with the stock and all ages still get Bermuda grass hay and diatomaceous earth (DE), both free choice fed. No grain. They've always roamed free on the desert acreage when not working. Never have had a skinny one. We're happy campers!


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

Agree. Horses evolved eating forage, that's what their bodies are best suited for. 

Feel the same way about cows. They were not made to eat grain. The type cows that have the most problems - metabolic and disease - are the dairy cows that they pour the grain to. Their bodies were just not made for that.

To the op, I don't really think you've been out of line. It would've bothered me to watch the horse die and not been able to help or get a hold of anyone too. You seem reasonable in your response.

OMG the thrashing you would've gotten here if you said you let YOUR horse die from colic from not being checked on often enough.....


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I've bought heifers that were on silage and horses that were on substantial grain rations and in both cases, it's a huge ordeal to get their systems balanced out enough that they can go on to a more natural diet.

Cliff, I don't know if anybody is saying that it's good to watch a horse die or that anybody would not be bothered by it. My questions related to the extreme comments suggesting that the owner is abusive, neglectful or were deliberately causing harm to their livestock. Comments like that in a public forum can leave the person making them on the receiving end of a lawsuit and can also severely damage a person's reputation and professional standing within the community. If the horses are not in good flesh and are dropping like flies (which has not been indicated), the owner sure should be reported but all I'm saying is that if this is an isolated incident, it sould be treated like an isolated incident.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Rogo said:


> I was on a 5 day ride. One of the great vets in the area was also. I asked if I was cheating my horses/donkeys/mules by not graining them. The vet laughed and said, "You've been holding that mule back for 3 days so you don't pass the trail boss and you're asking me if you should grain??!! If that mule or any of your stock need grain, you'll know it."
> 
> It's been a lot of years with the stock and all ages still get Bermuda grass hay and diatomaceous earth (DE), both free choice fed. No grain. They've always roamed free on the desert acreage when not working. Never have had a skinny one. We're happy campers!


Makes life so much easier, doesn't it? I wish I had discovered this years ago. Sad thing is, people just don't want to believe it's that easy. When I tell people I ride with that my horses only get hay (with the occasional scoop of whole oats for two horses and 3 goats.), they tell me I NEED to be feeding vitamins or a ration balancer. Never mind that my horses look great. LOL


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

wr said:


> I've bought heifers that were on silage and horses that were on substantial grain rations and in both cases, it's a huge ordeal to get their systems balanced out enough that they can go on to a more natural diet.
> 
> Cliff, I don't know if anybody is saying that it's good to watch a horse die or that anybody would not be bothered by it. My questions related to the extreme comments suggesting that the owner is abusive, neglectful or were deliberately causing harm to their livestock. Comments like that in a public forum can leave the person making them on the receiving end of a lawsuit and can also severely damage a person's reputation and professional standing within the community. If the horses are not in good flesh and are dropping like flies (which has not been indicated), the owner sure should be reported but all I'm saying is that if this is an isolated incident, it sould be treated like an isolated incident.


I understand... but I've seen people get thoroughly reamed here over the years for a whole lot less than the op's neighbor has done (absolutely not by you though.) To the point that only a certain group tends to post much. Kwim? 

And imo in a way the op's neighbor is somewhat neglectful - ideally someone would have eyes on those horses at least once a day. Just because horses tend to get in trouble more often than, say, cows. I'm not riled up about it or anything but it is just common sense. The mare might have been saved, or at least saved the agony dying of colic entails.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Cliff, I agree with you but sometimes people like that just don't know any better or maybe she's relying to heavily on someone who isn't doing their job as she expected. If either is the case, the situation needs to be handled for sure but it needs to be handled carefully in order to maintain a certain amount of peace in the area.

In my opinion, the whole situation could be handled better by trying to contact the neighbor when there isn't a crisis and offering to be that extra set of eyes and get permission to go check the horses so there is an opportunity to help her learn and make sure the horses are okay. Perhaps that would be just enough for her to understand that her chore boy isn't doing his job or that horses need more care but at least then a person could call and leave a weekly status update without putting her on the defensive.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

wr wr is offline
Horse Forum Moderator

Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 6,507
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oregon Julie View Post
It is too late to help the mare, but if one knew who the vet was (often as not they have their name/clinic name written on the truck) you could call the clinic and say something to them. They should know the owner based on the situation described alone.......

**I posted the above and your response wr is below this. For some reason it didn't come through as I thought it would and without the above info my response to you makes no sense.






wr said:


> Mares sometimes die and foals can do fine being weaned at 4 months so I'm not sure what would be the point of stirring up trouble for somebody with no proof of abuse, neglect or mismanagement.
> 
> I'm must be a bit on the dense side because I'm just not seeing any cvlear evidence of abuse or neglect.


I don't see where I said a single thing in my post about abuse or neglect. It is not the best way of managing horses that these people have, but I did not suggest that either. I don't see how trying to get in touch with these people through their vet clinic as an attempt to stir up trouble for them either. If my critters had an issue and I was not easily contacted I would appreciate someone making a bit of extra effort to try to reach me.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Oregon Julie said:


> wr wr is offline
> Horse Forum Moderator
> 
> Join Date: Aug 2003
> ...


I owe you an apology. Part of my comment was directed at those who had jumped on the abuse/neglect bandwagon and partly because I read more into your comment than I should. In all reality, contacting the vet, with the intention of being helpful and suggesting that the owner needs certain information or their chore person isn't doing a great job might be a good way to initiate conversation. 

My comment was also based on the thinking that if one calls the vet and comes on like gangbusters, it's going to further fuel a difficult situation and if the vet is summoned, you can bet the person who called is going to end up with the bill. 

In retrospect, my opinions may also reflect my personal expriences and I had a city gal buy an acreage near my cattle about 10 years ago and she decided that my longhorn cattle were skinny beef cattle so she took it upon herself to save them from me, which ultimately darned near cost me my livelihood and my reputation as a stockman. It wasn't too bad when she simply called animal control, the SPCA, the RCMP and local large animal vets (although I always got stuck with the vet bills) every few days, but she finally found a cat & dog vet in Calgary to come out and classifly my cattle as an emaciated beef breed and she had them seized. I did get my cattle back although, it took a lot longer to restore my breeding program and my reputation. 

The financial cost was very steep but while the cat & dog vet had my herd, she castrated my $8,000.00 herd sire and junior herd sire, aborted all my cows because she felt they were too thin to be in calf (which were actually very in very good flesh) and to add insult to injury, dehorned every one of my calves and tipped the horns of all my cows. Tipping horns and dehorning calves meant I could no longer promote my cattle and my ranch in the show ring because longhorn cattle have to be shown in their natural state and when the dust settled, I was awarded a very nominal amount in court because the well meaning neighbor, claimed she was impoverished and I was awarded next to nothing at the rate of $50.00/month and the cat & dog vet simply vanished.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

Oh wow wr that is horrible. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. I would be hounding that vet to the ends of the earth. That is just unbelievable.

We sort of got into this type stuff on the cattle forum thread I mentioned. The op wanted to know who she should "call" because the neighbor didn't call the vet when she thought he should and when a cow died he'd let the predators have it instead of "having respect for the animal" by burying it. Everyone told her to mind her own business - very nicely at first - but she kept on and it got rather heated. I think we could all imagine ourselves with her as our neighbor and it was a scary thought. 

People who don't know better just have this crazy disney mentality towards animals anymore and it's getting worse fast. It's even starting to creep into some homesteader types. I can't tell you how many people have been chastised on ht in the last few months for eliminating predators. People just don't think right anymore.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

wr, been there, done that in terms of idiot and meddling neighbors so I feel your pain. In my case we had neighbors calling the local law because we had a "cow laying down in our field with an engorged udder". It was a Jersey who had calved the day before and she was simply laying there beside her calf on a nice spring day, chewing her cud. 

We also had a ACO who decided that the 4th Amendment didn't apply to him if he was investigating a possible crime. He decided that it was a crime to breed dogs in our county (it wasn't). He decided it was a crime to not call a vet if a couple of goats had foot rot in Feb, during one of the wettest months we had in 10 years (it isn't) and he decided that since he couldn't "see" any signs of treatment that we must not be doing anything about it (Dr. Naylors and antibiotics cleared it up within a week). He, unfortunately, had a friend in the form of one of the local vets who backed him up on the hoof rot charge.

Now in the end we were cited on 4 different occasions and each time we went to court we won, if you can call it that. Because we had the good sense to get a lawyer right off the bat we had been told by him (and rightfully so) that the next step would be the ACO coming up with some totally BS reason for taking our dogs and that we should remove them from the property. We took his advice and moved them to a friends place about 25 miles away and I lived at their house for 3 1/2 months. We took them off the property at 7 AM, they showed up around 10 AM with a warrant. 

Back to "winning". The judge found in our favor the three times we went in front of him, for various reasons beyond the fact that what we were doing was not breaking any laws and the conditions/care that our animals had was just fine. He also found in our favor because this guy was on our property without a warrant and without our permission and most of his so called proof was not admissible. Even if it had been, he would have found in our favor, but that really was the icing on the cake. During that final trial the judge asked the prosecution side of things "why are we here again, re-visiting this subject when I ruled 18 months ago that these people are in the right and you are in the wrong????". The gal didn't have an answer but the ACO offered to tell him why. His explanation was that "we were breaking the law, blah blah blah". The judge told him "but I ruled that they were not" and the ACO actually had the nerve to say "but you were wrong". The judge then asked him if he planned on continuing to harass these poor people? The ACO started babbling and then the judge just held up his hand and said "never mind, I know the answer to that question". So did we :-(

We decided that this just wasn't worth dealing with anymore and we moved away. While we had our property on the market I was working on things like painting while my husband lived at our new place. During that time I got yet another citation. I was only living at the old place part time and when I was there for a week at a time at the most I had only two dogs with me. In spite of this the ACO cited me AGAIN for having a large number of dogs on the property and breeding them. This time around he had me go before the local dog board. They made me wait through 2 3/4 hours of other people's dog at large, barking, etc. stuff so that I was the last person there and everyone else was gone. I went up and sat at their table and when asked about my defense I stated that besides not actually living there full time anymore that when I was there I had but 2 dogs with me and that even if this was not the case Judge so and so had ruled that we were not breaking any laws and I was pretty certain that a judges opinion trumped the dog board........

The county lawyer looked at the letter from the judge spelling out his decision and told the dog board that I was right. I cannot tell you how much pleasure I got from watching the pig ACO turn bright red with rage. It was my hope that he would have clutched his chest and dropped dead at that point, but no such luck.

This whole situation cost us tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers fees, the 50 mile round trip that I did every single day for 3 1/2 months and then there was the fact that we had to try to sell our house during the worse economy since the Depression. We put 88K down on our property 10 years earlier, paid very hefty house payments every month for those 10 years, then sold it for about 12K more then we paid for it. Thankfully we were not upside down like so many, but we took it in the shorts big time. All of this because of some jerk with no understanding about animals, the laws, and our 4th Amendment rights.

I am glad we have moved because even if it had not been as bad as it was there I still lived in fear that some old ewe would drop dead of natural causes and some yuppy idiot wanna be from the city would decide it was some form of animal cruelty.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Cliff, the neighbor sold her acreage and moved back to the city and I'm not interested in fighting with a vet or anybody else. The way I see it, all that anger and misery just starts to consume a person and that's not the person I want to be.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

We've had passers through who called in and complained that horses out here were blindfolded.

Flymasks, anyone?


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## Harmony_Meadows (Nov 4, 2007)

I had someone call in the SPCA on my horses...twice...the vet both said when they walked up they had reports of a dead horse in the field. My response:

"Well then I must be one heck of a healer cuz here come my "dead" horses now!" (as all four come barreling over for fuss and treats!)

I feel for you WR... even when they could see my horses were perfectly fine they hassled me and hassled me. I finally told the crabby lady on the phone that they can either come and get them if they think they are so bad or leave me the heck alone and the next time she calls to bug me I will have them all put down by the end of the day. Never heard from them again. I was a touch cranky then as I was all alone as my husband had just passed and I was in desperate need for surgery myself. I wouldn't have put them down...but I am glad she didn't know that!


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

beccachow said:


> We've had passers through who called in and complained that horses out here were blindfolded.
> 
> Flymasks, anyone?


I had a very elderly woman knock on the door a few years ago and ask why my horses were blindfolded. She was polite but insistent that it wasn't right and I should remove them. I had a heck of a time explaining they were flymasks and finally had to go get one from the barn so she could see it. So far, no one has stopped and asked why the mares have buckets on the noses... but I do have an extra grazing muzzle in the house to show them.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

wr said:


> I owe you an apology. Part of my comment was directed at those who had jumped on the abuse/neglect bandwagon and partly because I read more into your comment than I should. In all reality, contacting the vet, with the intention of being helpful and suggesting that the owner needs certain information or their chore person isn't doing a great job might be a good way to initiate conversation.
> 
> My comment was also based on the thinking that if one calls the vet and comes on like gangbusters, it's going to further fuel a difficult situation and if the vet is summoned, you can bet the person who called is going to end up with the bill.
> 
> ...


I'm fairly sure if that had happened to me the neighbor and the small animal Vet would have vanished in a SSS scenario. What a horrible thing to have happened to you, wr.


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