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In COMPLETE shock

4K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  Amanda Marie 
#1 ·
I am in shock. Received the article below from my best friend this morning.

Horse rescue ranch facing $5.6M suit

The horse in question, Stridor, is a horse I bought from this rescue facility yearlier last year. He was sold to me as a great and SAFE riding horse from this rescue facility. Right after I bought him I ran into a lot of problems. He reared up on me and flipped over and on 2 seperate occasions also had gone in uncontrollable bucking while under saddle. I owned him only a couple months when I finally called the rescue centre and told them to come and pick up the animal they had sold me as "safe".

Obviously this gentleman was also lied to and ended up paying the price for it. I cannot believe how lucky I am. I'm in the middle of trying to contact this poor fellow.

Never again will I get a rescue. It was the first and only time I've done it. NEVER again will I do it.
 
#4 ·
M2G maybe if you could call and be a character witness. It sounds to me like maybe these people don't need to be horse "rescuers" if they are lying and putting people in danger....:-(
 
#5 ·
M2G maybe if you could call and be a character witness. It sounds to me like maybe these people don't need to be horse "rescuers" if they are lying and putting people in danger....:-(
Absolutely. I have been on the phone all morning trying to get a hold of the reporter who covered the story. I have 2 seperate counts that I know of where he told me the horse had thrown his own son off as well as what I personally went thru before he came and picked him up.
I'm honestly not surprised at what the horse did, just surprised he would have actually put someone else on the animal especially knowing what he knew. As I posted earlier, I am just thankful I didn't get seriously injured when I had those falls.

When I returned the horse, I was able to buy a reg. QH out of the stallion he has there. The best foal I ever owned. He was so well tempered and so easy to train. I have nothing negative to say about it but as for the rescue, a good reminder that sometimes horses end up in slaughter for a good reason and taking one in is a big risk to take especially when you can't verify the history behind him/her. I will never rescue one again.
 
#7 ·
I have mixed feelings about this.
We were going to buy a horse from the Mitchell centre a few years back. I don't remember much..
but they are doing good work, rescuing horses from slaughter.

Although, I do admit, if they knew the horse was dangerous they should not have put someone on it.
 
#10 ·
And I agree as well on the fact he did a lot of good for many years but in this situation (probably more than we know about)I know for a fact he knew the horse was dangerous but he disregarded it and had someone else ride the horse. With that I am furious.
 
#9 ·
Im sorry that you had to go through that! at least you were smart enough to send him back before you got hurt. As for the rescue org.....they may be saving horses in a way...but by turning them around and selling them as sound when they are anything but is dangerous to both horse and rider and not good for either of them. Im glad the man is trying to hold them responsible for their actions! people have been killed that way!!! horses too!!!! Gratz on attempting to contact the media! keep trying!
 
#12 ·
And I agree as well on the fact he did a lot of good for many years but in this situation (probably more than we know about)I know for a fact he knew the horse was dangerous but he disregarded it and had someone else ride the horse. With that I am furious.
I completely understand and I agree. there is no way they should have put someone on that horse, and then turn the blame on him. It is completely unacceptable.
 
#16 ·
i totally agree with you all but it does saddens me to hear that people say they wouldn't take rescued horses.
i think what has happened here is dreadful but i hope people will still take in rescued horses otherwise where would they all go?
i know we can save all but some are worth saving...
 
#17 ·
Wow, that's pretty crazy! Rescuers have a pretty big responsibility. Not only do they take on the care/control of bettering animal lives, they need to also make sure that they are not dangering human lives by doing so. If a dog rescue picked up a stray and discovered that it repeatedly attacked people or other dogs, there would be a good chance it would either be put down or be considered unadoptable by the general public. Horse rescues should do the same thing. If the horse is a danger to people they need to either be put down or (more in this case) be sold as a pasture buddy and NOT a riding animal. Sure, some dogs/horses can be rehabbed by intense training from a very experienced trainer, but most rescues don't have those kind of resources. That's too bad that someone was hurt from their negligence. Glad you were able to get out of that situation M2G! He sure is cute though....
 
#18 ·
I agree that dangerous horses that can't be helped should be put down -- as upnover said, just as we do with dangerous dogs.

M2G -- I think it's terrible also that your first (maybe only) rescue was such a sour experience. Most rescues, at least the ones that I have spoken with, are far more responsible, even professional. Most will sign contracts fully disclosing health, behaviors, history as known and in turn the rescuer agrees to provide proper care and contact the rescue org back if the "adoption" doesn't work out for both owner and horse. Please don't hold this against all rescues. This is a bad, bad case and isn't the norm IME.
 
#19 ·
it all (in my mind) comes down to RESPONSIBILITY- if the original owner was responsible ie care, training=the horse would not have ended up rescued from slaughter AND if the rescue people were responsible neither you nor this fellow would have been allowed access to an animal with such issues. I udnerstand that the rescue sites need cash flow=but to sell an animal who is in this condition wether it be mental or physical problem is immoral.
 
#20 ·
This is probably one of the most controversial topics at the moment in the horse industry. Though I highly support horse rescue operations, I also am for the slaughtering of horses.

Just as seen with dogs and cats, there is more horses out there than there are currently people giving homes for them. With the economy how it is now, less and less people are able to continue to financially support a horse, so they therefor must sell it.

So what exactly are we 'supposed' to do with the excess? As much as some people believe it is possible, horse rescues and people are not going to be able to provide a permanent home for all of these horses. Now, just because many horses would be slaughtered in the slaughterhouses, doesn't mean that every one of those horses is a 'bad' horse. For some reason or another, they just became one of the many 'unwanted' horses.

The problem is, is that in alot of cases many of the horses had a reason why they became unwanted. Though I'm completely for horse rescues, I also believe that it is critical that caution is taken when looking in to getting a rescue horse. You have to remember that these horses came from that 'unwanted' population, or even rescued from neglect, which can result in some sticky situations later on. You could have a horse that seems like the perfect angel, then something triggers that past experience, and lookout. Now not every horse was neglected or abused that ended up as an 'unwanted' horse, but since the rescuers more than often have no idea as to the horse's history, there is no 'for sure' way of knowing.

It's definately a tough topic. There are many great rescue horses out there that end up being amazing, well loved horses. You just have to remember you are dealing with a 'rescue' horse. It's been saved from a bad situation, and because of that it's to be expected that the horse isn't going to be the horse of your dreams. Though it very well could be.

It's really one of those topics that you have look at both sides of the arguement. Each side has a good arguement, it's just finding that balance between what's best for the horse and what's best for the human. Each horse is unique and has different experiences, good an bad, which should be handled separately. As the owner of the horse, they should be able to make a smart decision on what would be the best future for that horse, with safety of future owners in mind. But, though that's what 'should' happen, there isn't really a way of making it happen.
 
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