Trainer killed my horse

My trusted trainer starved my horse to death over a 3 month period. I used him before with good results and got busy and didn't physically check on my horse the second time I used satisfied with a few phone calls. An incredible transformation occurred from a beautiful shiny black horse about 15.1 to an animal that barely resembled her previous self looking more like a scrawny brown camel. I think she even lost height. She died the day after he dumped her in my pasture. It was the most horrible day and into the night trying to save her life holding IV bags and building a shelter over where she was down. She was eating grass flat on her side, struggling to live and this trainer said she was off her feed. My vet had other emergency calls and basically had to leave. He just wanted to give her a chance to survive based on her youth 2 pushing 3 and left my husband and myself to keep changing bags and try to get her on her feet. I would post pics but they are disturbing and might be too upsetting for some. I feel physically beat up and depressed beyond words. Let my sad tale be a warning never trust anyone with your horse if you can possibly help it. I would appreciate any advice others may have about dealing with the criminal/civil justice system. I called the appropriate local offices and they were surprisingly apathetic about doing anything. The horse traveled over county lines and they all want to pass the problem along. I did have the sheriff do a welfare check on the other horses at the training barn but never heard any follow up. Of course the trainer won't talk to me. It's amazing how one person can seem so nice and do something like this. Also, hindsight is wonderful, but find a plan now, on what you would do if your horse goes down. There won't be opportunities to figure it out during a crisis. We had to stay with her every minute to keep the IV lines free. The backhoe we rented the next day to bury her would of easily hoisted her up. More than likely you won't have time to check out who has a sling or know where to get heavy equipment. If there is only one livestock vet in town it won't matter how much money you have to spend he might be working on another animal and take hours to arrive so be prepared to handle any kind of emergency. I never expected to be so hands on doing medical procedures.

I am so sorry you and your beloved horse went through this. I went through something similar with a co-owned horse...you just can't trust some people...

My sincere condolences for your loss.

That is awful.
I hope that you get some kind of satisfaction from the legal side of things. But I would certainly take some before and after pics to a lawyer and go for it.

Your best bet is to go the civil route. The criminal courts are so tied up with violent crime, drug crime, special victims, and other basic law breakers, that animals are very low on the list. If you have pictures, save them. File in small claims if the value of the damage is under $5,000.00. It costs about 50-100 depending on where you live. Honestly, you can get a lawyer, but most of the time, you will only get 60% of the judgement. If you file in small claims, it is what you can prove versus what he can deny. It's actually pretty simple.

I would consider small claims first since you are having difficulty arousing the sympathy of the law around you. On top of that, this guy is out to make money. Nail him where it hurts. Furthermore, you can by all means use word of mouth and try getting your local newspaper involved. If the news picks it up, you will probably wind up with a criminal case. I would wait until after a judgement to post negatives about this person anywhere though. This way you can't be accused of slander or having a personal vendetta against the trainer.

Even giving the trainer the benefit of the doubt, let's say the horse needed her teeth floated or had colic or something that caused the weight loss. At the very least, this trainer should have called you, called a vet even if you didn't agree, and tried to figure out the cause of the weight loss. Animals, especially horses, can get sick and go down fairly quickly, but this sounds like neglect to me. Have a necropsy done asap if you can. It will do wonders for your peace of mind and your case if you choose to file against him.

I would file in a heartbeat. Those records are public and many people will do a background check on anyone taking care of their horse.

Just my thoughts on this.

When I was a kid, we had horses. Quarter horses, paints, and an Appy. The Appy got colic and died within two days. She had a history of a difficult birth, her only foal happened to be born butt first so she wound up with a prolapsed uterus. Very ugly, but she lived a good four years after that. The vets didn't have any options at the time for fixing this and it may well have contributed to her death. Veterinary medicine has changed quite a bit, but during that time, most vets wouldn't put horses under because they had a hard time with anesthesia. If the horse could live with it, surgery was not done.

I am interested in the pictures, especially before and after. Your vet should be able to tell a lot from the pictures as well, still a necropsy is probably the best thing.

Nightsong,

Im sorry to read of your loss. It is very difficult. (llbolen has some excellent responses) here are my thoughts on your unfortunate situation.

I would make sure you have pictures of her before she left your care and what she looked like when he put her back into your pature. (Sounds to me he knew he did wrong and thats why he just did a dump and run) Get Animal Control involved for animal cruilty. Animal Control will investgate and will be more helpful in getting the proper agents involved who would normally just listen to you and look in on the trainers facility. I work with a vet and we often have to get involved on cruelty cases. If your vet who come out to look at your horse, did he\shue pull any bloodwork? That is most helpful to your case. Im assuming since you had just taken her to the trainer that she is over 2yrs of age and unless she is used to other places it is not uncommon to go off their food for a time, but usually they wont go off enough to become fatel.

I have three horses i have taken off before and our Tennessee Walker Gelding didnt eat for two weeks (but the trainer was in contact with us) my Quarter Horse had to stay behind at a "so called friends place" for3 months and he tried to make her take to pature feeding therfore leaving her severely malnourished and pregnant. Her body ended up trying to absorb a baby of 6mom gestation in order to survive, my last mare Quarter Horse was at. the trainer for three months and went off her feed. Key note for her was he did not do ANY hard work until she was eating aand drinking well.

I guess my overall suggestions are to....make sure you have good pics of before and after, try to get a statement and bloodwork from your equine vet (if he/she examined her prior to her going to the trainer that would be great), if you did an necropsy that would be good but it would primarily give you piece of mind but could be more damaging than helpful. File a small claims court cases....not very expensive and will make him pay for it (it might be helpul to consult with an attorney just to find out what would help you the most). I would have a friend call to inquire to see if he is insured for the care and injury to horses on his property. (HIS home owners insurance may cover the loss of your horse) worth checking into.

I hope my long winded information was helpful to you. I am new at this forum thing and have a situation i need to post myself. I wish you the best of luck and if there is anything I can help i guess send a note... anyway best of luck.

I am very sorry to hear your loss. No one should ever have that happen to them or their pet.

Advice:
take background check on all people who will be involved in your horses everyday life

Check on your horse as often as possible

Make sure you know exactly what your horse is being fed and the quality of all the food

make sure to board at a barn that gives you permission to be on the property to see your horse at any time of any day!!

If a places boarding cost it extremely low, ask why and always look for reasons as to why it may be so.

make sure to board at a barn that has more than just 1 person to care for the horses

check on other horses to make sure NONE of the horses are being mistreated

go to the farms website and look at reviews made by previous boarders

If you have to put in a 30 day notice or something when leaving, make up a reason why you are leaving if you think the owner will mistreat your horse...If your horse is mistreated after you put in your notice, immediately remove your horses without any other notice...you have a right to do so since your horses was being mistreated.

ask neighboring farms and people about the overall mood of the barn and how people act with the horses

MOST OF ALL: NEVER STAY AT A BARN THAT MAY PUT YOUR HORSES OR OTHER ANIMALS LIFE IN DANGER!!!!!!!


NEVER NOT BE SKEPTICAL OF ALLLLLLLL BARN OWNERS!!!!!!! just like this case, they may seem nice, but turn around to be a terrible person.

So sorry! That is heart breaking

I'm so sorry this happened to you!
Really hope you can press charges and get him tossed in jail or at least pay for your horse!



See, this is why I really do not want to send away my gelding for training. Everyone keeps telling me I'm too untrusting and that I'm being stupid about it. But if something like this did happen?? They wouldn't feel any bit of guilt nor help me.
Never let anyone press you into doing anything.

home work, home work, home work. if you are going to trust anyone with one of your animals please check them out before you leave them. and if you leave them then check on them frequently, not just over the phone but in person too. i know you said that you had used him before with good results so obviously something had changed at his place. I'm so sorry for your loss!