Harness Horse Scratched To Dismay of Owner

Story [Injury is shown.]

Champion harness racer, Changeover, was denied a start in a race Friday because of a larger, raw injury from a float mishap. I'd like to know what kind of mishap caused that injury, but... The issue her being that the owner was surprised that his horse was refused entry. Look at the injury! Apparently he raced a week ago with that same injury and I imagine a week ago it must've been worse than it is now. I can't imagine having that kind of injury at all, let alone being forced to race with it.

Look, horses are a lot like people. For example, they do a LOT better when they're healthy and NOT in pain.

Quick Suzi and Whisk Link

I'd like to pause this regularly scheduled week for this link. Scroll to the bottom to see pictures of what Suzi and Whisk looked like as of 9/1. The change is AMAZING. You wouldn't be able to tell that the horses on the top are the same as the ones on the bottom.

Link [Warning: there are, of course, before pictures at the top.]

Sunday Updates on Monday

Since my computer apparently had a stupid moment yesterday and decided to post the Sea of Stars post instead of scheduling it like I told it to, I'm going to have to do the updates today.

Before we start, I have another blog post I want to share. This one has a lot to do with our case updates.

Meet the owner of Beau, a previously neglected horse. The officer refuses to take Beau's previous owners to court. Does anyone know why these cases take so long and cost so much money? 'Cause I don't, and I'd like to know. Seems like we could sentence them a lot faster than we do.

Keum H. Lee - Eight more days until the next court date.

Ernie Paragallo - I have two stories for this one. Story So far homes have been found for 96 of the 177 horses rescued from his farm. Paragallo is being charged with 35 counts of animal cruelty punishable by up to 2 years in jail and a fine of $35,000 if found guilty. I am at a loss for words right now. It cost more than $35,000 to care for all those horses and the bills are still being racked up! I've got a better idea, how about he pays for the care of all the horses. And I mean everything. And how in the world do you get 35 counts of animal cruelty out of starving 177 horses? Maybe it should be 2 years in jail and a fine of $35,000 each. Moving on... And in a lot better news: Story The New York Racing Board is tightening its rules to ensure that all breeders receiving fund money provide proper food, water, and shelter for their horses.

Here's some more on the wild horse plan. Story

Dan Gralian, president of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, said livestock overgrazing no longer is the problem it once was and cattle don't cause more damage to the range than horses.

Well of course he'd say that. I've finally figured out what the one of the biggest problems with America is. With every debate, we have two sides. Both sides has facts that they twist to their advantage. The problem with that being, one of them HAS TO BE WRONG. And there's no way for anyone to know which side is wrong because neither side will admit it and you never hear from the middle. So, honestly, how do we know horses cause more damage to rangeland than cattle or vice versa? Ranchers are always going to say its the mustangs and horse advocates are always going to say its the cattle.

Two Horses Shot in Rowan County

Story

Before I begin, just know that the two horses are doing fine. Now...

Montie Stirewalt Cline believes whoever shot the horses meant to kill them.

And I believe that it doesn't take a crime investigator to figure that out. Whoever it was shot them at point blank range between the eyes. What kind of person would do that?

The culprit has not yet been caught and no suspects were mentioned.

What's Next for the Wild Horses?

So here's another subject that gets me riled up. I'll try to keep this post less rant-ish than the thoughts running through my head right now.

Story

Wild horses are an icon of America. They're wild and free. Those of you that argue that being trapped in a pen is better than starving to death, please give me evidence that these horses really are starving to death and then I might listen to you.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of the House action at up to $500 million. The agency said the cost of enacting all of the programs in the bill would be about $200 million over the next five years, if the Senate goes along with the plan.

$700 million is nothing compared to the billion and trillion dollar plans I've been hearing about lately. Anyone wanna tell me how those are working out?

Some ranchers, American Indian groups and Western lawmakers -- including Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. -- want to reverse a decades-old ban on selling horses for slaughter. Such killing would be done humanely under federal guidelines, but Salazar -- who has heard plenty about wild horses in his few months on the job -- said the idea is a "nonstarter."

Uh, NO. Ya'll know already how I feel about slaughter in general. Learn to share the land. The horses have been there longer than the ranchers and from my knowledge, American Indians have managed to live beside mustangs for generations.

But adoption numbers have dwindled dramatically in the past few years, and now there are nearly 37,000 wild horses and burros roaming the West.

I wonder why. The adoption guidelines are...difficult for most people to achieve. How many people can afford another horse right now and want to have one? How many of those people can provide the care and training a mustang requires? How many of them have property of their own? Now how many have a six-foot fence on said property and everything else that's required? I understand why there have to be requirements, but...

The BLM estimates the current rangeland can support about only 26,600 of the animals.

Anyone know how they come up with these numbers? Can I get a second independent opinion?

I'll accept most of Salazar's plan. It seems to be ambitious, but how are they going to get the horses from the rangeland to a preserve in the East?

Lost Horse Found in NY

Story

GANSEVOORT — A bay gelding named "Equinox Paisley" was found Saturday afternoon outside the city of Saratoga, and Upstate Equine Medical Center is trying to spread the word to get the horse back to its rightful owner.

Tracy Bartick-Sedrish of Upstate Equine Medical Center said the clinic discovered the horse and, after calling the police, were unsure of how to best contact the horse's owners. Police referred her to Animal Control but Bartick-Sedrish said she just wanted to let the owners know Equinox Paisley is safe and sound.

"What ends up happening when a horse is lost is the owner ends up looking in the woods with a flashlight all hours of the night," Bartick-Sedrish said. "We just want to get him back to his owner."

Any information regarding the horse and its owners can be called into Upstate Equine Medical Center at 695-3744 any time. There is also an emergency beeper number available if no one answers at the center (number is provided on automated phone message).

Unfortunately, this horse might not be lost. With the economy so bad and people unable to sell or continue to care for their horses, they're just setting them loose thinking that the horse will be able to fend for themselves. Of course horses can't just fend for themselves since they're not used to finding their own water and food, and avoiding traffic. I hope this isn't the case for this boy and his owners will find him soon.

Sunday Case Updates and More

It's Sunday, the day I check up all the cases on my list. To date there are...12 of them. Let's see if there's anything new this weekend.

Gordon Dennis Key-- mentioned here The horses are still recovering well. Key is facing 77 counts of animal cruelty, each punishable with up to one year in prison and $4,000. That's 77 years and $308,000 total. How about life and $300,000 donated to the care of the horses and various rescues...

Ernie Paragallo - Story Updates on a few of the Paragallo horses as they recover and are trained for their future careers.

And in random news, Zenyatta tied Personal Ensign's winning steak of 13 for 13 with her victory in the Lady's Secret. She is now heading for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Rachel is officially out for the season which means the match race that we all -- okay, mostly me -- dreamed of will not be a reality. Dublin finished fifth, I believe, and Backtalk finished eighth in their separate races. Yes, I was sad. I haven't found anything really special to keep an eye on next year.

New Slaughter Plant in Montana?

Story

If you don't realize, I'm strongly anti-slaughter. I have nothing against pro-slaughter people -- my mother's pro in fact -- but never get into an argument with me over whether or not it should be legal.

So we FINALLY get the other three slaughter plants closed and now you guys want to run around and open another one?

Federal law effectively bars the U.S. Department of Agriculture from inspecting such a plant, and any meat shipped overseas for human consumption must be inspected by the USDA.

Is this a recent law? Because I don't remember anyone bringing this up when the slaughter plants were open before.

Because no horse slaughter plants exist in the United States, there is a national epidemic of abandoned horses, he said.

For the LAST time, there is NOT a national epidemic of abandoned horses because there are no slaughter plants. There is a national epidemic of abandoned horses because the economy sucks and most people can't afford their houses and cars, let alone a horse!

They're animals. Some of them are usable and some of them are not."

Someday I hope to meet someone that thinks animals are disposable. I have a lot of words for people like that.

SD Horse Thief Charged and Arrested

The thief that stole Dually, a barrel racing horse later found with extensive injuries, has been charged. Story

Stanley County authorities arrest Flint Dahl and charged him with two counts of grand theft and one count of inhumane treatment of an animal. Each grand theft charge is a Class 4 felony, which carries with it a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and may also carry up to a $25,000 fine.

Looks like someone's going to get what they deserve. That's 20 years and a $50,000 fine, not including the inhumane treatment count if he gets the full punishment. It's about time. Now I just need to find a more detailed story...

Two Horses Injured In One Race

More evidence that synthetic tracks may be the worst million dollar idea in the horse racing industry. *sighs*

RIP Blackbriar

Story

Two horses were injured, one fatally, in the California Cup Classic. Blackbriar, a 50-1 shot, was pulled up in the stretch by his jockey after taking a bad step. He broke the sesamoid bone in his right front leg according to track officials and was euthanized.

Grazen, the favorite of the race and a possible entry for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, was pulled up in the stretch while leading. He injured his right front tendon and may have torn it according to his trainer. Grazen will be treated, but will never race again.

Case Updates

Summer Bird beat Quality Road in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. *headdesk*

Anyway, on to more important things.

Gordon Dennis Key -- remember the 77 Egyptian arabians? They're being auctioned off to approved homes this week. Story [Warning: There are before/after pictures. I just sat here and stared at the before one for several minutes it was so horrible. I didn't even know it was possible for a horse that skinny to be living.] Investigations into the treatment of the animals continues, with no mention of a court date for Key. Shows that even rare and valuable horses aren't safe from neglect. A few of the bids are already up into the thousands.

Ernie Paragallo - According to my notes his court date was October 2nd.

James Henderson and Michael Mercier - Court date's been set for my backyard abuse case. It's in February. *headdesk*

Jackson County Animal Control in March 2007 seized 69 horses on Henderson's farm, calling the conditions unsafe and unsanitary. Most of the horses, and others foaled after the seizure, were auctioned for about $50,000.

Auctioned how exactly? Wish I wasn't broke and could've been there... I'd have taken a horse or two.

Sea of Stars Retires

This second blog pst is about the recent retirement of Sea of Stars, just one of the great horses that are (or, in his case, was) racing this year. Just two weeks ago, Sea of Stars powered to a 2-length victory in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a top race in France and otherwise known as the Arc. With his Arc win, Stars was undefeated this season and one six straight group 1 races. Speculation continued that Stars may have been the greatest horse of all time and that he was sure to head to the Breeders' Cup on November 8th. But then came a shocking decision. Sea of Stars would retire to stud immediately. And not because he was injured. Today I read this blog post about a few of the things Stars' owners and trainer said about his retirement. I completely agree with the writer of the post.

Horse racing fans are not stupid. We don't like to lose the horses we root for and we definitely don't like to lose them for a reason as stupid as "we don't want him to get beat so we're just not going to race him anymore. Sure, he's in as good a shape as ever, we just don't want to run him." Look at Curlin. Look at Rachel. Look at Zenyatta. Probably three of the greatest horses of this decade. And you know what? Curlin went on to race at 4. Rachel may be out for now, but at least her owner has a very valid reasoning for it and she's coming back next year. Zenyatta is already 4, undefeated, and she's going to the Breeders' Cup. I could sit here for an hour listing all the great champions that people remember because they didn't retire early. They stepped up to the challenge and went on.

One moment, Oxx is saying, “It would be unfair to Sea the Stars to run him in the Breeders' Cup.”

How is it unfair? Is it unfair to ask him to face the greatest horses in the world? Is it unfair to ask him to race on Santa Anita's track? If he's healthy, strong, loves to run, and isn't going to be affected by the long trip from France to California, then how exactly is it unfair?

This is why horse racing is not the great sport it could be. Because money has become such a deciding factor, it's no longer about the horse. It's no longer about a great horse proving him or herself. It's about how much that horse is going to make.