Beyond angry

[Wildcavy]

I am so angry and upset right now that I do not know what to do. Some evil subhuman came into the barn last night and stabbed three of the therapy horses. They should recover from their injuries with time and therapy, but I can't even see straight.

These are three of the sweetest horses you will ever meet. They are part of the equine team that helps with therapy for kids like my sons with autism or kids with physical challenges.

The police are trying to help and we are trying to help the program with vet funds. We really want to see them install cameras at the barn and motion floodlights. All of that money to be spent on a thug or thugs who somehow decided to stab some horses. How do we explain it to the kids? How are the horses going to be affected, mentally???

I do not understand humans. I really don't.

[pinky]

That's incredibly scary. Was there a news report story?

[loveskittles]

omg.. how can any one do that to the sweet horse.. I owned a horse for year's and I am in tears reading this.. I hope the pepole are caught and pushed big time.

[Wildcavy]

That's incredibly scary. Was there a news report story?

Not yet. Unfortunately a lot of humans get stabbed in this area, too, so it may not make it to the news. Although it is horse country in the area. I don't know how the police investigation is going. We had an incident a few weeks ago where we caught four teenage boys trying to break into a horse trailer (with a pony inside), while we were riding inside. Another rider cantered her horse out and yelled at them, and I tried to chase after them on foot -- not to touch them but to find out info on their vehicle, description etc -- but try to imagine me w/ muscular dystrophy and forearm crutch hobbling as fast as I can .... The police took it seriously but they didn't have enough info to do anything.

The barn is in a difficult area between some really nice parkland and some really dodgy housing and commercial tracts. Easy enough to do something horrible and vanish.

[pinky]

There have been quite a few stories in the news about fatal fires at stables, too. I feel so bad for horses that are helpless in a stable, where they can't escape danger. I agree that they need to install some cameras or a keep a guard on staff since it's not an isolated incident. If I was the owner of those horses, I'd also consider boarding them somewhere else.

[MissJean]

Those kinds of people eventually land themselves in jail. Abuse to animals is often linked to abuse of other people as well. I hope they get caught eventually, and can rot in a prison cell for all I care.

Hopefully you can set up some kind of charity to pay for security measures.Floodlights, alarms,etc. Poor horses, they're such respectable and majestic animals. I hope they can heal from this traumatising encounter...

I'm really sorry and shocked this happened to you.

[Petlovr]

I am so sorry for you and the horses. Sociopaths exist everywhere. I hope you get the security cameras , alarms, and motion lights installed soon. Maybe you can have a fundraiser? Also, tell everyone you know in the area, so they know to watch their own animals. I wouldn't be surprised if cats and dogs are going missing in the area. Yeah, people suck.

[Wildcavy]

If I was the owner of those horses, I'd also consider boarding them somewhere else.

They're program horses, so they are owned by the non-profit -- in a sense they don't have anywhere else to go. Luckily the horse community is tight and are giving the three victims shelter and will trailer subs to the lessons next week. But yeah, I know what you mean -- one of the "wish list" items for the program is to get a 10 acre farm somewhere safer.

[Cavyness]

Poor horses wishing them a speedy recovery.
Hopefully they won't be traumatized by the incident.

The barn I ride at had to install cameras and such because the neighbors would mess with the horses. And of course the barn owner would probably be held responsible if some kid got bucked in the head. It's a shame police can't/won't do much in these situations.

[pinky]

There's a stable near my home where they board Medinah Shriner horses. If really weird, but I hadn't realized it was there. You can see the stables from the road and you'd see people riding horses along the Prairie Path that runs behind it, but it wasn't until I started looking for hay that I found out horses were boarded there. It got me wondering about their security because there are a lot of apartments near there and a lot of people using the Prairie Path.

[Petlovr]

How are you and the horses doing?

[GhostWillow]

That is beyond horrible. I don't understand how people can be so despicible sometimes, it really baffles me. To hurt a poor animal for absolutely no reason. I hope you and your horses recooperate well.

[bessie]

Awful, really awful. We had a case of someone stabbing horses around our area. Luckily they eventually caught him. Some sick guy, who wanted to punish the horses for reasons no one could understand. I hope they find who did this in your case.

[Wildcavy]

Thank you everyone for the kind words -- I've passed on the support to the instructor and staff at the program and they appreciate it! There has been some local news coverage and a reward is being set up for information. Based on some information that the police aren't detailing, they have some reason to believe that one of the horses connected her hoof with whoever did it -- one of the half-draught horses, so it would've done some damage.

The two ponies are doing much better. Vet gave permission for them to walk out with small riders on them; it's helping w/ the drainage and keeping their muscles worked. It's hard to see them limping. The horse has deep, long gashes and is lame right now but she is expected to recover. The vet donated the initial time to take care of their emergency needs. I think as long as they stave off infection and they stay active, all three will recover fully.

Whoever it was was plenty crazy and cruel. The wounds are sickening and it's clear that he meant business.