This is a little long... but please read. It could happen to you. And, next time someone tells you that the racing industry dumps horses for slaughter – send them this story. I’ve got a hundred more where someone in the racing industry fought long and hard to save a horse who someone else dumped. Onlyinthemoonlight (Maeve), a 2006 (8 yr old) Thoroughbred mare who last raced in 2010, went home with her trainer who had given her phenomenal care, training and love. They spent the money and rehab time to do knee surgery, having minor chips removed so that she could have a good future. The trainer and her barn manager, Dana, who foaled and raised Maeve, worked together for a year waiting for the right person to come along and used a “Right of First Refusal” contract that specifically stated this mare was never to be offered for slaughter. Dana and this race trainer are known for putting enormous effort into carefully placing horses and following up on every single one. They did everything right – so how did this mare end up in a kill pen designated for “KILL ONLY” by the adoptor? One can only do so much to protect a horse. Animals fall victim to heartless, ignorant people who not only have zero regard for the horse, but for people as well. They will tell you want you want to hear, and they don’t have any regard for contracts. “Jessica W.”, the person who signed the contract, told Dana that the horse was going to be co-owned. Jessica signed the other person’s name and used the second individual’s street address. A year ago, Jessica exchanged emails with Dana stating how much she loved Maeve (we have those). She claims that she also sent Dana an email a year ago letting her know she couldn’t keep the mare… however, the phantom email cannot be proven, and it was a year or more ago. Last week, Jessica took the mare to the Enumclaw feedlot and designated her as “kill only”, specifically requesting she not be offered to anyone for sale, which means that she would not be listed publically, and no one would know she was in trouble. The goal was for Maeve to simply disappear. We will probably never know why. By chance, this mare was accidentally posted online for sale, but taken down quickly. Fortunately for Maeve, not quickly enough. Dana, who watches the ads and hopes that one of hers never appears there, saw exactly that. Her beautiful mare, on which she had a contract and right of first refusal contract, was now going to slaughter. The feedlot owner would not release her for sale until Jessica, the person who dropped her off, removed her from that list. But that’s not all. Here is where the story gets extremely stupid and ugly. Dana contacted Jessica, and so did I, pleading to let us have the mare. Her response was to “spend your $400 on a horse worth saving”. We had not requested her opinion. Not only did Jessica refuse to let Dana have her horse back, she knew that it would be tortuous for Dana to have to spend the rest of her life knowing the horse she loved sat a few miles down the road, before being shipped off for a brutal, violent death. This is a sound, young, horse with nothing wrong with her. Why would Jessica care if we wanted to save her? I contacted the second “owner” listed on the contract Jessica had signed. I soon found that this individual knew nothing about the situation and didn’t even know her name had been forged on the contract. Regardless, she was listed as an owner (employed as a vet tech), and also refused to make the call to the feedlot to release Maeve. I had a lengthy conversation in text, but only responded to her comments – it was not a one-sided conversation or harassing in any way. The only recourse was to pursue legal intervention by insisting that the contract be upheld. It was not until I sent her a photo of the contract, showing that her name really IS on it, that she stepped in. Finally, with that pressure, Maeve was released just before shipping. Jessica did admit that this other person did not know anything about the mare or the contract. MAEVE IS SAFE, but only after we went through two days of gut-wrenching hell - for absolutely no reason. And yes, we had to purchase Maeve out of pocket for $400 in order to get her off the feedlot. This story isn’t about slaughter,, it’s about respecting the law, upholding your word per a signed contract, and also having regard for the feelings of others. This is the problem with every pro-slaughter advocate that I know. They are ignorant or in denial of the facts about slaughter; completely illogical; and are desensitized to the pain and suffering of the horse. But they also have absolutely ZERO regard for how much pain they are causing the 50 million people opposed to slaughter, who lose sleep because slaughtering horses is a huge violation of justice and a black mark on our culture. Jessica had no problem with the fact that Dana, and I, and many others LOVE this mare and are horrified at the thought of her being slaughtered. Any time voiceless, defenseless animals are involved, there is battle between people who want to save them and people who want to take advantage. Animals are a magnet for ignorant, self-glorifying people who want to play God over another living being - who want to control and torture and blame the animal for anything that goes wrong. To all the idiots out there who can’t handle or ride, and blame the horse… I am, indeed, referring to you in this diatribe. To all of the people out there who are truly out for the animal’s best interest, and have a reasonable idea of what that is – you are so appreciated!!! Thank God there are good people like Dana who fight for what’s right. Thanks to Jessica W. and this completely unnecessary fiasco, one of the best and most dedicated Thoroughbred owners in the Northwest vows to NEVER give another horse away. She would rather put a horse down than risk this disastrous experience happening again. The racing industry, as a whole, tries harder than any other sport I know to find quality homes for their retired athletes. Incidents like this are what make them wonder why.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Feb 2014 06:07:45 +0000
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