Moncton-area horse abuse/neglect case

Many of you are already aware of the story of Zora, however some of you may not be on Facebook, so I thought I'd post this here to make sure as many people as possible know.

CBC Story-Nova Scotia Woman Demands Justice For Dead Horse
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/12/23/nb-spca-horse-527.html

Zora's Story
https://www.facebook.com/kaila.watters?ref=ts#!/note.php?note_id=10150448236628651

Zora's Necopsy
https://www.facebook.com/kaila.watters?ref=ts#!/note.php?note_id=10150454995738651

Sad isn't it?
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."~Mahatma Gandhi

I think that the worst part is that there are people defeneding the accused actions' saying "It's nature's way of taking over"

"What can I do to help?" you're probably wondering?

First-While we aren't supposed to be publishing the names of the accused, many of us are already familiar with this place/person. PLEASE DO NOT SELL ANY HORSES TO THESE PEOPLE!

Second-Please contact the Frederiction SPCA and voice your concerns over this case. Do not be crazy-angry, but eloquently state how this case makes you feel and that you would like justice served.
165 Hilton Road
Fredericton
New Brunswick
Canada
info@frederictonspca.ca
(506) 459-1555
http://www.FrederictonSPCA.ca

Unfortunately, the animal cruelty laws are fairly lax so we need to keep pestering these people until we can have justice.

Third-There are many persons concerned about the mare that gave birth to this foal. Apparently she was "sold" "lent out on a trial", but nobody has pinpointed her location. Our worst fear is that she is also dead like her baby. Locating this mare would be a huge relief to many concerned people.
I don't have any pictures, but I was able to borrow one from facebook. Maybe someone else has a picture of this horse and can post a better picture. She is a paint and so she has some very identifiable markings.

My friend leases a gelding from this said person (is making payments) He is beautiful.

I think that abuse is one thing, lack of education is another. Lack of education can result in abuse but there is a difference between straight up abuse, and unintentional abuse.

A stable I grew up at/boarded was under investigation several years ago as people made complaints after we had 14 of our horses in the parade. A few were ribby, one 14 year old gelding particularly the cause of the concern.

The SPCA officials came up and I remember brushing my mare as they walked around her inspecting and writing notes down. One person asked me "why is that horse wearing that thing on its head" and I was baffled and responded that "Its a fly mask" A lot of the officials have NO horse knowledge. Did I not love my horse? NO! certainly not... however I was young, naive, My horse did not rate very low 6/10 however there was one horse on the property that rated a 3/10. His owner LOVED the bejsus out of him.. she was a 12year old little girl who recently purchased him and was riding him all over the place (he was used to standing in a field) After the investigation she was advised how to properly manage his weight, and what his target weight should be. Within 30 days he looked amazing and stayed that way for years following.

Horses can drop FAST! we have to keep this in mind. (I am in no position to make claims about this said case though, as I've no idea how long this went on)

I don't know the people in questions but do know that they are probably in over their heads.. They probably have too many mouths to feed and not enough time to properly manage each animals health. Was Zora's death preventable? I believe it was. However that does not mean that all the other horses are dying, it means that the officials should verify the situation, educate those in questions, and keep an eye on the situation to ensure it doesn't happen again.

In this case lack of education has caused the death of at least one horse that we know of. My understanding is that there are others that are at risk. Some of the horses may not have time to wait until the owner(s) learn what they are doing wrong. How long do we wait?

Part of the SPCA mandate is to educate - I have no problem if they ensure that this girl and her family receive immediate help to ensure that the remaining horses are well cared for - food, farrier, housing etc. There is no reason that the SPCA cannot make frequenst visits to ensure that the horses well being is maintained - that is their job. That being said I also hope that if nothing improves for these horses that they get their asses in gear and get them the Bleeding heart out of there!

Perhaps there is a professional horse person who could volunteer to work with the SPCA in educating them?

I personally don't think it is a "lack of education" in this case....

When the girl in question repeatedly posted pics publicly and repeatedly returned peoples concerns with "the vet was out last week, she is fine", this is not a case of lack of education. If the vet was really out on all those occasions s/he would have educated the girl on the proper care of a growing filly. Even a non horse person could take one look at Zora and know that she was not healthy. This is a case of neglect and denial and why do the other 19 horses have to wait, and suffer, while she learns how to look after them properly. She needs to learn basic skills first, prove she knows what she's doing, then can have a horse. New parents couldn't neglect a baby and not have it taken from them till they are deemed fit to be parents. This thistle needs to change starting with this case.

Quote :

However that does not mean that all the other horses are dying, it means that the officials should verify the situation, educate those in questions, and keep an eye on the situation to ensure it doesn't happen again.

It is happening again. There are horses there that when their last pictures were taken they were in not far off a shape as Zora, and who no longer can be seen at the farm. There mare's dam and a Palomino stallion, I heard of for sure. I've seen the pics of these horses. This girl is not 'uneducated', this girl doesn't give a rat's tail-end. Her goings about by way of pictures and posts reflect this.

I am with Sexy. thistle needs to change, now. Not just in this case, but every case concerning animal welfare. This whole thing makes my blood absolutely boil.

Well if she is deflecting crisitism by claimng that the vet has seen them and the vet has not seen them - and she is lying and actively covering up then this is definitely not a lack of education - it is definitely a lack of giving a thistle!

If those horses are in that great a risk of dying, as those who have seen them seem to think, then there is no grey area here - it is black and white. Starving horses need to be removed now!

I replied to a ad from Kijiji about a lady/girl etc.

STB Mare for 300.

She sent me pictures of the mare. She is in horrible shape. I fear she won't last the winter. Then she came back and said that her Aunt is going to take her..and she will be packing on the lbs!

I am not so sure! She's also posting that she wants a horse for free....

I have heard that she is a minor - WHY ON EARTH does a minor, with no income, have NINETEEN horses? I felt WAY overhorsed with three and have a well paying job and keep my horses board-free on my own property!

Which person is that..The one that I am referring too or the one in the original post?

Sad... I didn't realize the numbers were so large.. and also didn't realize that they don't think there is a problem, wow.