I'm not a vet and am not involved with the case and therefore cannot comment on the exact condition of the five horses. Overall, they appeared to be emaciated, one thinner than the next, and badly in need of hoof care.
The group comprised of a bay stallion, paint gelding, bay mare, sorrel mare and sorrel mare pony.
The lighting conditions in the barn weren't great and I didn't want to disturb them after their ordeal. However, I wanted to post some of the pics so that the public can get a sense of what I saw and judge for themselves.
This is the bay mare, with the stallion looking on in the background. This view gives you a fair idea of her weight and condition of her hind legs and hooves.
Horsefolks will gasp when you tell them that this next photo is of a stallion... 'nuff said.
The stallion photo and this view of the hindend of the sorrel mare illustrates that point Wayne Dougal made in a news report, "You can count almost every bone in their body."Notice in this photo and the next, that, before they were seized, someone made a last-minute attempt to clean up the horses and make them presentable. The stallion's and mares' manes were trimmed and the paint is sporting a fresh bridle path.
Too bad no one trimmed the paint's hooves, which were several inches long. The stallion's hooves appeared in similar condition.
The close-up is of one of the paint gelding's front hooves. It's hard to appreciate the extent of the damage from this one photograph. Suffice it to say, the hoof is hollow and the frog has been eaten out (presumably by maggots). Before anyone notes that the shoe looks new, consider that your steel shoe would look pretty brand-spankin' new if you were standing knee-deep in your own manure for months.
I tried to get a good photo of the pony, but she was way too grateful for the attention and wouldn't stand still, plus she was more interested in checking out the camera than getting her picture taken. She is featured in the banner head of the blog (scroll all the way up).
4 comments:
This is just so sad. I feel like I am watching an episode of Animal Planet's Animal Cops Houston.
The husband AND wife should be shunned by the horse community as far as sales, training and showing!! Veronica had NO excuse not to care for these horses. She even says that "everytime we brought hay it was stolen". SHE WAS THERE TOO!!! Everyone who trains with her should not walk, but run in the other direction. If they can't make a living they will have to either find something new to do or move away.
I know she will never be allowed to step foot at my barn ever again.
That said, I do feel bad for their sons. They have always been very polite and don't deserve the humiliation their father is putting them through!
We all need to ban together on this one. Its just to awful for it to be allowed to happen again. We as a show community must contact all shows and let them know that we will not allow ourselves or our kids to show if the Gandolfo's are scheduled to be there as well. We can not continue to pretend that these are law abiding citizens. They are abusers, thieves and LIARS.
I know the pony.. her name is Misty. She was bred by a pony named Rainy, that the Gandolfo's had a couple years ago.. She was an adorable foal, tons of personality and potential! I hope its not too late for her to have a good home..
Post a Comment