The Unknown, Sarah Bos, Free Horse Roundup & Puppy Doe

Howdy! I'm back. The Saint Francis Horse Rescue fundraiser "Cowboys in the Kitchen" was a blast! I won a few incredibly awesome prizes and donated a couple as well. If you didn't make it, there's always next year! Kudos to all who donated, cooked, ate and sang, especially the Star Fire family band! They're great.

And somehow, in between my being away and being sick, another Halloween is over. How did that happen?! The common cold is scarier than any monster.

Speaking of monsters, have you noticed how many scary movies don't show more than a brief glimpse of the creature/killer until the last possible moment? That's because the unknown is really what scares us. Half-seen figures, noises in the dark, and the sensation of being watched-- those things frighten us. But put us in a well-light room with those oh-so-scary movie monsters, and we'd probably just shoot them until they stopped twitching. Freddy Krueger, Chuckie, Hannibal Lector, Jack Springheels, zombies, gremlins... all are problems that could be quickly solved with a steady hand and a Colt .45.

"OH NOoooo... wait, it's only a little dead girl. Heck, just hand me my squirrel gun."

So today, we're going to wrap up the spooky season by talking for a bit, not about monsters, but about the much more frightening unknown. Let's look at this ad, shall we?

Click to enlarge

All horses face an uncertain future when they are sold. However, this filly is facing the unknown with many strikes against her already. She's a grade, parents unknown. She has substandard conformation. She doesn't pick up her feet well, and she can be pushy. She's never been in a trailer. The owner doesn't want to provide recent pictures of the filly, because she's "really dirty." And far from the seller asking for a buyback contract, she "needs to go ASAP! Would like her gone by the 1st."

Wow. The chances that this little girl has a bright future ahead of her are very slim. It frightens and angers me how many horses are in the same position right now. Badly bred, unbroke and not well mannered, horses like this have flooded the market. They're almost literally a dime a dozen. A very few lucky ones will end up in decent homes and stay there. The great majority of them will be traded from owner to owner, none of whom will care enough to get them trained, until they wind up... well, who knows where? In a can of dog food? In a neglect situation? We don't know.

This filly's owner doesn't seem to care where her filly ends up, either. Sarah Bos Urban of Portage, WI, just wants her gone, ASAP, because board is due on the first of November. Oh, and she'd like five hundred dollars for this filly, whose absolutely best characteristic is that she's spotty. Yeah, I did not mis-type, that's five hundred dollars. ("Or best offer" of course, but you have to be "SERIOUS".)

Hmmm. Let's spend five minutes on Craigslist and see what better bargains there are, shall we?

This package deal of two broke horses with their saddles and other tack, and one donkey, all for $1,000.
This POA yearling filly, also an unbroke grade fugly just like the filly, for just $75.
Here's a broke, registered Saddlebred gelding for $500
There's a mustang here, broke but needs a refresher, 21 years old, very friendly, $400
And check out the handsome 8 year old Arab/AH gelding, broke, only $400

...do I really need to go on?

 I can't tell if Sarah Bos Urban is asking $500 for her filly because she's desperate (her boyfriend Zach Fabry owes a credit union $ 5,672.43 according to CCAP), or because she's delusional, but she's almost certainly not going to get it.

Oh, and guess what? She's the victim here! Yes, Sarah Bos Urban has been sadly taken advantage of, according to her recent post on the Horse Drama Facebook page. You see, a family made her an offer on the filly, but now doesn't seem to be serious about it, leaving Sarah stuck with the horse. Oh poor baby!

Truly, Sarah, I feel so very sad for you. Even though you are attempting to sell your filly as fast as possible, for as much profit as possible, without apparent concern for where she ends up, without having taught her basic skills that might give her a better shot at a decent home, clearly you are the victim here.

I'm so very sick of sellers not caring where their horses wind up.
I'm so very, very sick of people who keep breeding more substandard horses.
I'm so VERY sick of people who make excuses for people who do these things.

While we're on the topic of horses heading into a scary, unknown future, tomorrow is another Tim Nolan auction up in Marion, and I'm sure we'll see ten dollar horses again. I've also combed Cragslist for you... do you have any room for another friend? There are so many great horses that need homes!

Free Horse Roundup

GORGEOUS registered paint gelding, solid black, perfectly broke, 14 years old, 15.3h, healthy, owner would like to visit. WHAT A DEAL!

• This gorgeous paint mare is husband-broke, just has arthritis, free to great home.
• 12 year old paint gelding, was once broke, needs refresher, cute guy, 14 hands.
• 8 month old purebred QH filly, dam is 16hh and sire is taller, owner doesn't have room.
• Oh Jesus, here's a whole bunch of free horses dumped on a stable owner...
• "Big black horse, greenbroke" in Beaver Dam
• Coming three year old QH, gentle and friendly but not sound 
• Three free horses near Milwaukee
• Free or cheap broke bay QH mare, partially blind in one eye, near Green Bay 
• 17 year old Arabian mare, can be lightly ridden 
• Kid broke horse, can be lightly ridden, near Green Bay
• Unbroke paint, 7 years old
• Big, sturdy, handsome Morgan mix, green broke to ride and drive, comes with 10 bales of hay 
• Registered bay QH mare, well broke but needs rest and diet control, UTD on everything
• Pasture pal only, dapple grey Welsh pony near Lodi 
• Chestnut yearling filly 
• Lovely, sound, 12 year old flea bitten grey Thoroughbred mare, needs refresher

One last note on sending horses (or any animal) into the unknown, without giving them a halfway decent chance at a great home...

Radoslaw Czerkawski was arrested this week for his year-long torture of a puppy, dubbed "Puppy Doe" by her rescuers. The dog was found to be burned, starving, all her joints were dislocated as if she had been stretched on a medieval torture rack, she had been stabbed in the eye, and her tongue was split. She could not walk. She was euthanized.

"The dog had been bought and sold multiple times online via Craigslist before it ended up with him, according to police."

Listen up folks: 

YOU NEED TO GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHERE YOUR ANIMAL ENDS UP!

• Check vet references.
• Visit an adopter's home.
• Have sellers sign a buyback contract.
• Check out the character of the buyer on social media and free public criminal records databases.

These things are not guarantees of good homes... but they are commonsense, fairly easy precautions. If you don't spend a couple of hours doing them, you may be responsible for the horrible torture of an animal you once owned and loved.


Edit: I think I've allowed everyone to have their say... and now comments for this post are disabled. Have a lovely day, haters :)