It Has Begun: Tons of Free & Cheap Horses *updated*

UPDATES:

Free Palomino:
15 yr. old Palomino gelding approx. 16hh.  Free to a good home.  Has some lameness issues, pretty arthritic in front and may have had laminitis in the past.  Some corrective shoeing and proper pain management could improve him quite a bit.  Laid back horse that is eager to please.  He is currently a trail horse at a camp in Montello, WI (an hour north of Madison).  Call me @ 262-878-5106 or email at vandammefamily@sbcglobal.net.
Becky VanDamme

three filly $125 ea take all three for $300 608-438-1099  ad here  Madison area

 
 2 MINI MULES AND 1 PAINT PONY ALL TO GO AT ONCE ,, BRING YOUR TRAIL,, I LL HELP LOAD,, NO NO NO PICKING,, HAVENT GOT THE FEED SO THEY HAVE TO GO.. HAVE TO BE GONE IN 10 DAYS,, SO THE 14 th IS THE LAST DAY FOR THEM........ add here. Brownton WI

AQHA mare needs a home-- breeding sound only. Free. Pretty girl, lots of points on her, not bred. Eau Claire area. Add here

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Horsepeople here in Wisconsin have been predicting doom ever since the rains abandoned us late this spring. With hay either non-existent or sky-high in price, there are going to be a lot of miserable horses this winter, either left to starve in fields or dumped on the local auctions. (Speaking of which, I still haven't made it to an auction yet this year, can anyone recommend a local auction in the Madison area?)

Anyway, I just didn't expect such dump-offs to start so soon... Granted, right now it's the weaker animals, the seniors or the ones with small problems, but I think this will only get worse. I've included a list of links down below to all the Craigslist "free horses," but I want to start with ones I've been contacted about personally:

First, my excellent farrier Stacy Anacker is trying to help a guy find a home for a nice quarter-pony. This mare is incredibly sweet and gentle, perfect for kids, but has lameness issues. A big session of physical therapy, followed by a short session every six months loosens her up enough to be able to be a great walk-trot pony, but she would need that care throughout her life. Otherwise very healthy. Free to a good home. Contact Stacy at 608-712-2924.

Next up:

Two appaloosa mares, about ten years old, need homes. They may have some riding training, but haven't been ridden in a while. The one above may have been bred back to the same stallion that she had this foal from (the foal is now sold and safe). They're both about 14 hands. The one not pictured is built slightly bigger, is dark/black in color and isn't as thin. Unknown Coggins, no obvious lameness, hooves aren't good but not slipper feet. The owner is Bobby, and he sounds like a bit of a jerk/animal dealer, but I think he's honestly trying to find these horses homes moreso than trying to make a buck. He's asking $200 for the horse pictured above, unknown price for the other one, and is negotiable on prices. Call him at 920-284-5528. Located in Black Creek (west of Green Bay).

More free or cheap horses:

Anderson's Homes for Horses-- a rescue I've never heard of, and which doesn't appear to have any website or formal setup. Seems to have a multitude of free horses near Janesville. Ad here.

Healthy-but-thin gelding rescued from an auction. Handsome and sweet. Riding training unknown. $200/free to the right home. Call 608 253 7177  Madison WI

21 year old well-broke gelding. Has heaves, can only walk-trot, but very calm/sweet. Up to date on worming, may need teeth done. Hard keeper. Free. Call or text 608 617 3211. Portage WI

Four free horses, currently owned by a rescue I haven't heard of before. References required. 3yo mustang mare with 30 days training here. 22 yo ex-barrel mare, some arthritis, here. @0+ yo Morgan gelding, intermediate rider needed, some arthritis, here. Nice-looking QH mare, sweet but unhandled, here. Madison WI area

29 yo TB mare, hard keeper, 16hh, rescued from an auction 2 years ago. Ex-jumper. Free. Call or text 815 291 8026. Shannon/Rockford Ill

Free older jenny mule to good home. 14.3. Hasn't been ridden in 2 years. Call 608-487-0054. Ontario, WI

Free pasture ornament-- 8yo QH mare not sound for riding or breeding. Pretty bay mare, can pony kids around. Call Dani at 608-385- Eight Four Nine One. LaCrosse area, WI.

4yo 16hh Saddlebred gelding, broke to lead only. $300. Craigslist ad here. Appleton, WI area.

6 yo Reg Saddlebred gelding, broke to lead only, also $300. Ad here. Appleton, WI area (same people?)

Old pony needs retirement home. Call Pat at 920-470-6978. Appleton/Sherwood.

13 yo Arabian mare with behavior issues free to good home. Ad here. Appleton area. Call or text 920-290-2199.

3 yo AQHA mare with coffin bone injury, free to good home. Can handle light riding with a light rider. Ad here. Saxon (northern) WI.  call 715-893-2398

8yo paint gelding, super well broke to trails but hasn't been ridden in about a year. Has a bit of an attitude problem from not being worked. May have allergies/heaves. $200/free to good home. Ad here. Harshaw (northern WI). call 715-six-zero-five-0002

...and that's all I have time for right now. I'm sure there are a TON more out there.

Mary Loeffelholz is a Scumbitch + Official Apathy

Reader Carol asked me to re-post this stunning case of official stupidity involving a neglect case, and I totally agree that it's worth broadcasting. First, though, I'd like to remind every single horse owner out there: when you're selling or giving away a horse, USE A CONTRACT -- one like this that specifies that you get first rights to buy back the horse if the new owner ever wants to sell (or give it away). Some contracts even state that the previous owner shall have the right to inspect  the new owner's horse and property at any time, and describes the minimum care the horse has to receive. I don't know if that part is legally enforceable... but the buy-back clause is. If you don't spend five minutes signing this little piece of paper, your horse could end up like THIS, and there's legally nothing you can do about it:

Mary Loeffelholz of Belleville, WI, is the scumbitch responsible for this cruelty. She got horses from careless people who'd got horses from decent people who'd given those horses away...without a buy-back contract. However, it's the local officials who have been letting this crap continue. They've been scolding Mary to "do better" with her 20 horses for 4+ years, but not actually taking real any legal action against her, much less getting the starving horses out of her hands.

Cheri Carr, Dane County Humane Officer, had issued an abatement order to Loeffelholz in 2008. It ordered her simply to provide regular food and water to her animals-- an order she appealed! (Her appeal failed after even her own mother testified against her.) However, that order expired in May 2011, and nothing was done since then.

Several news articles, here and here have made much of the fact that eight of the starving equines are now off of Mary's property, but what they fail to mention is that that's not really the doing of the officials themselves.

Several previous owners of the horses showed up and just plain took four of them. After making them take the horses back to their abuser, officials finally sort of acted when faced with the wrath of the would-be rescuers. One of those horses was put into protective custody, and the cops convinced scumbitch Mary to surrender seven more.The was also partially due to the heroic efforts of Madison lawyer Cynthia Fiene, who has been trying to get someone to do something for years. (I hear she has a website, but I can't find it-- if you know it, please share!)

However, there are still twelve starving critters in Mary's hands-- though she's moved them to her sister's place, where she probably hopes everyone will forget about them. Which the cops probably will, because they're still not making any legal moves against her, despite apparently agreeing that the horses needed to get out of there. No shit Sherlocks.

The cops are making the usual excuses about how long the legal process is to seize animals, etc...but come ON, it really takes more than four years?! Bullshit. Doug Vogeli, Director of Environmental Health Division, had more excuses:

- The cost of boarding, feeding and caring for so many large animals "is an issue." Wait, you mean the cost of caring for animals that several people have screamed about saving and are already willing to take care of? And how is it that we can spend millions of dollars giving convicted criminals health care, cable tv and workout equipment, but we can't spend a dime on helping tortured animals? Finally, don't we have animal control and humane societies for exactly this purpose?

- "The standard of care may not be what other people would want the horses to be kept at but the minimum standards were being met," says Doug. But isn't the decision of whether the minimum standards are being met a judgement call? Animal control does have to follow the law, but when you're looking at a law that says, "food must be present," and you see a pile of moldy straw, how about deciding that it's not really food?! Basically, the cops just don't want to push this case.

 I'd like to start working on writing a bill that would create stricter standards for animal care, and another that would allow officials to seize animals faster. Is there anyone out there with legal experience that could help? Who do you think might sponsor such a bill?

If you're upset about this situation, you can do the following:

Contact Doug Voegeli, and tell him to take real action: dvoegeli@publichealthmdc.com (608) 243-0360
Call Patrick Comfert, Animal Services Leadworker: 608-243-0309
Call Patrick's Boss,  Beth Cleary, Program Manager, Animal Services Unit: 608- 243-0327


Contact everybody's boss, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, at:
City County Building Rm 421, 210 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Madison WI 53703, 608-266-4114
Contact the Belleville Police Department and urge them to follow up on the case.
Contact the Oregon Horse Association, and tell them to spread the word among their members; neglected horses need homes, push the officials to prosecute, and never do business with Mary Loeffelholz!

The Annual Winter Horse Abandonment

Pro Tip: You may want to think about trading your poor horse for a snowmobile.

Every year this happens: irresponsible horse owners suddenly realize it's winter. Yes, this totally regular and predictable season apparently comes as a shock to them. They'd been scraping along, feeding too many horses on some scruffy pasture, and suddenly there's no grass. It's cooold, which means it's no fun to go out and handle horses. Ice and snow block trails and gates. The shoddy fences are breaking down under drifts of snow. They've maxed out their credit cards on Christmas presents and New Years booze, so they have no cash to buy hay. And all of the muddy ponds and five gallon buckets that served as water tanks are frozen over! OH NOES.

The only logical response to this: Is it doing without their own comforts in order to keep the horses fed, then planning better for next year? Finding lower-cost rough board and dealing with winter chores yourself? Trying to sell a few of those extra horses? Hell no! That would be too hard! 

Just dump all the horses on someone else.

What follows is the latest round of winter dump-offs in my area, brought to my attention by various email lists, horse boards, blogs, etc. All are unaltered, original messages. My comments are in green. Note: People do dump horses all year 'round. It just seems especially prevalent, and unfortunate, in the dead of winter.

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$300. horses:
A woman dropped off 26 horses at this persons place to board and then never paid anything past the first months board. The lady that currently has the horses went thru legal channels as the horses were abandoned and now has the court's approval to sell them.
They range in all sizes and breeds, mares and geldings. Asking $300 a piece to cover their feed bill.  There is a tall dark brown dressage horse, but not sure what level he is at.
If anyone is interested, please just give Robin a call, she is always available.  Last weekend she rode most of them to see how they are and said they are just nice riding horses. Didn't have any trouble with them.

Robin Schmidt
Eagle, WI
Email:
Cell#
Please pass around and you can call or email if interested


This has got to suck soooo bad. The legal wrangling alone must have taken months. Imagine being in Robin's shoes; you're stuck with 26 horses to try to sell, in mid-winter, when no one wants an extra mouth to feed. To ensure the financial survival of your own farm, you HAVE to sell them SOON-- but your conscience is going to bother you forever if you don't take the time to make sure they find GOOD homes, of which there is a short supply. What an awful position to be in.

UPDATE: Looks like this is a hoax, folks! Sorry. It seems as though Robin may have had a minor problem with a boarder, but certainly not to the point where she had to go to court, and 26 horses were not involved! Thank goodness. I have erased her contact info. I wonder how this stuff happens? Was it simply web-drama, where a situation was blown WAY out of proportion, or was it purposeful harassment by someone who cleverly arranged for Robin's phone to ring off the hook via this sympathy ploy?

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Hello,

I appologize for such a large mass mailing but I am reaching out to my friends and colleagues who may be interested themselves or may have connections to someone who may be willing to help out my family. I am trying to put the word out to anyone who may be willing and able to add one or more horses to their family. My brother has several horses and is unable to properly care for them. He said if they are not able to find a new home for them asap, they will have to have them put down so they don’t suffer and starve. My brother, Terry, is a fireman and works very hard. He had an unfortunate accident in the Summer of 2010 where he indured a life threatening brain injury. He has made a miracalus recovery and is back to work, but his finances have suffered greatly. I’m sure he is probably feeding his horses before himself, but there is really nothing more he can do. I understand the economic times are hard all around and it is expensive to care for a horse, but if you or anyone you know has room to add one or more of these beautiful creatures you would be saving their life. I told Terry I would do what I can to get the word out. Here is a list of the horses he has.

3 yrs 50/50 Arabian, Checkner Male No Training

2-6yrs Arabian – Black Male Halter Broke

2-6yrs Arabian Male Halter Broke

2-6yrs Arabian Male Halter Broke

2-6yrs Arabian Male Halter Broke

14-15yrs Thouroughbred Female Trained

9m Saddlebred/Arabian Male Halter Broke

3-10yrs Arabian Female Broke

3-10yrs Arabian Female Broke

3-10yrs Arabian Female Broke

3-10yrs Arabian Female Broke

3-10yrs Arabian Female Broke

3-10yrs Arabian Female Broke

(HIS Sibling Not Mine- carol)My brother’s contact info:

His name is Terry Condon, cell phone number is 608-434-7508 and work number is 608-245-4561. He lives in Loganville (that's also in WI).

Okay, I do have some sympathy for anyone who is injured. However, this situation didn't develop overnight. Terry was injured in 2010 and has only now decided he can't care for his animals? Terry himself chose to collect THIRTEEN horses in the first place-- and 13 is about nine too many for one person to handle under the best of circumstances anyway. He chose to wait until his finances were really bad to do something about getting rid of those horses-- in the middle of winter, when no one wants a horse. He has apparently also chosen to keep such poor track of his horses that there aren't even reliable descriptions of them. Also, I'll eat my hat if the mares aren't pregnant by the "males." So he's chosen to create MORE horses to deal with! ARRRrrghhhh!
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From the Refuge Farms Horse Sanctuary boards:

In the Wausau area, a woman and her husband have been evicted effective 11/29/11. The Sheriff has visited and will seize her horses "sometime next week". She has no options. We have discussed euthanizing rather than shipping.
Her herd is 5 stallions and 5 mares. The mares, she says, are not pregnant as the stallions have been seperated from them. I will follow-up with her next week and offer to support some of the costs to euthanize.
If anyone has any ideas or any space or any names - please reach me. At least for a couple of them . . . .
How sad. How horribly sad.
The mares are 2 and 4 (both of these are halter broke) and three 20 year olds off the track. All are thoroughbreds.

Later, Refuge Farms got some more (worse) information:

I am having tough time with this one.

The owner is now thinking her horses are worth some money rather than just surrendering them. And I am finding it difficult to time my calls to her when she is able to talk with me. There seems to be an addiction involved here. The first call it was 10 horses. The next call it was 12 horses. The last call she couldn't recall how many horses. I'm thinking the mares are pregnant, too. Most likely. This woman is a breeder.
My calls to the sheriff so far have gone unanswered. I'll continue to try. The owner swears she has never received a business card from a deputy and that she has never received an eviction notice, either.  


Again, I have some sympathy for those getting evicted, especially in this rough economy-- but also again, that situation did not happen overnight. You don't get evicted quickly. It takes months to get someone evicted. If this couple had financial problems and couldn't pay their rent for months, they had a responsibility to deal with the horse situation long before it required the intervention of the local sheriff and a horse rescue. They could at least have stopped breeding more horses. The fact that the woman is only now interested in getting some money out of the horses (because the rescue showed interest) is despicable. Lady, if you wanted to sell, you had time. Don't try to bilk the rescue out of money. The whole "eviction" thing could even be made up to try to get the rescue to hand over some cash or free hay.

Back to me again. There are more horses being dumped en mass out there (just browse Craigslist) but if I tried to list all of them, I'd just start punching things in rage. That's not a good idea around a computer. Anyway, if you can fit an extra horse into your life, please contact these folks. Keep the sarcasm and nastiness out of your conversations with them; it's okay to be snarky and commiserate on the internet in general, but it won't help the horses if you provoke their owners in person.

Crappy Craigslist Circus: Horses, Rocks and Crazy People

Today I bring to you, ladies and gentleman, the Craigslist Horror Circus, filled with the awful dregs of Craigslist! Most are horse-related, but I couldn't help but include a couple of hilarious or horrifying non-horsey ads. Click on any of the pictures to make the ad bigger. Let the circus begin!

The Amazingly Selfish Lady!

See her unbelievable self-indulgence!

See her incredible acts of not giving a damn!

This lovely young lady is selling her sweet, broke, twenty-five year old horse for the low-low slaughter price of $300-- because she needs cash now for a "study abroad" trip. My favorite parts:

•  Needs to get rid of the old girl 'cause she got a new one -- in with the new, throw away the old.
• "She needs to have her teeth floated but I decided to let the buyer do it." Very responsible.
• Her only concern about the mare's new home is that the new owner pick her up SOON!
• "She has registration papers but I have never sent them in." 
• This chick needs cash quick, but can obviously afford the Android phone she posted this ad from, is planning a trip studying overseas and of course bought the new horse.

This nice old mare that deserves euthanasia or retirement is going to wind up on a slaughter truck to Canada, because this selfish bitch "needs money" NOW for her own luxuries.

Ultra Creepy Hoarder Dude!

Androgynous name, mysterious motives!

Next, ladies and gentleman, we have a scary situation with a guy named "Kelly" who is apparently collecting animals, despite having no means to take care of them, and apparently no intention of ever doing so:

...and here we have another warning about Kelly, this time from the Milwaukee area:

If you were ever thinking about putting animals on Craigslist for cheap or free, this kind of situation should be a lesson to you: creepy people will say ANYTHING to get their hands on cheap or free animals. Sometimes they're well-intentioned but irresponsible people who simply forget to feed Fluffy (for three weeks)-- other times, they're truly psychopathic. Just check out this guy, who promised to give great homes to cats and kittens on Craigslist, then tortured them to death. This happens more often than you would think. (Click each link for yet another horror story.) PLEASE at least actually check out the home and owner that your animal will be going to. Vet references, Google their name, check your state's circuit court records (publicly accessible!), show up at their home. Don't be lazy.

Now that you're all sad and horrified, how about a moment of amusement?

Stupendously Exciting ROCK for sale! Only $975!

Yes. A rock. Weighing about 3 tons. Why is it worth $975? Because it's, um, heavy! And vaguely shaped like Wisconsin! Boy oh boy, I bet you just can't WAIT to bring it home. I'm not sure how you would bring home a three ton rock as large as a pickup truck...

Mystery Filly!

Totally mysterious!

Mystic!

Her age is unknown, her training is unknown, her health is unknown, her height is unknown, her breed is unknown! We don't even know her name! Oooo, mysterious!! We are tantalized by her color, and four not-so-good pictures! I bet people will be lining up to buy this totally mystic filly!

...and for our grand finale, ladies and gentleman we present to you, a classic tale of tragedy, betrayal and rage: the famous Craigslist rant of an animal control officer who finally snapped! Here are his stories of stupid people and their poor animals!

"Bite My Butt"

I'm sick of all the abuse

Animal control? We need people control!

I quit and I hope your off-leash pet gets pancaked

Click Here

Horse Slaughter-- Is There Another Solution?

I hate the idea of horse slaughter. 

I also can't come up with another solution.

I don't want to hash out the whole horse slaughter debate here. Most people know the main points of both sides already. If you haven't participated in at least one vicious discussion about horse slaughter, you're either new to the horse world or new to the internet. In that case, find a summary at the bottom* of this post. What I'd really like to talk about today is finding a better solution.

Few people want horses to go to slaughter. Even those that support horse slaughter usually don't want their own horses to go through that hell. But how else do you solve the problems of over-population, unwanted racehorses, and a failing horse market?

What we should be doing, of course, is The Right Thing: not over-breeding, not keeping animals we can't afford, and taking responsibility for our senior and injured horses by paying for peaceful euthanasia instead of trying to make a little cash at the auction. I have yelled and ranted and raved about this all over the internet. Doing The Right Thing, however, is something you can't make people do.

 So what kind of programs could we create to cut back the need for horse slaughter?

In the 80s and 90s, a huge movement took hold in America: the "Spay or Neuter Your Pet" movement. Thousands of clever, heart-wrenching and funny advertisements for spaying and neuring pets were broadcast via every media imageinable, by humane societies, vets and other do-gooders. The movement coincided with awareness of human over-population, environmental problems, lab animal testing concerns and government willingness to fund social programs.

Click to enlarge.

The results were fantastic. The number of animals euthanized in pounds across America dropped dramatically. There was less neglect. Vet clinics and the government chipped in to set up low-cost spay and neuter programs for those that had too little money or too many animals. To this day, in many places in the USA you can't have an un-neutered dog without getting some weird looks and curious (or nasty) comments. It's actually rather taboo to admit to breeding a litter or two of puppies. The cat and dogs populations are still larger than they should be, and 3-4 million dogs and cats are still euthanized yearly; but things are much better than they used to be..

Why wouldn't this work for horses?

At least, that had been my first thought.

Gelding: removing balls, adding brains.

There are several reasons why this solution is problematic:

• you can't "spay" a mare without significant cost and risk; it's not as easy as spaying a cat

• there would be less support for such a campaign, since there are fewer horse lovers, fewer horse vets, and not enough government support

• low cost gelding clinics can only work if you can get a whole bunch of stallions in one place at one time-- otherwise it's not cost-efficient enough for a vet to want to do it. And that's hard.
• safety risk
• every horse would have to have a Coggins test and rabies vaccine first (cost, risk)
• not everyone has a trailer
• not every horse loads well

It doesn't mean that low-cost gelding clinics can't happen. They can, and have, successfully. Look here. And here. California is even launching a state-wide program. Low-cost euthanasia programs have also helped. However, these obstacles do prevent the kind of success we've seen with the dog and cat population problems.

So, what do YOU think? Is there a better solution than slaughter? What is it?





*For newbies to the horse slaughter debate:

Proponents of American horse slaughter say that when domestic horse slaughter was stopped five years ago, it had a negative affect on horses across the country. Since you couldn't even get a hundred or so bucks for a slaughter-bound horse at an auction any more, the bottom fell out of the horse market, devaluing even nice horses and devastating the horse industry in general. Proponents of horse slaughter also say that a lack of domestic slaughter facilities means more horses being left to starve, and those that do go to slaughter face long, awful journeys and more horrific deaths in Mexico and Canada. Finally, horse slaughter would help revive the stagnant economy, providing jobs to many.


Anti-horse-slaughter experts say that the number of horses slaughtered hasn't dropped-- so if there are extra horses being neglected, it's due to the poor economy and increased shipping costs to Mexico and Canada. Whether that's true or not, they argue, neglect was always an issue even when American slaughter plants operated; some nasty people will just mistreat animals no matter what, and building a slaughter plant in every state in America won't change that. The real solution, they say, is to stop over-breeding horses; reducing the population will drive up demand (and thus prices) and reduce cases of neglect. Slaughtering horses is not "American," they claim; no one here wants to eat the horses we care about. It's not humane to the easily-spooked, sensitive horses, and its not safe for consumers to be eating horses contaminated with Bute, steroids, etc.

Neglected Horses in Texas: Drought & Famine

The drought in Texas has continued unabated for months and months. Lakes have disappeared, pastures have turned into deserts and hay fields have shriveled into weedy dirt lots. The result is soaring hay prices, abandoned horses and overworked horse rescue organizations.

Here's just one article about the problem: Yahoo News: Texas Drought Leaves Heartbreaking Toll of Abandoned Horses

...and here's one very competent, very well-run Texas horse rescue trying to cope with dozens of unwanted horses, to the point that they can't take in any more: Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society
They have dozens upon dozens of really nice horses desperate for homes, and the organization has waived or lowered adoption fees on many of them. I myself am desperately in love with some of their donkeys (but the hubby has vetoed adoption of any pets of the long-eared variety).

"Jack Sparrow," a super cute donkey available for just $200.

The drought is so severe, it's the worst Texas has experienced in its history, at least since records started being kept in 1895. With all the water drying up, weird things are being found all over the state, including previously submerged slave cemeteries, ancient Indian remains, drowning victims and even missing pieces from the doomed space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated over hundreds of miles of land in 2003. The NYTimes has a great article here.

The most heartbreaking and interesting news piece I've run across is a photoblog on the disaster done by Collective Vision here.

 

The animals in Texas are obviously suffering, and if you have any spare change, I urge you to donated it to Bluebonnet or any other horse rescue organization in Texas.

One question: why aren't there more free horses in Texas Craigslist ads? Admittedly I only browsed briefly, but there are far fewer free horses there than this level of tragedy would seem to create. Sure, there are cheap horses, and a few free companion-only horses, but no more than in Wisconsin. Do Texas people simply not use Craigslist as much? Are ranchers there just sending horses to slaughter instead? Is there a stubborn feeling among ranchers that there's just no way they'll give horses away for free? If you know, please tell us.