Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Home Again, Home Again...

Wild horses graze peacefully at DreamCatcher Sanctuary

If you have been following the story of the 29 Twin Peaks mustangs that were sold to a woman in Michigan and soon after were found starving, there are exciting new developments along with some disheartening news.

First the great news… the future for 8 of these mustangs, along with one mare’s new foal born while in MI, has taken a turn for the better! After difficult deliberations and many sleepless nights, with no help from the local authorities, these fortunate few will be making the trip back to California and DreamCatchers Sanctuary on September 9^th.
Some of the horses returning home are...

# 1765 Appaloosa mare along with her appaloosa colt.

photo by Jodi Louth

# 1981 "Jewel" - the sorrel mare whose foal died at Michigan State University. (read their story here)

Shortly after arriving in MI.

The day MHWC found her starving and ready to foal.

photo by Jodi Louth

MHWC took her to a foster home.

photo by Jodi Louth

Her foal was born but she was to weak to care for him.
He died at the MSU despite the intensive care.

photo by Jodi Louth

Shortly after foaling.

photo by Jodi Louth

On the road to recovery...

photo by Jodi Louth

and ready to go home!

photo by Jodi Louth

# 1598 Dun gelding.

His story went like this...

Chased from his home and family by helicopter photo by BLM

Day after capture at Litchfield corrals

Sorted to be gelded in preparation for sale

Suffering in Michigan

photo by Jodi Louth

At foster home waiting for his ride back to California

photo by Jodi Louth

# 1557 Black gelding, star and missing left ear tip.

photo by Jodi Louth

# 1523 Black gelding with 4 white socks.

photo by Jodi Louth

This victory for the horses has come at quite a high price and now they need our help again! Financial support to help cover the expense of interstate vet checks and testing along with their safe, caring and comfortable ride home. These horses have been through so much trauma and hardship they need to be returned to a life of freedom... the only life they knew before they were stripped off their home range last summer along with over 1700 others from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area.

Donations are being accepted by DreamCatcher Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary please visit their web site. If you feel the call to help these misplaced mustangs in Michigan get back home please know your donation is fully tax deductible, greatly appreciated and will be recognised! Watch for more information.

DreamCatcher is a 501c3 not for profit sanctuary.

Thank You!

A letter from Barbara at DreamCatcher

As for those still in Michigan we have not given up on their safe return home but for now most remain in the hands of the original purchaser. Some of the mares are still believed to be heading to Florida, to a "breeding farm" and an owner who has admitted to selling horses at auction. There are many illegal horse slaughter operations in FL and Sale Authority BLM mustangs are easy targets.
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Updates and more photos to follow.
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Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Lonely Filly

On July 10th we took a drive over to Twin Peaks to see if we could find any horses at Painters Flat. On our way down Horn Road a young filly jumped up out of a water hole shrouded by vegetation and trotted across the road right in front of us.

Initially I was excited to see her but soon realized she was all alone. We watched for a long time to see if she would join her family but she walked on alone, nibbling grass, not even looking around for anyone else.

How could it be one so small was all alone?
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Reservoir at Painters Flat

The reservoir was full, the grass tall, flowers were blooming, birds were singing and we were excited to see some horses come in for a drink.

Cascade Downingia in and around the water

Water Buttercups

Looking out across the flat with our binoculars and lenses we guesstimated there were only 75-100 head of cattle but we could only see one dark horse.

One Lone Horse

We could see him off in the distance coming toward the water hole, and he was limping, so we quickly moved further away from the water to be sure he would feel safe enough to get his drink.

Why Do They Mourn?

We left the water hole and went to the spring, where last August we saw so many family bands, hoping to see the "Thunder Horses" again. We knew they were not captured during the roundup because they were seen here on Nov. 14th, 2010.

The Mourning Doves were in the trees all around us, their mournful songs echoed throughout this little valley.

The spring had not been visited by any equines recently. There was no sign of them anywhere, no tracks, no manure. The small paths they had walked last August were completely covered with grasses.

Some of these bunches of grass were as tall as me.

Lupine

Penstemon

We left the spring and headed back across the flat.

Sage hen leading us away from her nest

The road is nearly covered with grass

Even while being surrounded by the vibrant, bountiful, beauty of this landscape, the emptiness and quiet was overwhelming and sobering... we left the high desert with heavy hearts.
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Thursday, July 7, 2011

How You Can Help

A message from Michigan Horse Welfare Coalition...

Jewel just days before giving birth to her foal who died at Michigan State University

photo by Jodi Louth

Justice for Jewel and the other Michigan Mustangs!

The MHWC has received a lot of inquiries as what can be done at this point to help the Allegan County Mustangs. So, here is what we suggest:

Please send an email to Prosecutor Frederick Anderson who made the decision to not press any charges against the owner of these mustangs despite what seems to be overwhelming evidence that the following law was allegedly violated on multiple counts: Michigan statute MCL 750.50, which states that animals must receive adequate care, which is defined as “sufficient food, water, shelter, sanitary conditions, exercise and veterinary medical attention in order to maintain an animal in a state good health.” The statute further defines “neglect” as failure to “sufficiently and properly care for an animal to the extent that the animal’s health is jeopardized.”

Multiple eye witness reports, including veterinary reports and visits from Allegan County Animal Control, attest to the following alleged violations:

Insufficient food on multiple occasions spanning a long period of time, causing near death by starvation
Insufficient veterinary care for sick/injured mustangs in the owner’s care

Further, there are numerous witnesses who can attest to the fact that the owner made it very difficult, if not impossible, for people to adopt any of these mustangs. Many potential adopters were turned away because the owner said that the horses were already adopted, despite the fact that they stood starving in her own backyard. The owner also had very specific conditions, including the forbidding of gelding stud colts for two years that adopters had to agree to.

The attached photo is of “Jewel,” just one of the horses allegedly starving to death at the property before she was rescued. A veterinary report confirms that her condition was due to nutritional deficiencies AND the owner’s own vet confirmed to the MHWC that the owner never called him to the property to assess or treat this horse even though the owner claims that Jewel was thin due to illness.

There were also several foals with leg injuries - one, a colt, had a leg injury that nearly went “septic” due to lack of treatment. If this colt had not been rescued, he also would have likely died or become permanently lame. This injury required antibiotic injections for 2 weeks.

Please demand that justice is served on behalf of these Michigan Mustangs! Even one conviction of animal neglect against this owner will prevent her from ever being able to adopt another BLM Mustang again! Please also demand that the remaining mustangs be seized and allowed to return to California – to a sanctuary similar to the home they have known for over a decade, where they can once again live wild and free as they were intended!

Email: Prosecutor Frederick Anderson at: PROSECUTOR@ALLEGANCOUNTY.ORG

Copy: Sgt. Chris Kuhn (investigating officer) at: CKuhn@ALLEGANCOUNTY.ORG and the Sheriff at: Sheriff@ALLEGANCOUNTY.ORG and the MHWC at: info@michiganhorsewelfarecoalition.org

Letters can be snail mailed to the Prosecutor at:

Frederick Anderson
Prosecuting Attorney
Allegan County
113 Chestnut Street
Allegan, Michigan 49010
Phone: 269-673-0280
Fax: 269-673-0599

Thank you for your continued support for these Mustangs!!