Sorry, the only horse person I know has moved.
Obviously this woman is either actively suicidal, delusional, or utterly stupid. I’ll bet she’s not willing to give up Bayboy because doing that would force her to admit her limitations and would destroy her image of herself as “a great dressage rider”, and she’s simply not willing to do that. If she’s lucky, Bayboy will only cripple her for life and not kill her when he goes after her again. He, of course, seems to have no luck at all.
Poor horse. 
OH TELL ME ABOUT IT!
I really don’t know what I will do if I come to the barn some night and find her in trouble again. Run in and rescue a person I have zero respect or liking and great contempt for, from the consequences of her own stupidity, putting my own life and limb at risk? Or walk away and let her deal with it herself – violating my own standards of right and wrong? [sigh]
This just tears me up inside. I’m also furious at the dealer who sold her this horse, knowing that DQ’s then-instructor had condemned the pairing as a disaster in the making.
I hear you. It was certainly a boneheaded move on my part, in terms of putting myself in harm’s way, wasn’t it? I shudder to think what kind of thrashing, tangled wreck he could have got himself into, though.
I think you’ve nailed it.
ETF, maybe you could report her to the authorities? She is a danger not only to herself but also to others. You could probably get away with claiming animal cruelty as well.
Trust me, liirogue – if I ever catch DQ actively abusing Bayboy, I will drop that dime for sure. Secondhand stories of abuse, however, aren’t enough to get her prosecuted, and bad riding in itself is no crime in the eyes of The Law. Which has saved many a novice as they progress from gross incompetence to being able to ride without testing the patience of the poor packer who’s teaching them. 
Including, of course, me. When I bought Nicky the Magnificent Pickle (shown here giving a friend her first riding lesson), I was HORRIBLE! Nick was calm, patient, and forgiving, and put up with way too much while I learned how to ride correctly. But then, he was mature (10 YO at purchase), well-trained, and an easy-going Quarter Horse, already well-seasoned as a show and lesson horse – not a greenbroke, off the track, hot-blooded Thoroughbred. And I actually listened to my teachers, and tried to follow their instruction, since I knew darn well how far from capable I was. If only DQ could admit her inability, seek help, and actually take it when offered, I would have some hope for Bayboy.
It is truly amazing that such powerful animals should submit with such patient kindness to the crap that too many humans inflict upon them.
You thought it couldn’t get worse…
A couple of mornings ago, the barn owner and one of the hands went to feed breakfast, and Bayboy was not in his stall, nor in the small paddock at the rear of the barn that he has access to overnight. Barn owner was headed to the house to call DQ when the hand discovered Bayboy in one of the paddocks near the front of the barn. He’d apparently spent the night out there. Whether DQ had put him out there, and couldn’t get him back in, or (I think more likely) he’d gotten away from her, run in there (where he used to be turned out during the day, till he kicked down fence boards too many times), I don’t know.
What I do know is that, when barn owner called DQ to discuss this, DQ asked her how to get in touch with the local low-end horse dealer/hauler. DQ’s stated intention was to get the hauler to take Bayboy to the nearest auction for her.
Yep, that’s right. DQ’s willing to send Bayboy to auction, where either a killer buyer will take him, or some unsuspecting person will buy a brainfried horse. I don’t know whether the barn owner gave DQ the contact info (which she can find out independently in any case), but the barn owner WILL make sure that the dealer/hauler knows exactly what’s up with this horse.
Part of me wishes DQ would follow through on this, so that Bayboy has a chance to luck out and wind up with a person who can save him while surviving the process. Most of me is saying “Oh, please, NO!”
Good grief. I almost posted a few days ago asking for an update, but I forgot (shamefull, I know). Do you think we could bribe the dealer/hauler to “mistake” DQ for the horse and sell her to a glue factory?
Tempting, isn’t it? Oh, so very tempting… 
In my darkest, nastiest moments I hope that Bayboy gets her, gets her good. Most of the time I’m ashamed of myself for thinking that, even of a waste of oxygen like DQ, but sometimes… :mad:
Somehow I missed this thread before.
EddyTeddyFreddy, your horse is gorgeous! I don’t have the money or the time for a horse, but I wish I did.
Poor Bayboy. What a horrible, horrible thing for that woman to do to that poor horse. Why do some people have animals? WHY?
I hope some good comes out of this and Bayboy ends up with a “Monty Roberts” style owner who can rehabilitate him and make him well [mentally] again …
I used to ride with a man who bought a horse years ago - the horse was quite young, maybe a 4 year old, and he was persuaded to buy it because it suited him perfectly :rolleyes: well he’s not the world’s worst rider, but certainly shouldn’t have bought such a young horse, and over the years the horse had gotten worse and worse. It still canters as though it’s got two different sets of legs, dives over jumps as if he’s Superman, bucks if the rider tells him to do something it’s so damn depressing …
She must have missed the “REDRUM” he kept scratching out on the ground with his hoof.
EddyTeddyFreddy: I shared this thread with my sister (Melinda) who owns a horse and is fanatical about proper horse safety.
She then shared it with her friend Gloria.
Who says she knows you (from “the horsenuts list”), and has stayed with you and the cats.
Small world indeed.
EddyTeddyFreddy, I hate to say it, but if DQ does sell Bayboy to the auction dealer, it’s probably for the best if he does end up going to the killers. We both know the odds of him ending up in the hands of a horseperson knowledgeable and capable enough to successfully rehabilitate him are extremely low; more likely he’d wind up being purchased by some well-meaning but ignorant person and end up badly injuring or even killing them. Thank God the barn owner is determined to make sure the auction dealer will know exactly what sort of problem horse he’s buying.
Anyone want to place bets on how long DQ will wait after dumping Bayboy before she goes out and buys another horse to ruin? :mad:
Small world indeed, Gyrate!
Alas, I have an update. Yes, alas.
On Saturday, April 10, DQ removed Bayboy to the barn she’d had built on her property in the next town over. She took Baygirl, too. Barn owner’d had her lawyer send a nasty letter saying get Bayboy off the property but you have no rights to Baygirl (gave to barn owner’s daughter in front of witnesses; hadn’t paid board, vet, etc. for mare since last summer). DQ’s response was to remove her stuff from the tack room on Friday night, then come with her husband during the deadtime on Saturday and handwalk the two horses out of the barn (she has no trailer).
There were two or three people around when she did this, but none of them thought to alert barn owner until DQ, husband, and two horses were off the property. Barn owner then called police, but DQ et al. got over the town line before the cops reached them, and since DQ’s husband had papers saying he owned the horse, the cops said “Civil matter; we can’t do any more.”
I’m so upset for the horses – in DQ’s full control, on a secluded property where abuse and neglect will be out of sight of anyone who’d care. I’m frankly pissed at barn owner and her daughter, who refused to believe that DQ and husband would actually do what they’d told BO and daughter they would do! So they didn’t take any steps to safeguard the mare from being taken. Now, with Baygirl out of their possession, their chances of recovering her are not worth the paper DQ’s “gift” to daughter wasn’t written on.
A few bright notes, though:
One of the barn hands – call her “Kay” – had caught DQ abusing Bayboy before and told her to knock it off, but had been reluctant to call Animal Rescue, thinking the horse would have to be in dire shape for them to respond. A couple of weeks ago, she caught DQ beating Bayboy with a girth. Not only did Kay stop her, but she called the SPCA and reported it.
A few days later, an investigator – in full uniform, badge and all – came by the barn to follow up. Kay wasn’t there, but I and another boarder told the investigator all that we knew, both direct observation and what others had told us. Turns out that what I’ve seen firsthand wouldn’t be enough by itself, but is useful to back up reports of Kay and others who’ve seen the beatings. The investigator said there is definitely a case; that she wants to follow up and get written statements from everyone who’s willing to attest to what they’ve seen; and that she does have the power to go on DQ’s property to monitor, warn, and even seize the horse if warranted. So there will be some protection for Bayboy and Baygirl, however limited.
Meanwhile, I have connections in the local horseworld who are as disgusted with DQ as I am, and who are going to spread the word about DQ. Barn owner is well-liked, and people are not going to approve of the way DQ has screwed her over, nor will they be eager to provide services to DQ, knowing that she stiffs people.
And finally, a delicious bit of karma ass-biting: Two days ago, on Monday the 12th, DQ was arrested for drunk driving, driving under the influence of illegal drugs, and a couple of other charges arising from her rear-ending another car. Guess she must have done a bit too much celebrating about how clever she’d been.
I hope she gets caught, arrested, prosecuted, and punished severely. I’ve been anxiously following this thread, hoping custody would be removed. I also hope that somehow, she’s prevented from ever owning another horse again. I’ve heard of such things happening before. The court basically “bans” the person. Not sure if it was the U.S. or not though. Hope the “horsey society” makes things tough for her, so she quits the “society” at the very least.
At least Bayboy’s received a brief reprieve! Let’s hope the SPCA people will be able to eventually get him and Baygirl out of DQ’s hands. With any luck, DQ’s abuse will leave visible marks, and they’ll have something to build a case with.
And if all the local horsepeople band together, maybe DQ will find purchasing another horse to ruin impossible!
ETF - A similar (though not so drastic) situation happened at my barn several years ago. A beautiful red raon QH off the track was purchased for a 13 year old boy. The kid apparently had been to some dude ranch and had been taught that if you brought the horse back and it wasn’t absolutely dragging, head in the ground tired, you hadn’t really ridden it. The only time he came around was to ride this poor, sweet mare into the ground. Of course, he wouldn’t listen to any advice. It got to the point were she was so vicious around him he had to get a stick to reach under her and get the girth, because she wouldn’t let him. We all knew he was riding for a fall, leterally, but there wasn’t much we could do to stop him. Finally the mare trots up to the barn one day without him. Eventually he plods up, holding his visibly broken wrist. Meanwhile, we all kept cooing and making a fuss over the horse. I think he learned his lesson. Fortunately, she wasn’t soured on all people, just him.
If you were any closer and there was a way, I’d take Bayboy down here to keep as a companion to my TB Bayboy, Irish. I bought Irish as a yearling after the death of my old Trakhener mare and trained him myself. A sweeter, more trusting horse you couldn’t ask for. I finally moved him from the boarding stable, which has been going downhill since the owner has gotten more interested in drugs than horse, to my recently purchased farm. It had gotten so bad out at my old barn that when I didn’t see one of the owner’s horses for a couple days I went walking the pasture to look for him. I found him dead in the pasture, with the vultures all over him. The owner’s response to the complaints? “What do they want - for me to check on each horse every day?” Well, yes. That’s what we want.
Here’s a link to pictures of the farm and Irish. I have fourteen acres of good pasture with the farm. Now all I need is a comanion for Irish.
StG
Holy guacamole, StG – are you looking for a companion horse with a sweet disposition and lovely ground manners? Because I am currently doing morning care for a Quarter Horse gelding just like that, who needs a permanent home. He’s not ridable due to a turnout accident (stifle injury), but he’s pasture sound and a total doll. His owner is desperate for a good permanent home to offer him. How far are you from Massachusetts? Crikey – if it’s not too far, I’d help pay for the hauler to bring him to you.
I shudder to think of the poor horses at your former barn. My two guys live at a place that looks like the hillbillies moved in, and some of the foxhunting - polo playing - hunter/jumper horseworld here look down on us. But the horses are happy, well fed, and well cared for. The SPCA investigator told us that when she was driving into the place she thought “Oh-oh…” but that a quick look around reassured her that the horses here are in good hands. She also said she’s been in fabulously impressive-looking barns where the horses live in misery.
I am never gonna understand people who seem to think that horses are just more attractive SUVs.
Or, for that matter, people who seem to think pets are just cuter wind-up toys and knickknacks…
And if y’wanna talk karma, the woman in question would have been a wet spot with horseshoe prints in it a great many posts ago…
ETF - I live just outside of Nashville, so it’s quite the haul. But if you have a trailer and a free weekend, you’re welcome to bring him down. What I’m looking for is exactly that - a horse to hang out with Irish. Someone without many health problems, since I’m not looking to spend a lot of money on extra vet care, besides the twice a year shots and and such. It would be nice if the horse is sound enough to put my little nephews on his back and lead them around. I’ve thought about getting Irish a goat or a donkey as a companion.
Right now I only have a paddock fenced off for Irish, but it’s big enough for two and has plenty of grass and a stream running through it. (In fact, I’m slowly working Irish onto the grass - pasture was so bad at the old place the vet was afraid he’d founder if just plopped down here.) The barn isn’t much, but it’s good enough for what I need - Irish is turned out most of the time. I might eventually take in a boarder or two, but that’s in the future. I got the farm for $60,000 but until I sell my other house I won’t have the money to fence it completely (or for a central heat and air system, which would really be nice).
StG