Farm News
15 Horses Removed From a Deerfield Residence
By Annette Fisher
Apr 21, 2009, 08:14

Finally, updates are in the works! Thanks for your patience as we take time between care of the horses to share their rescue story — it has been a hectic, overwhelming and busy week for all the Happy Trails volunteers during the first week of this rescue. We will now begin to list updates by day/date below. Details and photos will unfold as our time permits. We very much appreciate the coming together of the community to help out in this terribly sad and unfortunate case of animal neglect, and again thank you for your patience as we attempt to handle the overwhelming task of the beginning of rehablitation and recovery for these 15 horses. Scroll down to see the lates updates.

Monday April 20th
On Monday, April 20th, Happy Trails assisted the Portage APL Humane Officer in the removal of 15 horses from a Deerfield area residence due to severe neglect.

Please understand that Happy Trails is a support organization that provides animal rescue support services for every county in Ohio. The sanctuary assists humane officers, sheriff's departments and other law enforcement officials when they choose to remove a farm animal or horse from a situation of abuse, neglect or abandonment. We provide assistance such as hauling and transportation, providing veterinary and medical care,  recovery and rehabilitation programs.

As an all-volunteer organization that operates on private donations, for Happy Trails to take on the responsibility of 15 terribly debilitated horses all at once is a bit overwhelming.

I would like to share with you that on that first night, all 15 horses were placed in warm, dry stalls with a thick layer of bedding. Water buckets with clean, clear water were hung in all 15 stalls, and mounds of hay were provided for their evening feeding. As we turned the lights out in the barns that night, there seemed to be an overall sense of peace and calmness, and the last thing we heard was the soft sounds of 15 rescued horses quietly munching hay. Many laid down on their soft beds of dry sawdust, unable to stand for long periods of time due to the horrific condition of their hooves. 

Before the horses were removed from the property, they were vet checked, cataloged, photographed and identified. The veterinarian checked the horses again that evening when they arrived at the fairgrounds. Every two to three days the veterinarian has been on-site checking the rescued horses. Malnutrition and lack of hoof care are the major contributing factors to their poor condition.

Though it was difficult during the actual rescue for us to see the conditions of the horses themselves as well as the conditions that the horses were living in, our hardest task now lies in front of us. Rehabiliation and recovery will be a long road for several of these wonderful creatures. I would like to assure you that they are receiving the very best of veterinary and medical care, farrier expertise for their overgrown hooves, proper nutrition, and plenty of attention from our concerned and experienced volunteers.

We truly appreciate any and all donations.

We have been involved in animal cruelty cases which can be tied up in the courts for long periods of time, sometimes up to ten months to a year or more. During this time, Happy Trails is responsible for providing proper nutrition, health care, safe shelter, professional hoof rehabilitation, vaccinations, and all other care associated with responsible horse rehabilitation and recovery.

Here's how you can help:

Donations
• Donations by check may be sent to Happy Trails, 5623 New Milford Rd., Ravenna, Ohio 44266.
• Donations may be made here on our website through PayPal.

We are also accepting donations of:
• Hay (please not more than a year old and it cannot be moldy)
• Straw
• Sawdust

If you are able to foster a horse at this time,
please call us at 330-296-5914, for details.

Many thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly during the rescue to help with loading and transport, unloading and settling them in, getting stalls ready for 15 tired and hungry horses, and giving them some TLC.  Before the lights in the barns were turned off last night, all the horses had clean, soft, dry bedding, clear, fresh water buckets, and a ton of hay. The last sounds we heard was the quiet and contented munching of the horses...they had at last found santuary...

Thursday, April 23th
Bringing A Community Together
I have to stop and acknowledge with gratitude the incredible coming together of the community of Portage County and the assistance of volunteers from many neighboring counties as well.

On Monday night, the street at the property in Deerfield was lined with quite a variety of horse trailers, from ramp-loads to step-ups to box stalls and everything inbetween. Our volunteer haulers consisted of folks in law enforcement from several counties, retired volunteers, several horse owners who professionally show their horses, and people who simply enjoy and appreciate being horse owners and love their own equine companions. All transport volunteers are part of the Happy Trails Emergency Rescue Crew, and assist with hauling when our help is requested by an Ohio humane officer or other law enforcement official to remove an abused, neglected or abandoned farm animal. These folks who dedicated their time and services on Monday night didn't even ask for one penny of gas money. We truly appreciate their time and their willingness to make a difference in animal rescue.

Friday, April 24th
Hoof care, along with malnutrition, is one of our biggest challenges regarding rehabilitation and recovery for these rescued horses. On Friday, April 24th, Craig Lindauer, accompanied by his wife, Laura, and assisted by several Happy Trails volunteers, began the daunting task of addressing and documenting the severe condition of many of the hoof issues in this group of horses.

Craig is the farrier for Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Services in Chagrin Falls, and he has now graciously donated his time and professional skills for the rescued horses from Deerfield. Craig has the ultimate patience with horses, and though he has created some miracles in regards to the transformation of the hooves of several of the horses so far, he did politely let us know that he is swamped and is not accepting new clients at this time.

Here are the details and photos of farrier work.

Tuesday, April 29th
Moving Along
Several lives may still hang in the balance — will they be able to be rehabilitated or won't they?
Right now, our goal is to give each and every one of these 15 horses a fighting chance — a chance to live a life free from the pain of mangled hooves and overstretched tendons, a chanced to have full and satisifed bellies on a regular basis, and a chance to lay down every single night on a thick, dry, soft bed instead of oozing down into a slurry of urine, feces and mud.
All week long the horses have been worked on in some way — hooves were once again a big issue. Curled, twisted and overgrown hooves continued to be a major source of pain, and several horses had a strange gait as they learned to walk without having to throw their feet out in order to not trip over excessively long hooves. It was incredibly sad to watch.
Volunteers (God bless you!) came out of the woodwork to help begin the long, painful process of clean-up. Heavy chunks of dried manure and mud hung off legs, coats and underbellies, and in some cases, were too close to the skin to even begin to remove them. Several horses were starting to shed, and the weight from these manure chunks pulled off hair in a hurry as we attempted to brush the horses.

Most of the horses have now been placed in foster care — homes that have been approved and met or exceeded horse-care standards and the criteria of a home safety checklist. I have personally witnessed more than one foster person standing at the gate of a stall, with big, silent tears streaming down their faces as they gazed in at the malnourished bodies and mangled feet. It has truly been a difficult first week for all involved.

Thursday, April 30th
All Horses Placed In Approved Foster Homes
As of Thursday, April 30th, after two weeks of intensive care and a very little sleep for many volunteers, all 15 horses were transported from the Portage County Fairgrounds to approved foster homes where they will continue to receive constant care, monitoring and veterinary attention.

Portage County Fairgrounds stepped up to the plate at the request of the Portage County Sheriff's Department, and in the spirit of community and working against animal abuse in Portage County, graciously allowed use of the fairgrounds as a temporary holding facility for the 15 neglected horses. The folks on the fair board were incredible, supportive, and aware how important it is for a community organizations to come together in times of crisis. The hard-working fair maintenance staff constantly checked on our volunteer staff to see if there was anything we needed.

It is unrealistic for the burden of a rescue of this size to be placed on any one organization. There is not one entity that is equipped to handle a mass animal removal and rescue, but when everyone's strengths and skills are brought together and everyone works together for a common good, everything is possible!

FOSTER HOMES
The incredible dedication that it takes to be a foster home is beyond admirable. A foster parent of a rescued animal accepts the responsibility of 24 hours a day care. They agree to follow a slow recovery program to the "T", and keep a log of that horse's recovery progress. Grain can only be introduced in gradual increments for a horse that is suffering from malnutrition so that it's intestines can once again begin to work properly, and so that you don't create a colic situation. The foster parents accept the rescued animal for what it is, and agree to deal with their fears, behavioral issues and lack of human contact and training. A horse that has been left un-handled in it's stall for excessive periods of time can lack the manners needed to be safe to work around. Foster homes go above and beyond the call of duty when working rehab for Happy Trails, and we are grateful for the foster homes who have agreed to so many conditions in this rescue case. They work closely with the veterinarians and farriers for the ultimate care these rescued horses can receive.

PORTAGE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
These 15 horses very well may have, to this very moment, been left continuing to stand in their stalls of severe neglect if it weren't for the participation and cooperation of the Portage County Fairgrounds and a fair Board Of Directors who choose to not accept animal abuse in their county. Following in the footsteps of nearly every county in Ohio that has called Happy Trails in to assist with a mass rescue, the Portage County Fairgrounds has stepped up to the plate and joined forces with the Portage Animal Protective League, The Portage County Sheriff's Deparment and Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, to provide a temporary safe haven for this group of sadly neglected horses that were suffering from a combination of malnutrition and severely overgrown hooves.

Many counties in Ohio call Happy Trails for help with farm animal and horse rescue of a daily basis, and we see the cooperation of county agencies and fairgrounds on a regular basis. We were thrilled to have worked hand-in-hand with the kind and compassionate folks at the Portage County Fairgrounds, and admire them for their sense of community and their spirit of compassion.

VOLUNTEERS
Doggone tired and mentally exhausted, many of the die-hard volunteers for Happy Trails have dedicated a great deal of time to the care and monitoring of the rescued horses. Volunteers stayed overnight at the fairgrounds to keep watch over these precious lives and to make sure that their grain, hay and medications stayed on a rigid schedule as we started them on the road to recovery.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Pre-Trail
For the initial arraignment, the horse owner entered a written plea of not-guilty through her attorney.
At the pre-trial on Wednesday, June 3rd, 14 of the 15 horses were officially signed over the Portage Animal Protective League, who in turned signed all horses over to Happy Trails. The horse not included in this group was previously signed over to Happy Trails since it was officially owned by another party. A second pre-trail is now being scheduled, with court proceedings still in the process.