Horse abuse/neglect

[Pidgeon]

I find it incredibly sad that yet again someone portrays themselves in a good light on SM, yet the reality is the total opposite. There is no excuse for letting the horses, dogs and other animals get to that state. I've met him in real life and was shocked when it came out as he always came across as having the welfare of his animals top priority. Just confirms what a cruddy judge of character I am. Not been on holiday for about 18 years now, and I can count on one hand the number of people I would trust to look after my horse. Just for context, this was pig yesterday. 27y 2m old, whose had Cushings since January 2015 and is notoriously difficult to keep weight on. There really is no excuse for fit and healthy younger horses looking far far worse than pig.

 

[Orangina]

Yet another

Never seen any updates on the case in Scotland where it was another “well kent” name.

And obviously I had horses involved in the Edge case last year.

I think we (and I include myself in that) need to be far more wary of anyone appearing to hoard animals.

Is the 'well kent ' a clue or am I thinking too much into that and you were just referencing they are well known? I was thinking of someone whose surname begins with W and sounds similar to your bracketed words in a way!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Is the 'well kent ' a clue or am I thinking too much into that and you were just referencing they are well known? I was thinking of someone whose surname begins with W and sounds similar to your bracketed words in a way!

I’m thinking this is JS unless there is another one recently that I’m not aware of

 

[greasedweasel]

Orangina yes that’s the one but I’m frantically trying to work out who JS is now

 

[Ceifer]

He’s local to me too. I’m not a fan. Seems to trade on the ‘outrageously spoken bitchy gay horseman’ trope. I went to his yard once - it was a sh*thole. Mutual friends have said he’s suffered from mental health problems for years. Not that it’s an excuse.


He’s the second one around here that people are outing on social media. Another is a woman who offered cheap grass rehab/retirement livery and clearly never looks at the horses.

 

[dorsetladette]

He's got a profile on here although hasn't posted in a while by the looks of it. He was commenting mostly on the threads about himself. Says enough for me!

 

[Nicnac]

This has shocked me as, although not a sycophant, always thought he loved his animals and they were his priority. When I have sent horses away to be backed, trained or whatever, I have visited weekly so I can't understand why some of the owners/visitors to the yard hadn't noticed anything? If I am spending money to somebody to train or compete my horse, I expect regular updates from the rider and an open door for visits whether just to see horse or watch them ride. During those visits I would always look at other horses on the yard just to say hello.

 

[Ceifer]

This has shocked me as, although not a sycophant, always thought he loved his animals and they were his priority. When I have sent horses away to be backed, trained or whatever, I have visited weekly so I can't understand why some of the owners/visitors to the yard hadn't noticed anything? If I am spending money to somebody to train or compete my horse, I expect regular updates from the rider and an open door for visits whether just to see horse or watch them ride. During those visits I would always look at other horses on the yard just to say hello.

I would be the same.
It seems the other local woman who has been outed by an owner that lived a long way away and just left the horse in the complete care of this woman for months with no visits or photos. Now she’s kicked off and posting photos all over facebook.

 

[HopOnTrot]

Apparently owners were told “not today, I’m competing” and were politely put off from visiting.

 

[dorsetladette]

Apparently owners were told “not today, I’m competing” and were politely put off from visiting.

But surely owners response would be 'OK I'll come on XXXX day instead'

You'd only get fobbed off a couple of times before you became suspicious surely? He obviously wasn't sending regular updates (photos/videos) of the progress he was making with these schooling liveries.

 

[ycbm]

Can we not victim blame people for somebody else mistreating a horse that the owner has paid good money to have looked after by a professional?

People should be able to leave their horses with these people without visiting, and some have no option.
.

 

[Goldenstar]

Can we not victim blame people for somebody else mistreating a horse that the owner has paid good money to have looked after by a professional?

People should be able to leave their horses with these people without visiting, and some have no option.
.

They should be however it is extremely unwise to leave horses with yards without seeing the horse regularly or getting someone else to see the horse .
It’s safest to trust no one .
There’s a regular supply of these ghastly stories enough to make it wise never to leave someone in care or control of your horse without another party having eyes on it .

You should be able to leave your car without locking it but it’s unwise to do so .

 

[Ceifer]

Can we not victim blame people for somebody else mistreating a horse that the owner has paid good money to have looked after by a professional?

People should be able to leave their horses with these people without visiting, and some have no option.
.

People totally should be able to. Especially if you’re paying good money. I know it shouldn’t be financial but this is how it is.

However, in the horse world we should all know by now that it is open to abuse. People who claim to be experts really aren’t. People who should know better and are qualified still have questionable ethics (hence the other infamous thread going on here currently).

I’ve been around horse people in a professional capacity for over 20 years and I’m still astounded by some ‘professional’ people’s decisions.

There are too many repeat incidents of this happening for me to leave any of my animals in the care of others without monitoring. Sad but that’s where we’re at.

 

[Nicnac]

Can we not victim blame people for somebody else mistreating a horse that the owner has paid good money to have looked after by a professional?

People should be able to leave their horses with these people without visiting, and some have no option.
.

Nobody is victim blaming. Just questioning. If a yard has a significant number of horses and other animals then there would (should?) be footfall. As someone who has sent horses to pros in good faith and may do so again I want to know how and why these, unfortunately increasing, cases occur.

 

[Roxylola]

I feel very sad for owners who in good faith paid for horses to be looked after when they clearly weren't. I think his character probably made it hard to question when he said he was busy etc. He was also (it seemed) quite open about struggles - having to move yards etc, people would have chosen him to place their horses with because they liked his character and liked him - when he's "doing his best" getting horses out competing etc despite having to set up a new yard.... I can imagine the conversation it's not hard to see how easy it would be to put folk off.

However, he had a trainer going to him, a farrier, a saddler etc. Now trainer and to a degree saddler may well have only seen what he chose but on some of the clearly hungry neglected horses pictures they have shoes on. I do think the professionals involved with him have some responsibility here.

It's so very sad to think there are likely animals still with him and suffering

 

[Miss_Millie]

It sounds like he was a very sneaky con-artist, sending people pictures of their horses regularly when they first arrived and were still in good health, and then making up excuses later down the line as they deteriorated about being too busy to send updates. One person in the comments said that they sent their horse to him last year and spent a whopping £7k on backing and schooling livery, only to bring back a worm-ridden, underweight, wired horse who was worse off than when he went there.

In other comments people talk about past dealings with him, even years back, where they were scared to report him for his abuse and neglect because he was blackmailing and threatening them. He sounds like a nasty piece of work and I hope that he is never allowed to own an animal again, although knowing the justice system, he will probably get away with it.

Once again, I think this highlights why it is so important to not blindly believe what you see on social media. Just because someone has a big following, it doesn't mean that they are a good person or what they are sharing is an accurate representation of who they are. It kind of scares me that anyone would want to send their horse off to X trainer on the other side of the country who they've never even met before, never seen their premises. I'm not victim-shaming or referring to this particular case, but I know in general it is commonly done. If you haven't met someone irl and spent a significant amount of time with them, how do you know that they are trustworthy?

 

[reynold]

I wonder if this has come to light since 'summer' arrived and horses could be seen again without rugs on?

A similar 'hidden under rugs' coverup (pun not intended!) was done by Helgstrand to cover up whip/spur marks.

When I had my young pony stallion away for training/competing I visited every week and when he was competing but I was lucky that I had a job that provided limited flexitime, occasional wfh (even 20 years ago), and an understanding and helpful boss. I also appeared without notice as even if the 'boss' was out there were staff on the yard so that I could physically see the horse and groom/cuddle him even if not always possible to see him ridden.

I can understand why some people in full time work can have difficulties visiting but even a half day holiday could be used. Most people with horses can't afford to use holiday days from work for actual holidays!!

 

[paddy555]

Can we not victim blame people for somebody else mistreating a horse that the owner has paid good money to have looked after by a professional?

People should be able to leave their horses with these people without visiting, and some have no option.
.

totally agree they "should" however even from just reading this forum over the years it has taught me that they, sadly, can't.
Real life has taught me "no way" .

can anyone tell me what has happened now? From FB it seems a neighbour reported them to the RSPCA (bad choice based on personal experience. ) and got nowhere.

surely there must be sufficient evidence to prosecute based on the dog pics alone?

 

[KiwiRiaUK]

I've seen this and similar posts from other owners being posted over social media and I'm shocked.

I've never met the person being accused....and who will find it very hard to justify the obvious neglect!....but followed him on fb and insta and from his posts I would never have suspected him of being capable of the level of neglect that is visible in the photo's and videos which shows that you can never truly know anyone from their social media profile.

A lot of people have asked on the posts why owners didn't visit but it seems he was offering backing, schooling and competition livery and, apart from being well recommended, he would say that he was away competing etc and from what I have seen him post over the last few months if he had one of my horses I would never have suspected what was going on behind the happy videos of horses hacking and other animals around the yard.

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[KiwiRiaUK]

I wonder if this has come to light since 'summer' arrived and horses could be seen again without rugs on?

A similar 'hidden under rugs' coverup (pun not intended!) was done by Helgstrand to cover up whip/spur marks.

When I had my young pony stallion away for training/competing I visited every week and when he was competing but I was lucky that I had a job that provided limited flexitime, occasional wfh (even 20 years ago), and an understanding and helpful boss. I also appeared without notice as even if the 'boss' was out there were staff on the yard so that I could physically see the horse and groom/cuddle him even if not always possible to see him ridden.

I can understand why some people in full time work can have difficulties visiting but even a half day holiday could be used. Most people with horses can't afford to use holiday days from work for actual holidays!!

Clare Thomas

UPDATE- thanks everyone but the search is futile, unfortunately there have been a number of reports that Snowball died not long after being returned to him 😞 PLEASE HELP FIND SNOWBALL SHARE SHARE...

www.facebook.com

 

[KiwiRiaUK]

Jo Oliver

Posts like these are painful. Especially when you believed the person to be a good one. One you will have related to. It makes you realise you are an absolutely shit judge of character. Yet again...

www.facebook.com

totally agree they "should" however even from just reading this forum over the years it has taught me that they, sadly, can't.
Real life has taught me "no way" .

can anyone tell me what has happened now? From FB it seems a neighbour reported them to the RSPCA (bad choice based on personal experience. ) and got nowhere.

surely there must be sufficient evidence to prosecute based on the dog pics alone?

Jo Oliver

Posts like these are painful. Especially when you believed the person to be a good one. One you will have related to. It makes you realise you are an absolutely shit judge of character. Yet again...

www.facebook.com

 

[Dave's Mam]

There are some horror stories of bullying in that thread.

 

[Ceifer]

There are some horror stories of bullying in that thread.

The fact he tried to blackmail grooms make me mad also. Again it’s something that’s not talked about enough - there are grooms who do have to shut up for fear of repercussions

 

[Dave's Mam]

The fact he tried to blackmail grooms make me mad also. Again it’s something that’s not talked about enough - there are grooms who do have to shut up for fear of repercussions

& neighbours.

 

[AandK]

People on FB more concerned with why the owners of the horses involved were not checking on them regularly than the fact this person has been abusing animals… What is wrong with people?!

 

[ycbm]

People on FB more concerned with why the owners of the horses involved were not checking on them regularly than the fact this person has been abusing animals… What is wrong with people?!

This is what I meant earlier.

Pointing out that this proves that even trusted professionals should be asked to provide regular picture updates and be visited is one thing.

Questionning why the owners of these particular horses didn't do that when you know nothing at all about their circumstances is victim blaming.

 

[Lindala]

I would hope that whoever has taken the photos has sent them directly to the RSPCA and Horse Welfare?

 

[spacefaer]

I would hope that whoever has taken the photos has sent them directly to the RSPCA and Horse Welfare?

He's already known to the RSPCA at least. One of the accusations I've read is that he must have a friend within the Society as animals have been removed and returned to him, despite protestations from the local branch and the fosterer

 

[dorsetladette]

I would hope that whoever has taken the photos has sent them directly to the RSPCA and Horse Welfare?

From what I've read WG is pals with the RSPCA inspector for the area. I think it's time the photo's and background gets sent to the papers and let them do the research and braodcasting of the failings.

 

[nutjob]

People on FB more concerned with why the owners of the horses involved were not checking on them regularly than the fact this person has been abusing animals… What is wrong with people?!

This is extremely common, people will attack owners who have serious medical conditions, sick babies/children, elderly relatives to consider, difficult pregnancies, away for business. There's almost no circumstance where people don't blame the victim rather than the abuser. It's also not as simple as it seems to get a third party to go trespassing on someone's private property to check on your horse which is at livery. Many yards have some sort of security and friends / relatives don't always want to get involved in some altercation which ultimately involves the police. If the yard allows anyone and everyone to come and go unchallenged supposedly checking up on a mates horse people would also complain that this was a security risk.

Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a service where you could pay someone to look after your horse and they would be able to do that without having to be monitored .