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Case ID: 12884

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: horse

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26 horses seized
DeLand, FL (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Dec 29, 2007
County: Volusia

Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 1 files available

Abuser names unreleased

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

The Volusia County Sheriff's office said 26 horses seized at King Arabian Farms near DeLand appeared to be underfed and suffering, but there was no evidence of abuse. The horses' stalls were filled with waste, their hooves were overgrown and the animals appeared to be excessively thin, authorities said.

They were seized Saturday after a report of alleged animal abuse.

Deputies reported that the owner, John Donahue, 71, was suffering from financial difficulties and couldn't afford to feed the animals.

Donahue wasn't charged, but out of concern for the animals' well-being, deputies enlisted the help of the Horse Protection Association of Florida and the Department of Agriculture.

The horses were taken to nearby farms for care.

Case Updates

After the Volusia County Sheriff's Office seized 26 horses from his DeLand farm, John Donahue struggled not to be not bitter.

"Here I am, after all these years. There's a lot of 'no fair' going on," the 71-year-old horse-breeder said.

Donahue talked to The Beacon Dec. 31, two days after the Sheriff's Office removed his horses from King Arabian Farms on Mercers Fernery Road. Ribs showed through many of the horses' coats.

Donahue told the Sheriff's Office he had fallen on hard financial times, and was having trouble buying enough feed.

The longtime horse-breeder said he realized he needed help. He had only $50 in the bank when he turned the horses' registration papers over to the Sheriff's Office, he said. It cost $500 a week to feed the animals.

Donahue said not all of the horses were in bad shape; he said videos taken by the Sheriff's Office and broadcast on television and the Internet showed the worst of the animals. With a little help and a few more weeks, everything would have been OK, he said.

Donahue said he has been trying to get a reverse mortgage on his five-acre farm, and this money source would save the day.

A 120-by-40-foot barn is the only structure on the property. It includes his 1,200-square-foot living quarters, 12 stalls and a wash rack. He set up chairs outside for the interview with The Beacon. He also requested no photographs be taken.

Also on the grounds are two pastures and a riding ring.

Donahue traced his woes to two events. First, a downturn in the horse market has made horses more difficult to sell, and prices have plummeted.

Second, his divorce a few years ago left him strapped. He and his wife of 20-some years owned 30 acres nearby. The land was sold and his share of the proceeds, more than $200,000 after the mortgage was paid off, was gone after just three years, Donahue said.

He had 150 horses. As the money ran out, he began cutting the number to be able to survive financially on $900 a month from Social Security. After three years, he had only 25 left.

In 1985, in better times, Donahue owned 250 pedigreed horses. He traveled to California and Europe to find the best breeding stock.

Donahue won a number of championships with his Arabians, including six Ocala Breeder's Cups. He showed horses three times a year at the Orlando Arabian Horse Club.

"I had an eye. You can't teach that," he said.

His love of horses is plain. Former riding students have posted testimonies on The Beacon's Internet story, telling of Donahue's equine skills. (See www.beacononlinenews.com.)

Donahue said he had been cutting back on the number of animals he kept, trying to make the situation more manageable.

He had given away or sold 10 or so horses over the past few months, bringing his herd down to 25. A customer had put a $1,000 deposit on the 26th horse seized by the Sheriff's Office.

He had planned to give another six horses - five mares and a stallion - to breeder Mary Prevatt of Seville, who specializes in quarter horses. This deal was in the works when the Sheriff's office took the horses, Donahue said.

Prevatt confirmed this.

"I'm just trying to make a place to put them," she said.

Prevatt expressed sympathy for Donahue.

"He's just trying to get by," she said.

She credited Donahue with trying to do the best for his horses, and confirmed he had been trying to sell them.

The horses are quality animals, Prevatt said, some worth $100,000. Donahue, like other businessmen, is a victim of the economy, she said, confirming horse-buyers are rare right now.

Prevatt said she's afraid her friend will have a heart attack from the stress of the situation and the humiliation of the bad publicity.

Donahue had been feeding his horses twice a day, Prevatt said. Horses have small stomachs, and if they swallow too much sand when they're grazing, "they get clogged up with sand," and become thin.

Also, she noted, some of Donahue's horses are getting old, and older horses tend to be thinner.

Donahue said he knows he can't properly care for all the horses, and wants to get back only a few of his favorites, when he gets some money from the equity in his ranch.

Prevatt said they had also been discussing the possibility of Donahue selling his place and renting from Prevatt, where he could still be near his horses.

How the removal happened

Donahue doesn't blame whoever called in a report to the Sheriff's Office.

"They were trying to be a Good Samaritan," he said.

Donahue explained he had an older mare that went down - was lying on her side.

"Once she goes down, she isn't getting up," he said. Death usually comes within hours, once a horse is in this state.

So, Donahue began digging a hole next to the horse in which to bury her, when she died. He was digging by hand, and it takes many hours to dig a hole large enough to bury a horse.

Donahue, who suffers from several health problems, couldn't dig the hole all at once. After several hours' work, he took a breakfast break.

While he was inside eating, the horse managed to move her head and neck enough that they were hanging over the still-shallow hole.

He was not trying to bury the horse alive, he said, but someone spotted the horse and phoned in this report.

"She was still alive when the policemen came. Who knows what people think," Donahue said.

An investigation began. The deputy who headed the investigation seemed to understand the situation, Donahue said. The Sheriff's Office sent someone out to bury the horse after she died, and deputies monitored Donahue's feeding of the remaining animals.

"On the fourth day, they just came out and took the horses without saying a word," Donahue said.

Spokesman Gary Davidson of the Sheriff's Office wouldn't comment on where the horses went. Donahue said the animals were taken to 12 or 15 different places.

"Our primary concern is to make sure the horses are getting the proper care. That was our very first priority. That's why we took the action we did," Davidson said.

The Sheriff's Office acted with assistance from the Horse Protection Association of Florida and the Florida Department of Agriculture. The seizure was authorized by Florida Statute 828.073, which governs animals found in distress.

Davidson said the horses are getting the care and nourishment they need.

He didn't rule out the possibility of criminal charges resulting from the investigation, saying that was "unknown" at this time. "We're still in the initial phases of the investigation."

Davidson said under the animal-distress law, the county must petition County Court for a hearing to determine whether Donahue is able to adequately provide for the animals. The hearing must be held within 30 days of the seizure.

If the court finds Donahue unable to care for the horses, the judge could order that they be auctioned, destroyed, or turned over to an agency that would care for them and determine their disposition, Davidson explained.

Horse breeding community abuzz

Horse people form their own community, and that community has been abuzz with talk over the Dec. 29 seizure of 26 horses from the King Arabian Farms just west of DeLand.

The Sheriff's Office had initially been called to the farm by a report of possible abuse. Though they determined that report was unfounded, after several days of observation, deputies supervised the removal of the animals because it appeared the horses were malnourished.

As soon as the news went up on the The Beacon's Web site the story was deluged with comments from the horse community - some condemning owner John Donahue and some sympathetic to his plight.

When told of the controversy, Donahue said the people criticizing him weren't being very knowledgeable. If they knew him, he said, they would would know how much he loves the animals.

"My horses have always been one of the biggest things to me," he said.

A couple of Internet commenters who said they do know Donahue were sympathetic.

One stated, "This is so very sad. I spent MANY years of my life with the owners of this farm (I basically grew up there, they were my riding instructors) and I know that they love the animals. It makes my heart break to see that they are having such terrible financial trouble. I moved out of state almost two years ago, and had no idea what has been occurring. I hope that 2008 is better for them."

Other comments on the story run the gamut from sympathetic - saying people have no idea of the expense of maintaining these horses, for example - to critical, saying Donahue's expertise only makes the neglect worse.

The discussion spilled over to the Florida Horse online bulletin board. Most of the comments here are unsympathetic, although some acknowledged the market for selling these horses is in the dumper right now.

While some said Donahue should have just given away the horses, another said giving them away is giving them to the slaughterhouse, for the horse-meat market.

One commenter spoke of the latest increase in the cost of hay and high cost of gas contributing to breeder's problems. The reader recently attended a sale "where they were selling point earning point producing Arab mares for under $400!!"

The horse-breeding community will closely watch the disposition of this case, and what happens to Donahue's horses.

Source: Deland-Deltona Beacon - Jan 2, 2008
Update posted on Jan 2, 2008 - 8:53PM

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26 horses seizedDeLand, FL (US)

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26 horses seized
DeLand, FL (US)