Seventeen horses seized, neglect alleged
Cherry Plain, NY (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008
County: Rensselaer
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Thelma Wadsworth
» Mary Wadsworth
Photos of a group of horses and ponies seized from a stable in the hamlet of Cherry Plain show their ribs, backbones and hips standing out on their hides, a topographic map of malnourishment.
They are named Clyde and Danny and Carrie and Baxter.
They were work animals that had provided pony rides at parties, a day camp and trail rides to generate income for Thelma and Mary Wadsworth, the mother-daughter proprietors of Black River Stable in this rural Rensselaer County town near the Massachusetts border.
A total of 17 horses and ponies were seized Wednesday by humane society investigators, who determined them to be malnourished and neglected. A few had lost up to half their normal weight, according to rescue volunteers now caring for them. The owners, who dispute the charges, face up to 17 counts of animal cruelty.
"They were bad. One horse was so weak it could barely stand," said Susan Bloser, manager of Horsefeathers Farm in Canastota, Madison County, who is caring for 10 of the animals.
"I think the owners were just overwhelmed," Bloser said.
"The vet called them emaciated and several of them were in very bad condition, barely standing," said Brad Shear, executive director of the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society, which conducted the seizure along with State Police.
Shear said humane society investigators, acting on a call from a concerned person, began working with the Wadsworths a year ago to help them shape an adequate program of care.
"Things got worse, it crossed the line and we had to take action," Shear said. He added that the owners were "resistant" to the suggestions and "angry that someone was telling them what to do."
The owners challenged the humane society's version of the events that led to the seizure.
"There are two sides to every story," said the daughter, Mary Wadsworth. "This wasn't about the stable. It was a personal vendetta against me."
Wadsworth would not elaborate, but said the investigators "showed photos of the three worst ones," including one horse she was treating for Lyme disease.
She pointed out that two draft horses and her daughter's dressage horse kept at their stable are healthy equine specimens.
Wadsworth denied she was feeding the horses and ponies stale doughnuts and bread in place of costly hay and grain, as investigators charged.
"That was used to feed the bears and the horses got into it," she said of the doughnuts and bread. "Nothing is straight with what they're saying. It's a witch hunt."
Bloser is feeding the rescued animals carefully, five times a day, with small amounts of special feed, soaked alfalfa cubes, sugar beets and a weight-building supplement.
It will take about four months to nurse the horses and ponies back to good health and then they'll likely be put up for adoption, Bloser said.
"This is stretching my feed and hay bill, but we believe in no horse left behind," Bloser said.
Wadsworth said an angry backlash and threatening calls have convinced her to put the three-year-old business up for sale.
"I can't take this anymore. I'm out of here," she said. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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