Horse Neglect - Vint Hill, VA

Friday, Jan 24, 2003

Hilleary Bogley, founder of the Middleburg Humane Foundation and Equine Rescue Program in 1994 and licensed veterinary technician, was contacted by animal control because they felt there might be a problem at a boarding facility near Vint Hill.

"Animal control told me a vet had been asked to look at an injured horse. They also said the vet had euthanized an emaciated horse on the same property in December," Bogley said.

"What we found at the property was sickening. The man who claims to be the horses' owner told us he had brought the horses up from Kentucky and had turned them out in the field with blankets for two or three months. One horse in particular was critical."

She added, "The man told us he was driving from Harrisonburg twice a day to feed them. If that was true, then why are they starving? He told us a lot of conflicting stories."

Upon arrival, Bogley found an agitated Paint stallion locked in a filthy stall. His condition, while certainly not ideal, was not at a point where she could have him removed from the owner, Jeffrey A. Clark.

One of the field horses, a starving 3-year-old Thoroughbred stallion, was barely hanging on after weeks of brutally cold weather. The veterinarian who examined the horse at the property said he was so malnourished he had lost muscle control. His penis had fallen from its sheath and frozen in the severe weather.

"In addition to the frostbite, the horse was a Body Condition 1," Bogley said. "This is about as bad as it gets. He was lucky to even be alive."

Abused or neglected animals are rated from 1-9. At Body Condition 1, an animal is extremely emaciated, showing the ribcage, topline, overall bone structure; no fatty tissue can be felt. At Body Condition 9, a horse is considered extremely fat.

"The owner thought the horse had hurt the penis on a nail, and he had poured rubbing alcohol on it," Bogley said. "His penis was inflamed and about three times the normal size. The horse was unable to pull it back up into his sheath and was in pain." Consulting veterinarian Norris Adams of Middleburg Equine Clinic was concerned at first that they might have to amputate.

Bogley had Clark sign the horse over to Middleburg Humane Foundation. She immediately had several veterinarians look at the animal, which was unanimously named Willie. At one point, Willie was going to be euthanized.

Bogley returned the following Wednesday, Jan. 29 for a surprise visit. Things had changed for the worse. Instead of four horses out in the field, now there were five. A chestnut had appeared. The 22-year-old chestnut Quarter Horse, which the MHF staff named Oscar, also seemed to have had a blanket on for months, concealing massive weight loss and a horrific case of rain rot and pyroderma (bacterial skin infection) on his back.

While blankets are a definite necessity in the recent frigid weather, they can also be the perfect incubator for bacterium when the animal gets wet or sweats.

"Oscar was about a Body Condition 2," Bogley said. "His back is awful. He has huge pus sores in the rain rot. It is hard to treat this time of year because he needs to have a blanket on and the weather is so cold we can't wash him with Betadine several times a day as we would like."

Bogley decided it was time to press charges and contacted deputy commonwealth's attorney Greg Ashwell. "I have worked with Hilleary on the majority of her humane cases," Ashwell said. "But this one takes the cake. It's the worse case of neglect I have ever seen. The pictures alone made me sick."

Clark rents the property on which the animals were found, and several arrest warrants have been issued on him, including one from Boon County, Ky.

Last week, deputies from the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office staked out the property waiting for Clark to return to feed the animals. By Feb. 6, it was determined he had fled the jurisdiction. "We are working with Rockingham County," said Capt. Gary Healy of the Sheriff's Office.

Should Clark be found guilty of the misdemeanor charges, he could receive up to a year in jail and or a $2,500 fine for each count.

Even though a horse had to be euthanized on the property in December, officials will not be able to push for felony charges because Bogley could not get a necropsy done on the dead animal to determine if his emaciated state was from months of neglect or a terminal illness.

Since last week, Bogley has seen to it the remaining animals are fed daily and have plenty of water.  One of the Vint Hill property owners, Charlie Ross, has expressed interest in buying the horses from Clark.

References

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