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Giving Back |
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This month's Giving Back is unusual in that we are not describing the services of NetPosse as we have in the past, but due to the rise in horse thefts, we are featuring a special article from NetPosse. |
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Please Don't Hurt My Children |
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by Angela |
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How many times have we heard a movie line something like this: "Do what you want to me, but please don't hurt my children"?
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As parents in real life, we might have even said that at one time... and meant it. Once we have become adults, more often than not, we have encountered people during our life that have disappointed us, betrayed us, and deeply hurt us.
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Nothing is more devastating to a horse owner than walking out to the pasture and finding it empty. You feel numb, violated, helpless. Imagine being 6, 9, 13 or even 16 and discovering not only that your |
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best friend is missing but that someone deliberately took that precious animal from you. Theft takes on a personal face, and a child is often confused and cannot comprehend how people can be so cruel or why they would want to hurt him or her. |
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And so we always attempt to protect our children from the real world. We try to shelter them and maintain their innocence as long as possible. But when the thief comes in the night, what can we do?
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Within one week, Stolen Horse International (SHI), the only nonprofit dedicated to horse theft education and recovery, received two stolen horse reports. Different disciplines, different countries, different breeds - as different as night and day - except for two common threads: both horses belonged to young girls and both were led through cut fences.
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When horses are reported stolen to SHI, the cases are listed on its website, NetPosse.com, then the information is disseminated to the public through its volunteer-driven organization. When working these cases, volunteers often develop personal ties with the victim. However, when a child is affected by horse theft, a new dimension is added.
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SUBHEAD: Show Pony Stolen in Alberta , Canada |
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On August 19, 2008, Pat Baxter, discovered Mandy, a lesson pony, missing from the field next to her house in the Okotoks area. The black welsh-cross was the only horse gone and the others were still grazing. After searching the grounds, a fence was found cut, and it was obvious that this was an intentional act.
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This beautiful black show pony mare was stolen from her home in Alberta ,
Canada , in August.
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Mandy is missed by more than just her 9-year-old rider, who has enjoyed showing her through the Pony Club and for riding lessons. This gentle soul has taught a number of children to ride and won many a ribbon. But |
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now the beautiful black show pony the young lady and her peers adore has been stolen.
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Speculation circulating over the Internet suggests that the pony was stolen either because of her value as a show pony or her threat to the competition. Regardless of why she was stolen, Mandy needs to be found and return to the children who love and miss her deeply.
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These children are devastated and their faith needs to be restored. SHI is asking for the public's help in bringing this pony home. Mandy is a Welsh-Quarter Horse-Arab cross. She is solid black with no identifying marks other than a tennis ball-sized hernia on her right ribcage.
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To help find Mandy, people can post flyers at feed and tack stores, auction houses, show arenas, riding clubs, and the like. It's also important to hang flyers in public businesses. It only takes one person to sight this horse so Mandy can be back where she belongs.
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SUBHEAD: Illinois Medicine Hat Paint Gelding Stolen |
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In a matter of days, another young lady experienced the same kind of life-changing event as Mandy's family. When Susan Caughren went to feed the morning of August 23, 2008, she was panic-stricken to find her daughter, Kaitlyn's, barrel horse missing.
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Max was stolen from his family's pasture in Flat Rock, Illinois, in August. |
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After searching the pasture for three hours, Susan finally gave in and called the Crawford County Sheriff's office to report the paint gelding's disappearance. Her husband, Keith, arrived shortly after the deputy, and they pieced together the situation.
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Max, a paint gelding, was the only horse not in the pasture. Though he'd escaped before, this time, they realized, was different. A halter had been removed from another horse, and is presumed to have been used to lead Max away, along with a royal blue leadrope that was missing from the barn.
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A few hours after the deputy had taken the report and left, Keith was again walking the fence line trying to find Max when he discovered where the fence had been cut. The area was |
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hidden from view. That is when the Caughrens knew that Max had definitely been stolen. |
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Immediately the family reached out to relatives and friends to help find Max. Time again, they were told to report the gelding to NetPosse, but they don't have Internet access. With the assistance of a family member in Idaho , Max is now listed on NetPosse.com, a webpage is up, flyer available for download and an alert has been sent out via the Internet. This is the power of the horse community bonding together.
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Like in Mandy's case, we now ask for the public's help in bringing this teenager's horse home. Max is a very distinctive paint horse. He is almost solid white with a few sorrel markings, but what really makes him unique is his medicine hat (brown ears and top of head) and two blue eyes. For more information and pictures, visit: http://www.netposse.com/stolenmissing/MaxILstolenAug08.htm |
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SUBHEAD:
It Never Fails and It Never Stops
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Every time I begin to write an article about stolen and missing horses, I cannot finish without another report coming in. This time, there are two horses that have disappeared. Again, it is one that involves a child's horse and, in keeping with the theme of this article, that mare's offspring.
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This mare, Patty (above) and her colt, Scooby (below), are missing from their leased pasture in Texas .
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So from Mandy to Max and now further south to Texas , Melanie Bearden is heartbroken and dismayed. The morning of August 27, she found her mare, Patty, and colt, Scooby, missing from their leased pasture. Circumstances lead her to believe that they might have been accidentally picked up by a neighbor's uncle, yet they have been unable to confirm this.
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Patty's presence in Melanie's life was no accident. She had known the beautiful bay since she was a yearling, and seven years ago, the Beardens were able to purchase her. Melanie's husband learned to ride on this gentle mare as did her 6-year-old son. Then, when a little girl needed a horse to earn points in performance classes to win a saddle, the Beardens happily loaned her Patty.
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The little girl had never shown in western pleasure events, and Patty had not been ridden in about 6 months because Scooby had just been weaned. However, in her grand style, Patty, at 23 years old, took the young girl into the show ring and not only won the western pleasure class, but also placed second in horsemanship and third in reining. Because of this classy mare, this little girl was able to reach her goal and win the saddle. |
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But now this special bay mare with a blaze and back white stocking is missing with her son, Scooby. While Patty is a registered quarter horse, Scooby is a sorrel quarter horse paint, but he sports typical quarter horse markings, with his only white being a full blaze and back stockings. |
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Scooby was gelded less than two weeks ago and is still swollen. He has a scar on the front of his left rear leg, along with a fresh cut on the same leg. One quick identifying feature is his short tail, which has been chewed by another horse.
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Melanie cannot put into words how much her horses mean to her and the children's lives they affect. Scooby was following in his dam's footsteps. The Beardens need the public's help to bring these horses home and fulfill their potential. |
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SUBHEAD: What About the Others |
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Every day horses are stolen or become lost. Many of these belong to young girls and boys, but regardless of who owns them, they are missed, and until they come home safely, those whose lives are affected find themselves looking in every pasture and every arena for just one sighting of their beloved animal. |
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Reggie is another black Welsh-cross pony presumed stolen in Wisconsin , May 26, 2004, still missing. |
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Help us help those who are desperately searching for Mandy, Max, Patty and Scooby. And don't forget about the other horses that still need to find their way home. As SHI president, Debi Metcalfe, always says, "Never underestimate the power of one." You might be that one. |
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Take a moment to view a few of the other listings on NetPosse.com for children who are hurting and whose hearts need to be healed: |
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Twinkie, Shetland Pony Stolen in Illinois:
http://www.netposse.com/
stolenmissing/TwinkieILjul07.htm |
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Elvis was stolen from a child in Kentucky who remains heartbroken
and confused over his theft. |
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Ty, a half-blind quarter horse gelding, has not been returned after been leased out from a kids' camp in Ohio. |
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This young girl's paint mare was stolen from her trainer's stall in Texas . |
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Read comments or post your own comments to this article at the bottom of this page. |
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Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved. The above article is the property of the Author and may not be duplicated or redistributed in any way without permission. |
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Reader comments for this article |
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Name: Angela Kirby Time: 2008-09-06 06:09:05
Comment: We have another child's horse stolen in Texas. This is a frightening case as the other 2 stolen with him were severely abused. Please help us find Midnight! Look under Stolen Horses - Texas. His 10 yr old little girl and her mom are just devastated with worry!
Name: Jodi McElwaine Time: 2008-09-04 19:09:35
Comment: I am the owner of Reggie who was stolen from WI May 2004. My daughter still misses her daily.
Name: Angela Kirby Time: 2008-09-02 17:09:47
Comment: PATTY & SCOOBY HAVE BEEN RECOVERED!!! Shortly after the NetPosse Idaho Alert was issued, the horses mysteriously appeared in a nearby pen. Thanks to Equestrian Network Mag for featuring NetPosse. Let's bring the other horses home! ~ Angela Kirby
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