Another person besides the Dufur's has been brought into light that feels instead of selling you starve them. The PERSON in question is the owner of "A touch of Heaven" seems to be having huge issues with feeding. One of the worse cases I have ever seen.

I am making this post because I see a pattern, one of hoarding. If one is great then 50 more will be better, oh wait I can't care for them, but no one else can have them. THIS is HOARDING. AND the NO I don't need help to feed them backs it up!

If you as a owner and or breeder NEED to sell all you produce to stay afloat it might be time to step back and QUIT your program FOR AWHILE. 

This somehow needs to stop, and we and I mean we all own it.

AS an industry we serioulsy need to police our own BETTER.

Amazing to me that more don't consider what I refer to as an "exit strategy"....I spoke with my vet about mine (only one broodmare here).  I told him I'm late 50's and its time to not breed for myself (I don't sell).  I can't understand others who feel the need to breed, without considering an exit strategy for their own lives.  I have a neighbor who has not even begun to consider an "exit strategy" and yet the property is on the market.  I just do not understand.  Prayers to all the horses / livestock that find themsleves under the ownership of others.

I just can't comprehend how some people can look at their animals and not see that they are in need and not do anything to try and help the situation.  Set your pride aside and do what is right.  Then again look at how some are treating other humans/babies.  Sad, sad world

It's absolutely sickening. The pictures that bothered me the most were the horses that were down and had obviously been down for quite some time. I just can't believe people can allow their animals to suffer right in front of them. I would give mine away before that happened. 

Runnin Hard, BRAVO that is the right thing to do. It is so easy to be responsible, I do not understand why some find it so difficult.

It's not just horses.  Right here in Wichita in the last few months a young dog was found in a crate in a dumpster alive but nearly starved to death.  Shortly after two women noticed something moving near a dumpster.  There was a dog in a plastic storage box left inside it to die. They took steps to help him but he did die.  Those are just the ones you hear about.  Buy a cute puppy, chain it to the doghouse in the backyard, forget about it, get rid of it any way possible.  It grew up and was annoying.

Jusst a

Those are just a few pictures of the 77 that is circling around on FB. Won't post the ones of the dead horses.

It's time people to make phone calls to anyone who will listen. THIS is a federal offense now, she needs to be court!

I am so frustrated by this... it makes me want to cry and scream at the same time. I LOVE my horses, I am a single person and I would love to have more than I have BUT I know what I can afford/manage. Based on the response from the owner of the ranch to the original post, she referenced that person coming to help because she has so much work to do. I did message her and asked if I could help but she didnt accept. I am in MN so I cant go help much pens but sharing horses for sale or helping her come up with some sale ads. Anything... 

I try not to jump on the bullying bandwagon because I feel it solves nothing but its so hard when they dont want help or dont want "out."

For example, Dufurs having prices from 10k-100k... most of their horses arent worth that price tag even in good condition. It makes me sick. I seriously wish AQHA had a license, like some of the warmblood breed registeries. So people dont have 10 studs and 400 offsprings. 

I lost my breeding program due to a job loss. Each one that sold (for about 25% of their worth) fed the rest for a while. I ended up selling 7 or 8 head of the most prime of my program (since they were most marketable) to keep the rest fed until I got my feet back under me. Lesson learned - do NOT own more than 6 horses since that is what I can feed with no job and just the hubbs income! 

I never pocketed any of the money from those sales for anything but hay purchases, or the one expense for the vet after Hottie malpresented her foal (one leg out one opening, one out the other). You have to do what you have to do to keep them fed. I learned how to self-vet a whole lot of issues that year and gained much confidence in my ability to take care of the smaller issues and injuries. 

Unless you have hundreds of acres of good grass and a running stream you cannot think of horses as self-caring. They are animals trapped in our care. We as owners and caretakers are responsible for their feed and care 100%. If you can't, absolutely can't, with no hope of your situation getting better quickly, then make the humane decision and do not let them suffer an end. 

Those pictures are horrific.  What is wrong with people.

I have been so upset and emotional all morning over this new case.  Clearly, there is some severe mental illness going on with these individuals who think it is acceptable to have helpless animals in this condition, but what I really don't understand are the other people behind the scenes who turn a blind eye.  And furthermore, what is wrong with our justice system that someone who has SEVERAL dead animals (due to starvation) on their property is given an 8 week mulligan?!?! Mentally ill or not, they need to be immediately prosecuted and punished. Our system is broken, and something MUST be done to change the policies and procedures of how the sheriffs office handles animal abuse complaints because this IS NOT cutting it.  Any animal on a property under a body score of 3 without detailed veterinary notes and a treatment plan being clearly implemented needs to be confiscated. Period. No do over's. No 30 day re-evaluation. Just confiscated.  

Then do what after confiscation?  Who pays for the animal in care?  It's much easier to say what should be done, implementation is the hard part.  This is not simple in any way.  

Then shoot the horses.  Why the F are they just left to lie there?  People do this because they 1. Are mentally ill.  2.  There is no consquences because it is livestock as seen with other cases in the past. 

The mental illness these people have won't go away in 30 days.  But the animals will still lay in their own **** without food or water. 

And, if people saw this and turned a blind eye and did nothing at all, they  are possessed too. 

Some of those horse do need to be put down.  As harsh as it may sound a well placed bullet would be much less painful then what they are going through now.  Euthanasia wouldn't be as quick a death because of the slow blood flow and would be more painful.  I'm sorry to sound harsh but there is much worse then a quick death.  Next the ones responsible for these conditions should have to suffer the way the animals did!

PP property rights are a slippery slope. 

Be careful what you wish for. 

I totally agree that it is not as simple as it seems, but the current strategy is not acceptable. What is your thinking on the best solution for situations such as Depew where there is clear and obvious neglect?  I am not claiming to have every facet of what the new policy should be regarding obvious neglect and animal abuse. I am just stating a point that the system is flawed in a major way when mentally ill people are given more time to neglect and abuse their subjects due to the fact that there is no better policy in place than what we have. 

As far as I have seen, there are numerous people willing to step up to the plate to help care for these animals, short term and permanently, or at the very least, generously provide sustenance while things are being arranged.  And as someone posted above, several of these animals need to be euthanized.  It is far more humane to end their suffering than to leave them to rot for another 30-60 days in the hands of the abuser.  The abusers are not stupid. These are not people who are well intentioned, but uneducated on horse husbandry that need to be pointed in the right direction to care for these animals.  They are evil and lazy and have zero regard for animal life.  

 Like I stated earlier, I am highly upset over these Oklahoma situations.  For a multitude of reasons.  But our horse and rodeo industries are already scrutinized enough by animal rights activists, the last thing we need is to implode from the inside by not stepping up and fixing a broken system when we realize it is broken.  I realize there are so many aspects that extremely difficult to navigate in situations like these, and I am all for a friendly, passionate discussion on realistic ways that things can be improved upon for future situations like these.

There's a special place in hell for some people. . . . 

Just to get the corret nfrmation so people know who this is and does not sell to her. Correct name of the place is "Touch of Heaven Ranch" in Depew, OK. 

I am so sorry  thank you for the correction. 

As sick as this makes me, I have to agree with you. 

Glad that you Corrected the name, I was looking but could not find that was posted did come across the Touch of Heaven Ranch in Depew, Ok. Even have the name of the women thats causing this mess. 

My question is , Where is animal control, why are they not involved?!!!

I feel so bad for these horses. Hopefully, Oklahoma laws will change for the better on prosecutting these so called ranches. 

Idk what animal control covers in that area, but where I'm at they only do house pets. If you have a nuisance animal like a snunk, possum, coon, or whatever you have to pay someone to come out. Any livestock has to be handled by the state & it's usually a year or more before they get around to checking on it, if they even do at all. You can call animal control and they just relay what you told them to the state and thats it. And I think things like this are unfortunately low on their to do list in most states. Unless you have a show on animal planet like the old animal cops shows that they can profit from. 

In Texas its a different story, large or small, animal control will step in and get court orders to go in and remove animals/livestock that are being abused/starved, theres no excuse to let something like what is being showed on here to go on. Really suprised that Oklahoma dont have any laws about animal abuse. 

Is OK a brand law state? If so, get them involved. In WY the vet, brand inspector and sheriff can do a lot. We recently had a case where the owner was gone and had no contact info. He had a starving, lame and half dead filly that was found on the property neighboring the vet clinic. She was euthanized. WY usually takes that crap pretty seriously. 

I can't say 100%, I believe we aren't a brand state.