http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1175422082186820.xml&coll=3

Neglect leaves officials puzzled

Sunday, April 01, 2007

By Kristin Longley

klongley@citpat.com -- 768-4917

Officials say it's the worst large-scale case of animal neglect in the history of Jackson County -- maybe even the state.

So, the question on everyone's mind is: Why did it happen?

Why were 69 thoroughbreds, quarter horses and paint horses left to starve amid piles of trash and their own manure for months at a Grass Lake Township farm?

"We can't speculate why anyone would do this to an animal, let alone 69 animals," Jackson County Animal Control Director Kimberlee Luce said. "It's just sick."

But local and national horse advocates point to the usual motives behind horse neglect, including the rising costs of caring for livestock and a faltering horse market.

Officers impounded the farm last week after finding emaciated horses crowded into too-small stalls with needles, nails and other garbage scattered across the grounds.

About half of the horses could be pregnant. If only a dozen of them foal, officials suspect they could have the largest horse-rescue operation in Michigan history on their hands. It would surpass a case in Leelanau County involving 80 neglected horses.

The conditions of the farm initially led some animal control officers to believe the horses were being raised for slaughter. Prosecutors say that notion has been dismissed due to lack of evidence and the farm's Web site, www.turn3ranch.com, which advertises the horses for stud and sale.

And two recent federal court rulings have effectively stopped United States slaughterhouses from killing horses for human consumption. The Chicago Tribune reported the last such operation in Dekalb, Ill., halted operations Thursday.

But horse lovers say there are fates worse than death by slaughterhouse.

Too often, people buy horses without realizing the time and money it takes to care for them, which can lead to neglect, horse farm owner Laura Steenrod said. She suspects the Turn-3 Ranch was such a case, an impersonal business venture that quickly went south.

"There is no 'get-rich-quick scheme' when it comes to raising horses," said Steenrod, who is coordinating the rescue effort. "Those who believe that are quickly overcome by the sheer magnitude of a horse operation."

The price of feed has risen steadily in the past five months, according to local horse farmers. And Michigan's weak economy has caused fewer people to buy livestock.

The American Horse Council says there are no accurate numbers on how many unwanted horses exist, but tens of thousands that could be classified as unwanted are being sent to processing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico each year.

It's a common tale.

Last week, a West Virginia horse trainer was charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty. Last month, officials in Ohio seized 20 neglected horses from a Marion County farm.

The number of unwanted horses exceeds available resources, the horse council's Web site says. The estimated cost of providing basic care for a horse ranges from $1,800 to $2,400 annually.

Multiply by that by 69, and it's more than three times the annual average salary.

"They are a luxury item," Steenrod said. "Horses are very romantic figures, and people are enamored with them and want to own them.

"Then they realize that they're entirely dependent on us for their quality of life."

The horse council recently unveiled the Unwanted Horse Coalition, its latest effort to combat abuse.

"We want to eliminate the neglect of unwanted horses," spokeswoman Sarah Mesa said. "It's seen way too often. Too many die from neglect."

County animal control officers are working to make sure that doesn't happen to the Grass Lake Township horses. Officers will recommend the horses not be returned to the owners.

"I would love to see (the owners) walk into court and forfeit (their) animals," Steenrod said. "If he's going to do a decent thing, that would be it."

If the horses are forfeited to the county, the statewide Leelanau Horse Rescue will see each of the horses through the selling or adoption process.

"These horses -- all horses, actually -- are a lifelong commitment," Steenrod said. "They've had a very hard life, but we have them now."