Thursday, January 24, 2013

Race horses that died by Aberdeen, SD

(this post written by Darci Hortness and does not necessarily represent the opinions of anyone else.)

Recently I've been asked by several people about the race horses that reportedly starved to death near Aberdeen, South Dakota. It was in all the newspapers in Nov/Dec. And everyone wants to know what happened or what is happening.
Remember this story? http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/authorities-investigate-starving-horses/?id=140896

there had already been a month-long investigation in early Dec.

finally, after getting tired of telling everyone "I don't know," I emailed the Aberdeen Mayor. (A long time ago, for just a couple of years, I lived in Aberdeen; and I knew him through the job that I had there. He wasn't the mayor then though.) He replied that he didn't know anything about it but gave me the Sheriff's phone number. (kind of funny though, the number he gave me was disconnected, just the wrong prefix). The Sheriff's dept said they can't tell me anything. it's all in the States Attys hands. So they gave me that number. I talked to a woman there. They cannot tell us anything. "It's still being looked at." I asked if there had been any charges of inhumane treatment, since some of the horses did die. She couldn't tell me. Any civil charges? she didn't know; they don't handle that. (a reliable source with some access to court records told me there may have been civil charges, though I haven't heard any more on that either). I asked if we could get the name of the trainer being investigated; we sure don't want to send horses that way if, indeed, the trainer is responsible for the reported starvation. (Actually, I have been given the name, but not officially so I will not include it here.) Nope. Can't give us that either. So I asked if there is a date set for anything. Nope. nothing going on except "it's still being looked at."

So, there you have it. After nearly 3 months, "it's still being looked at."
That's a pretty good look!

I spose if anyone has one of those accounts where you can look up public records you might be able to find something if, indeed, there is something going on that would be public knowledge. Maybe, for example, if you google horse racing aberdeen south dakota trainer jockey or something like that. And then try some of those names in the public records, ???

I will say that everyone I communicated with was very friendly. Very hush-hush, but very friendly.

Now, compare this to the recent horse neglect case in Pennington County. While that had been going on for a very long time as well, when the big thing happened, the public information was there for us.
No rumors being spread there.

Really, can we just call it what it is! Dead horses. Starvation had already been reported. What are they still looking at nearly 3 months later? the pictures of the dead horses?

Feb. 25, 2013. update: of course there is more to this story now. Robert Haar was named the neglectful trainer. his granny has the horses now. nice they could stay in the family, eh?


Thursday, January 17, 2013

Need to hire a part-time chore helper who is not afraid to wear coveralls and do physical labor like putting hay out

Permanent Part-time year-round employment helping with horse chores at New Hope Horse Shelter/DoubleHP, approx. 3 miles north of Crooks SD.
Cleaning stalls and pens, moving horses around and into stalls, driving a small tractor and putting out hay, and other horse-related responsibilities.
Probably 6-12 hours each week, but any days are possible. We prefer a regular weekly schedule (same day(s) & hours each week). Each shift/day approx. 2-4 hours and may begin anywhere from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Hourly wage usually starts around $7.50 and increases when you become a reliable employee who can work unsupervised and alone with very few requests for schedule changes.
It works best if you live not too far away (we are 3 miles north of Crooks SD), have a reliable vehicle and can make it to work during the winter months too.
You do need to be in good health as this is not a sit-down type job. You will be lifting a few hay bales onto a trailer/cart if you are doing feeding, and you will be pushing & dumping wheelbarrows and other normal horse-related chores like that. Possibly moving horses around to pens and stalls, etc. And you will be working around some dust, manure, mud, cat and horse hair, etc. Some work is in the barn, some is outside. We had a young farm girl show up here last week in clogs and jeans. Even though she has horses at home, she was not used to doing all the chores. And she thought it was too hard and too cold. Needless to say, she did not work out. She did not want the job. So you really will want coveralls and big boots and mittens this time of year.

Horse Help Providers, Inc. (DoubleHP) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and South Dakota's only GFAS animal sanctuary.
We do not pay any administrative salaries. We pay a few PT chore helpers; everyone else is a Volunteer.

If you might be interested in this PT job, please call 359-0961
Thanks!

P.S. When winter's done, we will be further developing our natural horsemanship and equine assisted learning programs. For example, we have a Licensed Parelli Instructor scheduled to stay here and help us with our horses the whole month of May!  So, for someone who is interested in helping others with their horsemanship skills, or helping us develop equine assisted learning sessions, these opportunities are possible as well. But we really need chore help right now.

new page to list donated stuff for sale

We have a separate page now to list donated stuff that we can use as fundraisers to raise money to help care for the 14 rescued horses who live here. we only have a few items listed so far but have many more to list. when we get a bunch more added, we'll maybe try an online auction with specific starting bid and end time/date. for now, if you see something you are interested in, feel free to make an offer or come and see it in person. please let us know if you are coming though. 359-0961. You may leave comments on the new "stuff for sale" page. you shouldn't have to sign in or create an account or anything. just comment. here's a link to the new page. link to new page for donated stuff for sale