Horse shelter

[Sigarms]

However, there are still 10% of cases you hear about that are not real abuse cases. Sometimes the new animal control officer has never owned or cared for a horse and is not really knowledgeable of what constitutes abuse. One person I know was charged because the officer found ONE pile of horse manure in its stall which had been cleaned earlier that day.

The worst case of animal abuse I ever saw occurred in St Bernard Parish outside New Orleans after Katrina. Overzealous law enforcement officers went around shooting horses who were happily and safely grazing after the storm. It seems they "said" they wanted to save them from starving and were unaware of the fact that they could live on grass and water out of the river. Our saddle club lost all its members from that parish as none of them ever wanted to return to and live in that parish again.

As I mentioned, some animal control officers (or LEO's in your case) are not properly trained when it comes to the subject of animals. Ironic isn't it? However, go to a VERY rural area and see what the qualifications are and pay is of the local dog catcher.

 

[Z-Michigan]

However, there are still 10% of cases you hear about that are not real abuse cases. Sometimes the new animal control officer has never owned or cared for a horse and is not really knowledgeable of what constitutes abuse. One person I know was charged because the officer found ONE pile of horse manure in its stall which had been cleaned earlier that day.

The worst case of animal abuse I ever saw occurred in St Bernard Parish outside New Orleans after Katrina. Overzealous law enforcement officers went around shooting horses who were happily and safely grazing after the storm. It seems they "said" they wanted to save them from starving and were unaware of the fact that they could live on grass and water out of the river. Our saddle club lost all its members from that parish as none of them ever wanted to return to and live in that parish again.

Well, those stories are both insane and quite scary.

The defendants' side of the case I was referring to can be found at:
GLHorseTruth

Please note that I have NO connection with anyone or anything in this case. It is simply not that far from me and the claims and photos from the defendants make me think that this may be far from an abuse case.

I am not claiming that horse abuse doesn't occur, or that it should be tolerated. I'm simply saying, as in my original post, that people not personally involved in a case who simply hear a news report claiming there was abuse should consider all facts available and not simply believe all claims made by prosecution. (Incidentally, I recommend this for all crime news stories of all kinds, and the more the police or prosecutor hold big press conferences, the greater skepticism you should have.)