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Article from Star-Tribune:

http://www.startribune.com/local/19564024.html?location_refer=Homepage

Grisly discovery: Dead, dying horses in Todd County

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
June 5, 2008

A grisly discovery on a central Minnesota farm: Dead horses scattered about the property and nine clinging to life.

That's the scene that a Todd County sheriff's deputy came upon at the farm in Hewitt.

Of those nine, three later had to be destroyed, said the head of an animal rescue center that took in the horses.

"I believe the rest of them are going to being fine," said Drew Fitzpatrick, whose Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation in Zimmerman is nursing the remaining six back to health.

When Fitzpatrick arrived at the farm on May 25 with her three trailers, she saw horse carcasses scattered about. The hoses that were still alive were just "skin and bones ... their skin loaded up with parasites."

Dead foals were next to their mothers, also dead.

"All of the neighbor dogs had been chewing on him," Fitzpatrick said. "It was really heart-wrenching."

Bryan Tebben, chief deputy for the County Sheriff's Office, said a deputy was sent to the farm after a report of loose horses on Hwy. 71. The deputy determined that the roaming animals came from a farm in the 13300 block of Raccoon Road. Two people were on the property, but the owner was not, Tebben said. He was in jail from May 3 until Wednesday in Wadena County on suspicion on drunken driving.

In the meantime, Tebben's office continues to investigate and intends to present a felony case to the County Attorney's Office for prosecution.

Fitzpatrick said that of the nine horses her center retrieved, eight were stallions. The mare, she believes, was pregnant and "all bitten to hell."

Despite how terribly the horses were treated, Fitzpatrick said they've been friendly to those tending to them at her center. "It's embarrassing as a human that these animals can be so forgiving," she said.

Wade Hanson, an Animal Humane Society investigator in Golden Valley who was called to the farm, said, "We've never been to a property where there's been 19 dead horses."

Hanson added that "we're probably going to see worse before we're going to see better" because of the overall economic downturn. He cited the high price of gasoline to run farm vehicles and the skyrocketing cost for hay to feed the horses.

Still, he said, "that's not an excuse" for neglecting animals. "There's always a way" to do what's best for animals, he said, whether it's turning them over to rescue operations or selling them. However, he acknowledged, "you can't get a decent dollar" for a horse now.

Fitzpatrick has seen many cases of abuse and neglect in her 15 years of rescuing horses and other animals. Even so, she said, "It's still tough. If it ever became easy, I'd have to go find something else [to do]."

This rescue came a few weeks after her center took in about 45 horses from Mille Lacs County.
"We a little stretched here," Fitzpatrick said.

She said she now has about 80 horses, donkeys, mules and ponies ready for placement. Anyone interested in adoption or helping Fitzpatrick's rescue center can call her at 763-856-3119.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

MN Hooved Animal Rescue website:

http://mnhoovedanimalrescue.org/