'The dog hunted down the horse': Pit bull-mix dog allegedly attacks show horse

MICHIGAN -- Kim Boyer was devastated to find her retired mare, Candela, allegedly attacked by her neighbor's dog Thursday, June 19, and she said she believes the dog very purposefully sought out the weaker of the horses at her Fruitport farm.

The horse attack was reported to the Fruitport Township Police Department around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. The dog, a pit bull-boxer mix, allegedly ran out of its owner's house and over to Boyer's Hampton Green Farm, 5440 Farr Road, where it located the mare, Candela, in her stall.

Boyer raises Spanish show horses on the property where she has more than 40 horses and a number of other animals on the property. She said she hopes the dog owner, who has been "very cooperative" with Boyer and the police department, decides to put the "dangerous" dog down.

The attack on Candela was particularly vicious because the horse had no where to run when the dog sought the horse out in one of the barns, Boyer said.

"The dog hunted down the horse. She went for the oldest, weakest of the horses and I think it's a very dangerous thing," Boyer said. "The dog has tasted the blood of an animal that is much larger than her."

The horse, which has been with the Boyer family for 10 years, was bit several times by the dog on her lip, neck, her underside and legs.

"She is going to recover. She was born in Spain and imported here for breeding about 10 years ago. She's a very sweet, older mare," Boyer said.

Meanwhile, the owner of the dog was cited for animals at large, which is a misdemeanor offense, said Fruitport Township Police Detective Lt. Bruce Morningstar.

Boyer said she had issues with the dog previously and was concerned the dog might attack one of her animals or children that live in the home.

Her fear turned into reality on Thursday.

"Sometime over the winter some new dogs moved into the area. The dog has been coming over to our property on an increasing level. The dog was starting to show some aggression and yesterday got loose from the house," Boyer said.

"The owner has been very cooperative and took responsibility for it. But we are, of course, very nervous. We have horses in fields -- 40 other horses -- and children who like to ride their ponies. We want to be sure this doesn't happen again."

Boyer planned on speaking with police officers again Friday, June 20, "to see what we can do."

Candela has bred eight to 10 "babies" for Boyer, which sell for $15,000 to $20,000 each, Boyer said.
"We raise Spanish-bred show horses and we sell them all over the world," Boyer said. "We are relying on the owner and authorities to do the right thing."

In the meantime, Boyer said all the mares have been moved to the back of the property. The dog remained with its owner as of Friday afternoon, police confirmed.

According to the Hampton Green Farm website, the farm was established in 1997 "as a dressage boarding, training and sales facility" in Fruitport that initially invested in young horses from Germany. The Boyer family also has a winter farm in Wellington, Florida "where both the sires and offspring of the breeding program are campaigned with success in the most competitive dressage circuit in the United States," according to the website.

(The Muskegon Chronicle - June 20, 2014)