Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, Sheriff Ron Lockhart said an agent for Edward Leslie, MD, a Kentucky-based racehorse owner, was instructed to pick up two of three horses in the care of trainer Robert Dimitt in July.
Upon contacting Dimitt, the agent was told that one of the horses had died; the second horse also allegedly died on Dimmit's Sallisaw property, Lockhart said.
Gold Digging Ashley, a third horse belonging to Leslie, was taken to a veterinary clinic where she remains under veterinary care, Lockhart said.
Leslie said he hired Dimitt after receiving a recommendation, but that his horses ended up “mutilated.”
On Aug. 3, Dimitt was arrested and charged with three counts of animal cruelty, “but we may find more (horse) remains and there may be more charges,” Lockhart said.
Dimitt was unavailable for comment.
Lockhart said the horses were injured after Dimitt removed the frog from the animals’ hooves.
“He said he did this to increase the blood flow (to the horses' feet) to make them run faster,” Lockhart said.
Veteran farrier Hesse Liephart, said the frog figures significantly in a horse's circulatory system because it helps pump blood up the horse's leg each time the structure contacts the ground. He said some racehorse trainers will apply tape the frogs in an attempt to improve blood flow.
“But if you take off the frog, it will stop blood flow,” he said. “Taping the frog is one thing, cutting it off is another.”
Liephart also noted that horses are vulnerable to serious infection whenever the frog is cut or removed.
As the investigation continues, Lockhart said other owners have been contacted to retrieve their horses from Dimitt's property. Meanwhile, anyone with any information concerning the case should call 918/404-4357 (HELP).
(TheHorse.com - Aug 5, 2015)
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