Mississippi: Miniature horse subjected to horrific sexual abuse by owner

MISSISSIPPI -- Rescuers at the Mississippi Animal Rescue League say that while they see a lot of bad abuse cases, they don’t often share the graphic pictures.

However, they believe Willow’s story needs to be told.

Rescuers here at MARL said this is one of the worst cases of animal abuse they’ve ever seen. However, Willow got her name because she bends but doesn’t break.

“To see how forgiving she is of people after being treated the way she was treated, I was really surprised,” said Kenny Moore, Equine Manager at MARL

“She’s just blossomed here,” said Debra Boswell, the MARL director.

But that wasn’t always the case for Willow, the miniature horse.

Five weeks ago she was brought in by an animal control agency that works with MARL. She was underweight, had trouble walking, and was mutilated.

“They cut the tail off at the base of her spine,” Boswell said.

Boswell said Willow was found after the owner died and family went to close up the house. Willow was found in a room with a concrete floor and bucket for water.

She had been surgically altered to keep her from using the bathroom, and she’d been sexually abused.

“Sexual abuse of animals is not as uncommon as you might think,” Boswell said. “We’ve seen numerous cases over the years. We’ve just not seen this level of mutilation, and it’s fairly apparent that they’ll use objects on the animals, they’ll use objects to violate the animals. She was in pretty rough shape. We feel that that’s part of what happened to her.”

Willow’s legs had been restrained.

Moore says she’s still regrowing her hair, but she’s already been adopted by an equine trainer in Tyler, Texas. She’ll make the trip to her new home in the next couple of weeks.

“She’s sweet as she can be,” Moore said. “She’s got a little bit of personality. She pretty much roams the area down here all day long.”

Rescuers don’t expect any charges in this case.

I wonder if the reason no charges are being filed is because her owner, who is now dead, was the one raping her?

(WJTV - April 11, 2017)

Washington: Authorities investigating after mini horse's tail chopped off

WASHINGTON -- Animal protection officers from SCRAPS are investigating a bizarre case of animal cruelty that has some asking, "Who would do this?"

Friday morning, Ashley Humbard was out on her property when she noticed someone had cut off part of her mini horse Whiskey's tail, leaving just a 6-inch stub.

What's more upsetting, is that it's not the first time it's happened in the area.  

"I've talked to quite a few neighbors we've kind of started calling everybody," Humbard said. "It's actually happened one other time about three weeks ago. A lady has horses and they cut off one of her horse's tails."

 

Humbard says she and her neighbor have now filed a joint police report.

If you have any information about who's been chopping off these horses' tails, call Crime Check at 509-456-2233.

(KHQ - Feb 4, 2016)

North Carolina: Authorities investigating after horses’ manes, tails cut off in Rockingham County

NORTH CAROLINA -- The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident involving two horses.

According to property owners, sometime overnight a suspect or suspects cut the tail and mane off two horses.

The incident happened in a pasture at the corner of N.C. 65 and Baynes Road in Reidsville.

Anyone with information is asked to Crimestoppers at (336) 349-9683.

(MyFox8 - July 22, 2015)

Ohio: Tails of horses chopped off at farm in Monroe County

OHIO -- Two rescued equines face a long, potentially painful summer after a thief stole the hair from their tails.

A pony named Stuart and a miniature horse named Bubbi at The Devoted Barn rescue on North Dixie Highway in Frenchtown Township were the unfortunate victims of haircuts sometime during the nights of April 9 and 10. An unidentified person entered the barn and cut off all the hair from their tails. Bubbi’s formerly lush mane and forelock were also severely trimmed.

“It’s going to be years for them to grow back,” said Melissa Borden, 41, who runs the barn. “They both had long tails that [dragged] on the ground. They were thick and beautiful.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department’s road division is investigating the incident. The thief entered through a broken door. Beyond the hair removal, neither animal was injured, and nothing else was taken or damaged.

Sgt. Greg Berman of Monroe County Animal Control said the case is the first of its kind in his more than 20 years with the department, 10 of those as animal-control supervisor.

“I have not ever heard of it before,” he said. “I may not have heard about it or it may not have been reported.”

Ms. Borden said she’s known of a few cases in recent years, but she never imagined someone would target the rescue barn.

The hair could have been stolen to be used for tail extensions for show horses or to make jewelry, Sergeant Berman said.

Ms. Borden suspects someone wanted the hair for extensions, which she said are expensive with show season about to start. Of the 13 equines on the property, the thief specifically targeted the animals with white hair, which she said is more valuable.

The rescue’s only other white equine, a mare named Seven, was found loose in the barn. She had presumably been selected for a haircut too, but her tail is intact.

“She’s not very friendly,” Ms. Borden said, adding that the horse is mostly blind. “She definitely would have kicked if they tried to get behind her.”

Stuart and Bubbi will need help to combat painful fly bites as the weather warms.

“They need their tails to swish the flies away,” Ms. Borden said.

The thief didn’t leave enough hair to attach extensions to help them swat flies, so Ms. Borden said they will get fly sheets.

Just a week before the incident, the rescue installed a few security cameras because of intense public interest in one of the feral dogs that Ms. Borden specializes in rehabilitating. Shaggy is a brown Newfoundland mix from Grand Rapids, Mich., whom no one could catch for months.

The person must have known about the cameras and was able to avoid them, Ms. Borden said. The recording system also appears to have been tampered with because one part of the video shows Seven suddenly appearing in the barn.

The whole incident has Ms. Borden a bit on edge, she said. She doesn’t want to believe one of the rescue’s many volunteers could be responsible but can’t rule it out either.

“It’s frustrating because I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not a good feeling.”

The door has been fixed, and the rescue will spend $500 for more security equipment, including a keypad entry. The labor to install it and the monthly monitoring fee have been donated.

“In the summer, I like to leave the big barn doors open at night, but we can’t do that any more,” Ms. Borden said.

Anyone who may have information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 734-240-7753. Donations to The Devoted Barn may be made online at thedevotedbarn.org/​give. Checks made out to the rescue may be mailed to 6227 N. Dixie Hwy., Newport, MI 48166.

(Toledo Blade - April 20, 2015)