More Info On the 18 month old Colt

Its been a very long day, so I'll try to be as coherent as I can. 


I spoke to both the lady that is selling the colt and the lady that is trying to upgrade him. 


I truly think that the seller got scammed in this case by the rescue. The "RESCUE" is Skunkie Acres, located in White Springs, Fl. Here is their website.   It looks ok on the surface... until you start seeing things like this- 


8 Hours til Daylight

Don't worry Daddy. Tomorrow is only 8 hours away. We got through today and everyone got their dinner. All of our prayers have been answered for today. Now we have to prepare ourselves for tomorrow and perhaps for a day that our prayers will not be answered. With your help Daddy we will survive. God has given you so much faith even when the days are dark and the night is so long. Your faith is a very bright beacon that seems to brighten the whole world. We know you will be there for us Daddy as you have always been. We are afraid to think how it would be without our Daddy. When we have done our very best and it still isn't quite enough, we know God will allow you to be there for us, as it has always been. Sometimes it is hard for us to show our love and thanks. But each time our little noses touch your cheek we are telling you Daddy how much we  love and  trust in you. If I could speak and write these are some of the things I would say.  I am speaking for all us animals. God Bless you Daddy and all the Daddy's who love and sacrifice for the skunks and all of the 350 animals at Skunkie Acres and all over the world. 


They refer to potential adoptive clients as "Mommy's and Daddy's". Several times they mention "God bless you" and "God Bless all those who help those which cannot help themselves." 


Wanna hear the really juicy part? They are a legal 501(c) Non-Profit that takes in SKUNKS! They are not a specific horse rescue... they are an EXOTIC animal rescue that also just happens to take in horses, dogs, cats, ferrets, cattle, sheep, deer, and other lovely creatures like Possums! They have a childrens petting zoo - free to the public of course. They offer horse back rides, and THATS how they 'make money' for their overhead costs???? They accept school field trips, church trips, and are open to the general public every darn day. They don't charge admission at all - yet they are screaming for donations on every page of their website. Doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me, does it to you? Even a .50 cent admission to the petting zoo will help defray some of the costs! 


OH and LOOK - This is the picture used to advertise the trail rides, showing a little boy getting ready to go out with a group of tourist trail riders! Doesn't this just scream responsible? Wonder if they ALWAYS send out kids without helmets, improper shoes, no jeans, and in saddles that don't even shorten the stirrups enough so the kid can keep his feet in them!!!  They say they have 32 horses that live permanently on property - and wow - I quote: "We have 32 horses, Some of them are horses's that cannot be ridden and they will be on our property and in our zoo for the rest of their lifes.While some of these horses are excellant trail horses, they are helping to support the sick and injured horses, while they are enjoying the rest of their years by doing what they enjoy doing. . So these horse's, we will care for them the rest of their days. We did not create these animals, and we will not take their lives unless they are very, very sick with no hope of recovery.  The other horses on the property are used for Stable Horses for the Trail Rides. We can accommodate 15-20 horses and riders if necessary. My 23 old daughter, Megan, and my 15 year old daughter, Samantha, and my 12 year old daughter Tabitha all ride horseback very well. They know the trails very well. They know the safety  practices and they understand the horses."

This is NOT the way you run a reputable rescue. (Did you also catch the little blurb about not putting the animals down unless they are very very sick? Very sneaky place to put that you are against optional euthanasia!) 


They are a road side attraction, petting zoo, with some exotic animals thrown in to get the general public interested. They are now advertising that they have a female cougar in their zoo. The best part about that is they have NO government Bond to hold that wild cat. 


So... how does an 18 month old quarter horse colt end up in this mess? That part is yet unknown, and probably always will be.


What I was able to find out/piece together is this: Seller somehow gets word that there are 2 young male horses being offered by Skunkie Acres. With a little sleuthing online, I found the ad for the other young stallion on an ebay free classified ad service through Gainsville, FL. He was advertised as a 2 year old male palomino for $400. The other colt was not advertised, or they have pulled the ad. 


Seller pays for the two animals, and makes arrangements for the rescue to drop them off at her private residence. She said when she went to look at the boys at Skunkie Acres, it was at night, they were in an arena with 6-7 other horses, the arena was semi-lit, but she was not able to get a very good look at the situation of the place. 


Representatives from SA tell her that the horses are 2 years old, have been 'trail ridden' and sat on a few times. When they drop the colts off, they arrive at the private residence at night, when the adopters are NOT home, dump the 2 colts off in a pasture without any halters on at all! However in the process they let one of the other horses out of a pen without putting him back in! 


(OK, also how the hell did they get them in the trailer to begin with, if BOTH OF the colts won't let anyone catch them???)


New owners have their vet come check out the new arrivals, and vet states they are NOT two, they are 16-18 months - but that info came out a bit sketchy with the question being asked if the vet can get close enough to check age - again the inconsistencies are showing - why can't the chestnut be caught? 


At any rate this giant Cluster "F" of a tale continues on. They have managed to work with the palomino enough so that he's now accepting a halter and is leading well, but they are having a ton of trouble with the other guy. They took the pair on after being told they were broke, but the harsh reality was they had been barely handled. 


I am now seeking places to send this information to - word has it that this 'rescue' is being investigated for other reasons.


There are soooo many red flags here the sheer number would cover Texas from border to border. 


I - Shady business dealings. The rescue lied about the ages, training levels, and that they could be handled. They also chose to drop off the animals in a very VERY unprofessional way, and by letting the other horse loose, could have been liable for a myriad of things had this loose horse run amok or gotten hurt or run over by a freaking car!


2 - They did NOT geld the animals before the animals left their property. NO rescue worth their salt will allow an un-gelded male horse leave their care as 'adopted'. They were dropped of at the adopters house severely underweight. My assumption is they also had not been wormed, either. The adopter did not mention any type of no-breeding contract either...


3 - They are not a horse rescue in such that they concentrate only on the horses. They use their RESCUED HORSES FOR PUBLIC TRAIL RIDES TO SUPPORT THEIR OTHER COSTS. 


4 - Exotic animal Zoo by the side of a freeway? Seriously. WTF? I get the sanctuary idea. I get that its cool to rescue exotic animals and wildlife, and this in of itself is a very needed service. There are a lot of idiot people out there that think its cool to buy a cougar cub and have it in the back yard, not thinking that its gonna grow into a 1000 pound giant PREDATOR. ......The theory of the exotic rescue is not what I'm having the issue with. I keep thinking  "BUT skunks? Do we really need a skunk rescue that adopts them out as pets????? Or a POSSUM? Who loves these animals enough to want one as a pet???" 


5 - Skunkie Acres is just a screwed up name. (Ok, I'm throwing that one in there because of personal bias. I don't care if you disagree, its my blog LOL. I can dislike the name if I wanna.) Its just too similar sounding to Skanky Acres. Which... would be fitting here.


The reader that sent the ad did talk to the owners about getting the colt close enough to a halter/lead rope to actually get them on him, but she needs help finding someone that either has all day to sit and help get this guy haltered and in the trailer sans trauma, or be willing to lend her a trailer for the day so she doesn't have to worry about wasting their time. 


If anyone is in the area that can help - or at least just offer help as to how to actually GET THE HALTER ON HIM, without scaring him further, that would be greatly appreciated! Just post in the comments. He will allow someone close enough to sniff a hand, but as soon as he sees the halter/lead rope, he has NOTHING to do with it, and is out of there in 2 seconds flat. I do not know how big his pen is, I don't know what the currently owners have done with him. They want the best for him, and just want him to go to a good home that will train him properly.


.........................What a note to end the day on, eh?! 


Be back in the am with a new ad. G'night!