The next chapter in Valora's story has been revealed tonight, as another news station was able to snag an interview with the Farrier accused in the beating of the 14 year old Thoroughbred mare, previously named Susie-Q.
I gotta say, this is getting more and more complicated, and the more of the background of this horse that gets out, the worse this whole situation gets.
Wayne Tolliver, who is the local Farrier who is said to have been seen beating Valora in the road, while trying to get her to get into the trailer, claims he never beat the horse once.
His story is this: The lady that owned the mare for nearly her whole life contacted him about him taking the mare off her hands, as her husband had just passed and she couldn't afford the vet care on the mare.
This mare, has been through hell and back her entire life. Joey, the founder of LUV Shack Ranch, has gone on camera and stated that this mare had NEVER left her stall her entire LIFE.
Her front legs are deformed from never being let out of her stall. Apparently she has also lost an eye, but whether it was prior to this incident or from the incident, I am unclear on that. The picture of her hooves on the prior post is apparently the way she's been living for some time.
According to Tolliver, she'd never BEEN in a trailer before, and thus got more and more upset. He claims he never pushed her into it, and after numerous attempts to her her to load, she became more agitated, and thats when she bashed her head against the sides.
Now, neighbors say they saw a man beating the same horse on the head. So who's telling the truth here?
We have a mare with serious, possibly life threatening injuries to her skull that has suffered neglect and abuse her entire life. She's never been out of her stall, or at least hasn't been in several years.
I have already spoken briefly to the head honchos of LUV Shack, and hopefully will be heading out there monday or tuesday to visit, see how I can help - maybe sign up for some volunteering - and also see if this blog can be used to help them in the future.
LINK to ABC 15 story
I don't believe the farrier for one minute.
What do you all think?
EDIT: Its been a few minutes since I hit publish, and the news video started playing once I did that. I watched it a second time, and then a third time.
I want to point something out - the neglect that this mare suffered at the hands of her prior owner has nothing to do with the fact that the husband died, and she's loosing her house. That mare is 14 years old, and the prior owner claims to have owned her most, if not all of her life.
10 years... we'll be generous here... is a AWFUL F'ING LONG TIME to NOT LET YOUR HORSE OUT OF ITS STALL, wouldn't most of you all agree???
I can't wait to see what the Maricopa County Sheriff's investigation comes up with on this one.
Keep us posted PLEASE. I really want to know what the real story is... The farrier sounded genuine, but of course that can always be misleading! Poor girl, I hope they figure out what really was happening and the people who deserve justice get served.
ReplyDeleteCould be that the farrier speaks the truth: the injuries are all on the right hand side. Usually you lead from left and if she shied away violently to the right this could be the result?
ReplyDeleteHad the horse not been out of the stall for over a year or more, trying to load the horse can be a traumatic experience.
ReplyDeleteBut with witnesses having called the police to state he beat the horse in the head- well now, it gets a bit questionable there too. I have also not heard of anyone 'rushing to his defense' either, so that bears some signifigance to things too.
Sounds like everything in the previous owners life is spiralling out of control. Maybe a bit of help is what she needs, but at least she had the foresight enough to give the horse up when she did. A bit late, but not too late seeing as how Susie-Q/Valora is still alive.