Ridgeway Missing Horse Adventure --the SC 5 in review

Ridgeway Missing Horse Adventure --the SC 5 in review

11 September 2015

by Debi Metcalfe, Founder of Stolen Horse International

Many people are on the outside looking in when a horse is missing and NetPosse.com is on the case. This commentary by the founder of Stolen Horse International, NetPosse, gives insight to a recent and unique case. 

First, I’d like to thank you all for your comments regarding our recent missing horse case. Some of you understand the complexities of these situations while others do not.

I’d like to thank the naysayers for their negative comments and insights. I am not at all offended by them. I also like to thank you for giving me a chance to offer more education based not on opinion but from experience. For those who do not know, I am the founder of Stolen Horse International. Please allow me to give one current example of my qualifications to address the following statements. 

Education is one thing I do best and why Equus Magazine requested I write an article, based on my experiences, featured on the cover of the August issue titled, “When Horse Theft is Not a Crime.”

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The purpose for the Equus Magazine article was to help all horse owners, even ones who think they know what really happens in these situations, to see what can happen...and does based on my 17 years’ experience working with victimized horse owners.  All of the cases are true. Victims, equine lawyers, and law enforcement contributed to the 8-page article about situations (just like we experienced this week) were published in this feature article.

May I ask everyone who does not understand the intricacy of these situations a few questions first? Keep in mind that these are meant for educational purposes only and are not meant to be confrontational questions at all. These are designed to help you and anyone reading this to think a little outside their safe little box? Doing so may save you or your horse one day.

You do not need to answer these questions here. Just answer them to yourself honestly.
 
How many missing or stolen horses have you had personally?

How many cases have you worked on with a victim with firsthand involvement of details, not hearsay, with law enforcement, lawyers, etc. from start to finish?

To arrive at your assumption, what experience qualifies you to make some of the following statements?

“Has anyone contacted NetPosse to ask why they are being so intense about what appears to be a 'horses sold for back board' situation?”

Thank you for asking people to contact us before they became judge and jury. The fact that we were involved should speak volumes to those who know our work. We know more facts about this case than law enforcement (who I personally talked with in SC and PA). We were presented with the case, and assessed it based on the well-being of the horses first. When we saw the random picture posted on a Facebook page of these horses at the New Holland sale on Monday morning, we knew we had a chance to save these horses.

sc5nhsarafarnsworth.jpgHow many of you thought the horses deserved what was coming to them because the owners “owe(d) back board”, something that was never stated by us, law enforcement, and certainly has not been proven or disproven at this time.  What qualifies you to assume the owners cannot afford to take care of their horses? What real facts about any case makes anyone suitable to jump on one side or the other?

How can anyone justify their statements other than the people working directly with the case? The person who sold them without following due process or legal proof to do so? The person who took them to the auction knowing the family wanted them back? The people who bought them to send to their demise?

The officer who did the incident report didn’t even investigate the case, and, as far as we can tell, it has yet to be investigated by local police. The only reason, and I repeat again, the ONLY reason this was marked civil was because there was an agreement between two parties that was broken. It was not for any of the assumed reasons stated in this thread at all.

How many of you would do nothing if you had the ability to same them? Our cases are rarely simple and come with unforeseen twists and turns. This one was full of them! Every time we thought we had a solution to a problem, another one would arise.

I simply don't find even ONE thing about this whole ball o' wax believable? Especially the houseguest-heroics”.

DebiIdaho24wp.jpgWhen you have worked thousands of missing horse cases like we have at Stolen Horse International, www.netposse.com, then you really learn the good and the bad of the horse world.  I wish my horse had never been stolen sometimes. But if that had not happened, I would not be here helping others protect themselves, their horses, and their farms with preventative tips and educational comments.

I wish I could have remained innocent, as many like you are, and had not learned all the terrible things I know. But that is not what happen to me. Our lack of knowledge helped make my family victims of horse theft. But at the same time, I am thankful for the experiences because I have met so many caring and wonderful people.

Experience, networking, connection,s and compassionate people all played a part in these horses being safe today. There is nothing that is not believable here at all if you are a part of the process, living it as it happens.

One dictionary defines heroic as a strong and courageous person or a story about deeds by those with these qualities. What we do, what the people who help us do is heroic on many levels. No one gets paid for what they do. Everyone volunteers their time and resources. They give of themselves to help others. These heroic acts could not have been more obvious than some of the ones in this case the public may never know. People often amaze me at how giving they can be when someone needs their help.   

But horses are property. You cannot sell, dispose of, conceal etc., during a contractual dispute. Denying an owner permanently from their "property" its fraudulent conversion, which is criminal. The case would be stolen, ie "criminal," not "civil."

I will be the first to admit that I do not know all the laws in all the land so I am going to defer to one of our law enforcement advisors to answer this question.

"Let me see if I can clarify and clear up some of this misunderstanding. First, the laws governing Theft of Property varies from State to State, and the degree of Theft varies on the value of the property.

Yes, a horse is considered "Property." However, when two people enter into an agreement either verbally or written, anything from that point on is considered a Civil Matter and Non-Criminal. Very few States still have a Theft after Trust law on their books.

There is always a right way and a wrong way of doing things and unfortunately there are many unscrupulous stables out there. Yes, there should always be a written contract outlining the responsibilities of the horse owner and the stable owner and signed by both parties. It would be the same principal as a lease agreement. And there should be a clause in that agreement that if anything were to happen to that horse, ie: disappear from property, then the stable owner is held responsible.

So, in this particular case, not knowing all the facts regarding same, two people entered into some type of agreement regarding the boarding of numerous horses (Civil Matter), and for whatever reason these horses were taken to an auction house to be sold, with the proceeds going to the seller after the auction house takes their percentage.

If any of the horses were then sold to an outside individual that paid their money in good faith for that horse, then if the true owner wants to reclaim that horse, the buyer is to receive their payment back from either the owner, the auction house or the seller.

There is a huge difference from someone coming onto your property and taking/stealing a horse without your knowledge or consent for personal gain, and a horse disappearing from a stable facility. The Key words here are: Consensual Agreement vs. Without Knowledge or Consent.

I hope this clarifies some of your issues. As a retired Det. Lieutenant with over 40 years’ experience investigating property crimes with special attention to Agriculture/Livestock Theft." - M.T. Cheaves"

Personally speaking, my perception and opinion of NetPosse has been adversely affected by this situation; specifically their unusually intense, personal participation and pushing that GoFundMe thing.

First, I am sad that you do not understand how limited our funds are as a very small nonprofit organization. We work miracles on a shoestring budget.

Secondly, we started the fundraiser because we needed to secure the capital to help the horses. How many of you have thousands of dollars you can spend at any given moment on hand. Many of us do not. If you do, count yourself luckier than most trying to survive in world today. Have you never found yourself short of funds, having to wait until the banks open to transfer funds to your account? Not every trader takes credit cards by the way. With it being a holiday weekend, and foreseeing that we could lose the horses without the money needed to purchase them, we started the fundraiser so we, Stolen Horse International could cover the purchase prices of the horses.

If you read the fundraiser we did have a statement about the use of the money and options for the donor in case we didn’t need the money. Nothing was misstated or withheld about the reason for the fund.

For those who still do not see that we did what we did for the horses, we want to add this footnote to these events.

An angel in the form of one of our NetPosse State Case Managers ended up paying for some of the horses. Another friend of NetPosse paid for another horse to secure its safety. The owner of the horses had reimbursed almost all, if not all of the money so far to the people who came forth after the fundraiser was started. Now they are asking that the people who cared enough to help them consider helping others.

“Yes!!!! They're all going HOME because of all of you!!! I am forever grateful! Please encourage the donors to use the money raised for our horses too help save more of these majestic animals!!! My heart is BIG!!!!!”—Pamela Ridgeway #PAYITFORMARD#FOREVERGRATEFUL#LOVEYOUALL

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Debi Metcalfe

Founder | debi@netposse.com

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