Stolen Storm

In Brownsville, Texas, on April 22nd, 2006, someone stole my husband's horse, Storm, from our pasture.

On Sunday morning, Storm, our 7-year-old Palomino gelding, didn't come to the barn for breakfast. This was strange because he loves to eat, but since our sorrel mare and foal didn't come either, my girls and I decided he was busy grazing with them.

By evening, however, we got worried because he was the only one who didn't come up for dinner. Most of our pasture faces a busy farm to market road. I drove out to the street and saw 3 posts had been pulled out of the ground and wire had been pulled off a t-post to create a small opening in the fence. There at the opening were his tracks. He was wearing only 2 shoes and was due to see the farrier Monday morning. By then it was dark and impossible to search for him until daylight. My eldest daughter, Georgia, and I made a vain attempt at searching the pasture with flashlights.

I knew in my heart, though, that we wouldn't find him because all the signs pointed to theft.

First thing Monday morning I called the Sheriff's Department. I showed the deputy the fence, and he agreed the horse had been stolen. My next call was to the USDA. A group of men commonly called "tick inspectors" work areas along the Rio Grande River, keeping the U.S. safe from fever ticks. I knew that if anyone could find Storm, it would be them. They know every cow and horse across town. After I placed that call, I did my own detective work and followed Storm's tracks. These led down a cheaply paved farm road to disappear at an intersection. There I assumed Storm was loaded into a trailer and hauled north.

My wonderful husband was making calls of his own all morning. He made contact with a television reporter and had an interview set up with Channel 5 at 1 P.M. Certainly the best way to get help finding something missing is the media. Two of my girls, who are home schooled, were filmed in the story, and of course, I told my sad story of Storm being stolen. The only thing left to do was to wait until 6 P.M. for the story to air and hopefully get some tips.

It's really difficult to sit on your hands and do nothing, so I started driving the neighborhood at about 4:30 P.M.  Looking for a stolen horse is truly like looking for a needle in a haystack. I started at the intersection where I lost Storm's tracks and headed south. Since we live right on the border with Matamoros, Mexico, it is very common for thieves to swim the stolen horses across the Rio Grande River. If this happens, it is not likely that one will ever recover his horse. All of this is going through my head, as I look left and right at barns, pastures, and corrals. My girls and I traveled south a while then turned east. Shelby, my ten-year-old says, "Mama, there's a palomino."

I return with, "Yes, but there are quite a few palominos around. That's probably not Storm."

Deep down inside I was hoping she was right. I pulled over and climbed the adjacent pasture to get a closer look. What do you know! It WAS him! Two shoes and all. He was dragging a 15' garden hose from his halter. He was inside a small lot with a trailer house on it and several barking dogs tied to junky cars. The entire place was enclosed with Hurricane fencing. I looked around, saw no one, and made a spontaneous decision to get him out of there.

As I tugged on the hose to get him to move faster, I chanted, "God is good" to my kids looking on from the truck. We had all been praying for Storm. He was even on a prayer chain at a local church in town.

The news story was running at the same time Shelby and I were walking Storm home along side the truck. He was only about 5 miles from the house. The sheriff's department questioned the property owner, and he claimed Storm showed up at his place Sunday morning dragging the hose. Whether that is true or not is yet to be determined. Right now, we're just glad to have him home.

It is very important for all horse owners to use some type of permanent marking on their horse(s). Storm was gone only two days and when I found him, his entire demeanor was changed. He looked sullen and sad, not his usual happy self. I can only imagine what he might look like in a few weeks or even months. Stolen Horse International offers many types of identification. I was blessed to have found my horse. Protect your horse from theft. I know all of my horses are going to be freeze branded very soon.

Thanks to SHI for learning about Storm and offering to help.

by D'Ann Loop, April 26, 2006