Like Taking Candy - A Stolen Horse Story

Like Taking Candy - A Stolen Horse Story

28 January 2011

By Debi Metcalfe

Posted Wednesday, July 7, 2004

Horse-thieving is a flourishing occupation that preys on susceptible owners. But there are ways to combat this sinister business. Now is the time to take steps to avoid becoming a victim. Cheryl Snyder wishes she had many times.

On April 17, 2003, a horse named Candy was taken from a Houston area farm. Cheryl Snyder has been hooked to the Internet for more than a year. But it's not because of any shopping bargains or entertaining chat lines she may find. 

She's been searching for Candy, her quarter horse mare. She had the horse for years until one afternoon last April when Candy disappeared. Cheryl contacted Stolen Horse International, Inc, a nonprofit organization that helps missing, lost and stolen equines, and started her own investigation with the help of the nonprofit organization.

Debi and Cheryl have received hundreds of phone calls and e-mails from people interested in helping out, offering tips, asking for information, and encouraging Cheryl to continue searching for Candy. Many are victims, too.

Volunteers from around the world have been a part of the search for Candy. On Thursday, July 8, 2004, the rest of the world will learn what Debi Metcalfe, founder of Stolen Horse International, Inc, and Cheryl Snyder have known for a week - Candy has been found!

Thanks to a Stolen Horse International flyer, Cheryl will go to Harris County Annex Thursday in Houston to see for the first time and to claim Candy. Unfortunately, another woman who purchased Candy, as her first horse is now a victim.

We hope you will cover this touching recovery for your audience. This type of story gives hope to so many, no matter what obstacle they are trying to overcome.

One estimates says there are 40,000-55,000 horses stolen each year in the US. Many of those horses are from the state of Texas.

Thieves have many ways of taking horses. Many are taken from unsuspecting owners at horse shows, rodeos, as well as barns and pastures. Writing bad checks is a common method of theft as well as bad sales contracts and leases. Holding registration papers until the check clears is a good idea and in many cases holding the horse until paid in full.

Debi Metcalfe offered a few other ideas on how owners can keep their horses in their barns.

"We stress branding," Metcalfe says. "A freeze-brand is a visible deterrent. Microchips and tattoos are good for identification, but a thief will see a brand, and chances are he won't steal that horse."

It's difficult to counteract every attempt at theft, but simply making theft difficult for thieves reduces risk. Lock gates, stall doors, and trailer hitches. Keep your trailer parked out of sight, because many thieves take it along with the horses. Don't leave halters hanging on stall doors or on horses out to pasture.

Stolen Horse International, also known as NetPosse, is a non-profit equestrian organization founded in 1998 to support theft victims and promote theft awareness. The www.netposse.org website, which is an unadvertised Web site, and spread only by word of mouth,  has been viewed by close to 3 million individuals in the past year.

For more information about Stolen Horse International and their victim assistance and awareness program, call 704-484-2165 or visit their website at www.netposse.org or  http://www.netposse.com

* "One source says 40,000 to 55,000 are stolen each year." - These numbers are based on a study done in the late '90s. There are no current numbers available.

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Debi Metcalfe

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