Two in Two Days-Not Your Average Day at the Office

Just a little over two years ago, in May 2010, Kim Walton rescued a well-bred appaloosa, in foal, from winding up on a truck to the infamous New Holland sales notorious for killer buyers. The mare had been consigned to auction in Minnesota, and despite her good looks, she did not catch the right buyer's eye. She then became part of the slew of horses awaiting a long truck ride across the border to a certain death sentence if she failed to sell again.

Revalette became one of the lucky ones that auction day as she was chosen by Another Chance for Horses (AC4H) to be showcased on its Web site through the rescue's "broker owned program." AC4H has helped place thousands of horses over the last decade by working with brokers who purchase horses at auction that would ordinarily be loaded on a truck and sent directly to slaughter. Through the program, the public can choose to sponsor or adopt the horses that otherwise do not have a chance.

Kim Walton, at home in WV,  happened across Revalette's photo on AC4H's Web site: "I knew immediately she was a halter horse, no matter the breed, and that is what we show. So I volunteered to rescue Revalette after seeing her picture. I felt she needed a place to call home for the rest of her days, so I brought [the mare and foal] home." Kim knew that she had the space in her heart and on her farm for these two horses, and so Revalette, nicknamed Reva, came to be a part of Kim's family.

After saving a horse from almost certain death, an owner often has a much higher feeling of responsibility to keep that animal safe, and to ensure that the horse's fate is never uncertain again. Kim kept her promise to Reva. But fate has a way of playing its hand no matter how humans attempt to intervene.

Stolen Horse International, Inc., known as NetPosse, has been working to help recover stolen and missing horses since its inception in 1998. While the nonprofit has an unequaled rapport in the equine industry with professionals and private citizens, many people are unaware of how much this all-volunteer network does to help horse owners until the day comes that its services are needed.

Evening Escapes or Thefts Gone Bad? 

On the afternoon of September 15, 2012, Kim discovered that Reva was missing from her pasture. Kim, her daughter, and daughter's boyfriend walked the area until 4 o'clock in the morning, but never found any sign of her. Unable  to work while Reva still was missing,Kim  spent the entire day searching for her mare. Eventually, Kim finally had to believe that she wasn't missing, but that she had been stolen. By that point, Kim realized that she would need help in finding Reva, and she turned to NetPosse.

Late on the night following Reva's disappearance, Kim filed a missing report online with NetPosse. Per policy, cases can only be accepted as stolen with an accompanying criminal report from law enforcement. Until Kim was able to obtain that report, Debi Metcalfe, founder of NetPosse, proceeded with Reva's listing as a missing horse. As soon as all requirements were met, the organization posted a Webpage and then released a NetPosse.com Missing Horse Alert through its list server and began circulating Reva's information across the Internet to Yahoo Groups, Social Media sites, and thousands of other contacts. A week later, Kim was able to obtain a theft report,  which allowed upgrading Reva's listing to a stolen horse, and a new alert was issued.

Four days later, on October 4, not quite three weeks after Reva's disappearance, Kim called Angela Kirby, NetPosse's Executive Coordinator, to report that Reva had been found. Unfortunately, it was not the ending for which anyone had hoped.

Kim relayed Reva's discovery as she choked back tears. While at work, she had received a phone call from her next door neighbor. Reva's body was located on a very remote section of his property near a creek. From the condition of the horse's body, it seems as though she probably had been there since the night of her disappearance. It is still possible that Reva was missing in a failed theft attempt, but the truth most likely will be buried with her.

 will wonder for a long time what happened, as she surmises, "[Reva] was in a place that I can't even begin to fathom why she was there, instead of in one of the hay fields on either side of my property. Maybe she was chased by coyotes and fell into the creek, breaking her neck. Maybe she broke a leg and drowned ... maybe snake bit. I'll never know. I think I don't really want to know.

Two Minutes

The call received just prior to Kim's was from a Knox County detective who has worked with NetPosse on many previous cases in Tennessee, including Sassy's recovery. Det. Mike Cheaves had left a message with Angela to notify her that he was filing a case on a presumed stolen quarter horse gelding,

Charger.

While Angela processed the case and readied the flyer, she made the decision to hold its public release until speaking with the detective. Occasionally, law enforcement officers wish to have a  case documented with NetPosse, but, usually pending an investigation, do not want to post it publicly immediately. Therefore, it wasn't until the next day that she was able to speak to Det. Cheaves regarding the Tennessee horse.

CHARGER'S STORY

Charger, like Reva, was missing from his pasture, but showed no signs of escape. The day before the suspected theft, a workman had been on Yvette Wilson's property, asking too many questions about her horse. Sometime during the evening of October 3, Charger disappeared from his paddock, but the other horse remained. No signs of escape were discovered that night.

Like Kim, Yvette had promised to provide her barrel horse, Charger, with a forever home. As she states, "Charger was my 'once in a lifetime horse.' He had more personality than any one horse should have. He was an awesome barrel racing and pole bending horse. He had such a big heart and so much try. I remember the day I bought him. I had gone to try some barrel horses and he was the smallest, most unattractive one of the bunch, but I knew the moment I rode him he was something special. It took a little while but we finally became a great team."

Yvette goes on to describe her life with Charger and all the joy he brought her and her family over the next ten years. She fondly recalls an April Fool's joke where her son hid the gelding on her trailer. Upset at not finding her horse in the barn, Yvette realized what day it was and figured she was the butt of a joke. However, she assumed the gelding had been taken to off the property. Normally, Charger would be very noisy in the trailer, but this day it was as if he was in on the joke. Charger was so quiet in the trailer while the prank was carried out.

As their bond grew, Yvette found the little horse to be very loving and people pleasing, but the moment he knew it was time for business, he was all about the race. The horse was such a character that Yvette had considered writing a book called, "What NOT to do with your barrel horse." She fondly recalls "how he loved to have his neck under his jaw scratched and between his front legs. He would always stick his top lip out when I scratched him there."

How many horses would be allowed to truly move in with the family? That's how special Charger was to Yvette. Her love for this horse is best told in her own words: "One Christmas he got such a fever that I built a pen in my garage and he stayed in the house for 2 weeks. I would have put him in bed (with me) or the US Pro Rodeo Tour finals in Jacksonville, Florida, with a bone chip in his front ankle. After having that removed, I thought, 'okay we are ready to rock and roll' but then the final blow was tearing his digital flexor tendon (DDFT) in his right rear at a rodeo going down the hard slick alleyway. He had such a heart to run that he went on in and ran three-legged and I had no idea. When I discovered the injury he spent 3 months at University of Tennessee Vet Hospital under the excellent care of Dr. Steve Adair and Tech Dawn Phillips. I tried to bring him back from it, but it was too much. So I decided to retire him and swore to keep him until the day he died (OF OLD AGE!)."

ANOTHER TRAGIC PHONE CALL

The next morning, just as NetPosse volunteers and other horse lovers were being informed of Reva's unexpected loss and Kim was beginning to deal with her grief, Det. Cheaves returned Angela's message regarding Charger's theft case. Cheaves is a horse owner and understands the victims better than many law enforcement officers. Therefore, Angela knew immediately by his tone that the news wasn't good. Instead of posting a stolen horse listing on Charger, there was another loss to be reported.

As it was evening when Yvette realized Charger was missing, Det. Cheaves returned to the property the next day to investigate further. In daylight, he was able to discover where the gelding actually trampled over a field fence on the back of his paddock in the woods. Not long afterward, the neighbors advised his owner that they had found Charger on their property. He had wandered onto their pool, which was covered by a tarp, and had drowned.

FINDING CLOSURE

While NetPosse volunteers seldom know the victims or their horses, these losses still reach deep. Two losses in two days never sits easy with those working the cases directly. There are more questions than answers. Without a doubt, something spooked Charger or chased him through the fence. The owner had previously seen a German Shepherd in his paddock. Could he have been chased by this dog? Reva was in an electric fence so it is less obvious as to how she escaped, and if she really did. Now, however, the owners are left to deal with their grief; to second-guess their decisions; and reflect on the promises they made to these horses. 

Yvette is heavy with guilt as any of us would be: "I never imagined it would be so tragic! He had such a respect for boundaries. I am positive that he was chased over a fence and through the woods, ending up stepping on a pool covering and falling through into the deep end and drowning. It kills me to think how scared he had to be, and I was not there to help him. I had no idea he was in trouble like that. I had thought he had been stolen because I saw no fence down or tracks where he may have jumped and landed on the other side."

Sometimes there are no answers; just painful conclusions. Horses are inherently flight animals. They lose all sense of reason when fear sets in. These owners have a right to grieve, but it is our hope at NetPosse that their guilt does not weigh them down. What happened to Reva and Charger can happen to any horse. It is the nature of the beast. We hope both owners can truly find closure, and know that these animals are both free of pain and will never suffer again.

From Kim:

"My other neighbors, who own big equipment, took care of [Reva] and buried her yesterday for me. I owe them so much...such great men and friends who were there for me when I needed them. I don't have the words to express my appreciation to them. Thank you Eddie and James!" 

And from Yvette: "A part of me has died with him. I miss him so badly. I really don't know how I am going to get past the guilt and pain."

To all of the NetPosse volunteers who helped disseminate Reva's information, and those who have offered condolences for Kim and Yvette, they both appreciate all of the help and words of encouragement. While we wish all cases at Stolen Horse International could have happy endings, it is simply not possible. Sometimes closure is all an owner can have.