Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 22	May 28, 2008

‘Grain bin’ horse returned to owners
If unsold, charges promised

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

A 9-year-old horse, whose home was a grain bin for a period of time, can thank some observant four-wheelers in the Wolf Creek area for his rescue.

Chief animal control officer Tom Brady reported the animal “was and was not being taken care of properly.”

“Especially not being in the situation that it was,” he continued. “The people who owned it should have had a proper place to put one and they didn’t.”

Brady refused to disclose the names of the horse’s owners, but did say they were a young couple, living together with a baby.

He said the male was about 20 years old and the female might have been a little younger.

“I decided not to run them through the courts,” Brady said, adding he had discussed the issue with County Attorney Margaret Matney.

He said he needed to insure the animal was kept in a suitable location and that, when it was sold, he needed to see a copy of the sales receipt, indicating they were no longer the owners.

“If they violated those conditions, there would be charges,” Brady said. “I could refile those within a year’s time and they would be charged with a misdemeanor.”

“The horse also had problems,” Brady said, adding after it was rescued he temporarily housed it at another location, where it was diagnosed by a veterinary technician.

While at the temporary location, the animal was fed dry hay and water.

“Overall the horse was in good shape,” Brady said. According to a chart on his wall, Brady said the horse could be considered “moderately thin” when retrieved.

“It was getting food but not a substantial amount of food,” Brady said. “It was not getting substantial sunlight and most of the water it was receiving came from the rain through a hole in the bin’s top.”

Photos by MaryAnne Blandford
A muddy grain bin was home for this horse, found by some observant four-wheelers near Wolf Creek, left. Above: Meade County animal control officer Tom Brady and Ray Smiley watch as the animal enjoys grass after its rescue. Charges won’t be pursued against the owners as long as they follow certain conditions, Brady said.

He said one of the horse’s seeds had not dropped while the other had. The seed remaining in the belly could cause a tumor-type growth, limiting the horse’s lifespan.

“But that still does not give them the right to raise the animal where he was,” he said. “But the kids didn’t know any better. They thought they were doing it the right way.”

Brady said he didn’t have any ill feelings toward the owners, reiterating the fact they just didn’t know any better about proper care.

After the owners retrieved the animal on May 21 about 11 a.m., Brady called to check on it and learned, two hours later, it already had kicked two boards off the barn.

“They are supposed to be hauling it to Shepherdsville this weekend where they can sell it,” he said.

The grain bin was located on a farm off Lapland Road, Brady said. He refused to disclose the farm owner’s name, but indicated he had been onsite previously on similar animal calls and took the owner to court.

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