SPCA looking into local horse rescue centre

WEST RIVER A horse stable, devoted to rescuing rejected and neglected animals, is under the microscope of the SPCA.

An inspection by a veterinarian and a Nova Scotia SPCA representative took place at the stables, which are located in West River late last week. A report from the veterinarian is pending.

Amanda Lees, a volunteer at Earth ARC until recently, said she's worked with the stable for over a decade.

She said she was one of the two people to contact the society to report what she felt were instances of neglect to the animals.

The final straw, she said, was over one stallion whom Lees had wanted to purchase. The horse, somewhere between 18 and 25 years of age, is in poor condition, she said.

"And I begged her (the owner of the horse) and pleaded her for three years to just let me try to help the horse."

"I went out to her house and gave her one final, 'just, will you please sell him to me. Let me try to save his life because he's going to die, and I'm not willing to watch it."

Betty Schneider, Earth Arc's owner, said that particular horse is getting up in age, and she was doubtful that, were it to be taken from Earth ARC, it would have received a better home.

"Well, he wasn't exactly her first stallion. She has mares and her friend has mares. Here, we don't breed horses, because there's enough."

Of the current 40 or so horses at the stable, more than 20 belong to Schneider. They were there before Earth ARC was conceived, just a few years ago. Volunteers work out of the stables and members of the public can sponsor a horse there for a set monthly amount.

But that concept is now in jeopardy, Schneider said.

"The SPCA inspection has put the whole operation in danger. Now it's not a case of 'oh, darn, I didn't mean to say that, I'm sorry.' You can't any more. It's gone beyond that."

"They're supposed to write me a letter to tell me what they found wrong."

It's a comfortable happy place, Schneider added.

"Our mission statement is, a place and time for people and animals to heal. That's all we are."

Lees, on the other hand said she's had experience with her own horses boarding at Earth Arc.

"My horses were in the barn (over the winter). They lost weight, they're full of worms, they're very aggressive. The changes in my horses were immediate. They're not used to asking for anything. They've had everything they've needed. And when you take something from a horse who's always had it, they turn aggressive at first and then they give up," Lees said.

Schneider said if anything comes back from the inspection, it's likely going to be regarding manure in the stalls.

"Most SPC people that are investigating know city horses and city stables, and they're very very concerned because of the manure in the stalls."

"In a city stable, it wouldn't be there," she said.

And, she said, "Most city stables are heated, and ours aren't. Our horses go out, and you can't put horses out of a heated barn. They don't grow a coat."

"Really, all a horse needs is shelter from the freezing rain and a really strong wind, that's driving right in front of it."

Also in Schneider's memories was an instance 12 years ago when the stable was inspected, after a number of horses succumbed or became very ill as a result of "bad feed."

Several animals currently at Earth ARC are survivors of it.

"A large percentage of them wound up very very sick from the bad feed. So we nursed them back to health," Schneider said.

The effect was devastating on the horse owners and those who helped out at the farm at the time.

"Some got out of horses altogether because they were devastated so we were left with horses that were not completely healthy."

A provincial SPCA representative could not be reached for comment after several calls.