Galtee Farm LLC , Midway, Kentucky

[myoldkyfarm]

I have a farm in Midway and can confirm that horses were taken from a farm across from Midway College because they were starving and standing in dirt lots. Close acquaintances of mine did some of the transporting and saw the horses firsthand. Galtee is in that location and the details of the story match though I did not ask the farm name.

As an aside, if no attempt was made to remove the hip numbers, it would be quite reasonable to see them on in that condition if the horse was bought this year.

[Worksoplad]

First, since the original poster seems to attach some importance to nationalities here, I will admit that I am also English, but I have no biases here one way or another.

I do not buy this story at all. I have had four mares boarded there over the last six years until one was sent to Coolmore Ireland at the end of February to foal a Street Cry foal and to be bred back to Hurricane Run. I have never had a problem with any of my mares or foals.

In fact, after the mare had arrived at Coolmore in Ireland I spoke with a Coolmore representative in the receiving barn, and he said she looked "grand." Another of my mares, by Theatrical, had a beautiful Powerscourt filly At Galtee Farm on April 1st and is being bred back on foal heat in the next couple of days. Two other mares are expected to foal in April.

Only one of the four mares did not get in foal in all the time I have boarded at Galtee farm, and that was because she bred a really late foal last year. The mares and foals have always received top veterinarian care, mostly from Rood and Riddle.

Whenever I or my trainers have visited, the reports have been that the mares and foals look really good.

I was very curious, when I saw this posting from somebody who has never posted on this entire forum before about a "friend's horses" so I alerted Galtee Farm to this posting and then received responsive emails and a phone call from Liam Gallagher, who intends to sue both the poster and the friend for libel.

He said that this person has been nothing but trouble from the day she brought horses to his farm. First, she stood by while the vet examined one of her mares and insisted that the vet put yeast cake in the mare's uteris, which the vet refused to do because it would cause excruciating pain to the mare. Then, she tried to run his operation, then demanded that he lease her part of his farm to look after her own horses without his input.

In fact she accused Galtee Farm of "stealing" one of her horses only to subsequently "find" it on her other farm.

Liam's Wife Rita said that the Animal Control person who this lady brought to the farm with her when she came to pick up her horses gave her his card at the end of the visit on which he had written "A-OK." The Sheriff ended up having to remove the lady from Galtee Farm because of the trouble she caused.

Since I am in California, on reading this thread I have had a trainer whose opinion I value and respect go and inspect the mares and my four yearlings and weanling at Galtee Farm. They are all in good shape and well looked after. I will continue to board there.

[ratherrapid]

worksoplad, you omitted one detail. how did the mare get in this condition?

[citabria]

worksoplad, you omitted one detail. how did the mare get in this condition?

The owner of the horses is sending me photo's of more mares that were kept at Galtee Farm. The photographs include those taken at the time of sale, or used for the sale immediatly before they were shipped to Galtee and photographs of when the horses were picked up at Galtee.

One can hardly recognize that these are the same horses. I will post them when they have downloaded. ALL photographs were taken on Galtee managed property. I have been led to believe that the chestnut mare photographed below IS on Galtee property. Is that your property Mr. Gallagher?

I have been told that this mare arrived at Galtee in TB sale fitted condition JANUARY 28th, 2008!

Worksoplad, I cannot argue with your account and it actually comes as a relief that someone has something good to say. In the past 4 days you certainly are the first.

I give much weight to nationality because I am not involved in the race industry in the United States and have never been involved in the racing industry in the United States. So I am a little out of my depth and wanted some allowance for that.

Neither can I even start to debate or disagree with any events said to have happened when the horses were picked up. I wasn't there. I was not watching what was happening. I was on the cell phone listening to various conversations more than periodically.

But what happened - who said what - who did what is somewhat immaterial to the whole. WHY were these horses starved?

Your account seems to lack that information. Did Galtee not give a reason for this or was that a topic that was immaterial?


Mr. Gallagher, seeing as this has become an avenue for communication with you perhaps I should ask you this question directly.

Why were these horses starving?

[ratherrapid]

citabria, you very well could be the only person in this situation acting in good faith. from what ive read so far, i'm doubting the owner is. just a few spur of the moment questions that might help clear things up:

1. who in animal control have you talked to and exactly what did they tell you. names please.
2. does the owner have another farm in the area.
3. did the owner visit galtee "after" she commenced boarding mares there.
4. what contact, if any, did the owner have with galtee after boarding commenced.
5. was this a boarding contract, or, as hinted above, did the owner in fact lease part of galtee.
6. is the owner alleging that other horses at galtee are in the same condition as her stock.
7. if the owners were absentee owners, where were they?
8. have you or anyone you know spoken with Galtee reps, and what is their side of the story.
9. where are the horses now, and who is paying for their care.

i once had a mare returned to me terrible condition--the University of Ill Urbana vet school no less--an employee initially alerted me to the problem. Thereafter the head vet, a lady, claimed i'd brought the horse to the Vet School inthat condition. my experience had me plenty frosted at the time. I've also in just one year in lexington ran into two large sets of neglected horses. but, more facts please, and maybe something can be done about whoever is responsible.

[citabria]

Double post.

[citabria]

1. who in animal control have you talked to and exactly what did they tell you. names please.

I didn't speak to the animal control individual. I was only witness to the conversations I heard over the cell phone, and to be very honest it was quietly chaotic. If I say chaos it would sound like there was a lot of shouting or hysterics. There wasn't. But there was a lot of confusion, a lot of stress, and a lot of sadness that these horses had been found in such condition.

2. does the owner have another farm in the area.


Yes, the horses were relocated to another facility.


3. did the owner visit galtee "after" she commenced boarding mares there.


I don't have that information. I was told that the horses were rugged and the owner didn't realize that the horses were in this condition until a blanket was removed.

4. what contact, if any, did the owner have with galtee after boarding commenced.

5. was this a boarding contract, or, as hinted above, did the owner in fact lease part of galtee.


7. if the owners were absentee owners, where were they?

The owner was in another state. In the southwest. All of the other questions are based upon all information I am not well versed in and my ignorance has to be taken into account.

8. have you or anyone you know spoken with Galtee reps, and what is their side of the story.

No. When this first happened my opinion was, "Get your horses relocated and just think yourself blessed." But after the first photograph hit my desk, which happened to be the bay mare on page one, and I was given an account ( told through the owner ) that this had happened before, I directly phoned a friend to do a check on Galtee.

That phone call led me to a past client's and I was getting the same story, or stories that were simply horrendous. Not always starving - but some pretty extreme situations.

Had there been some deviation in past clients experiences. Had one past client said one thing, and one a totally different thing. Or had this situation not involved starving horses, but had just been a disagreement or altercation I believe I would have, as the cowboys say, "pulled in my horns" and put it down to what we all know can be singular incidents in the horse industry.
No-one can please everyone. Not Galtee, not myself, not anyone else. Some clients cannot be pleased.

I would have welcomed that - sincerely - for I am too busy for nonsense.

But that didn't happen. I was really getting engulfed in some of the saddest accounts I have ever heard and you really start feeling for these people who have gone through some shocking experiences. At that point I posted to seek out those who would have the courage to stand up and speak out, and question why this is being allowed without objected. I wanted facts - documented facts.

There was really no point in speaking with Galtee to ask for their side of the story.

1) I honestly didn't believe that I would get a straight answer, or a response that actually answered the one question I wanted answering. "Why are these horses starving?"
The bay mare in the first photo is in deplorable shape.. the chestnut mare shown on Galtee property is 30 days behind her, in better shape.. but this is still beyond explanation. This is criminal.

2) ) I didn't want to get caught up in chaff. He said, she said. Things that have nothing at all to do with animals being neglected or abused.

And the answer from Mr. Gallagher sent through worksoplad has more or less verified it. ( Even though I do believe that worksoplad is being honest and honorable when she gives her personal experience. ) Why did he not give an account as to why these horses are starving? That, after all, is the wheat. Everything else is chaff.

I don't care if you have the lousiest client on the face of the earth, and quite truthfully I have had my fair share, some of whom I had to advice to sell their horses and take up gardening or knitting or something useful.

You don't starve, neglect or abuse horses. For any reason.



6. is the owner alleging that other horses at galtee are in the same condition as her stock.

No, but we don't speak on a regular basis, and I have been run off my feet trying to work and try to figure out what on earth is going on here.

9. where are the horses now, and who is paying for their care.

They are, to the best of my knowledge, at another farm and the owner is still paying the board bill.

When I was a working student at The Poplars, before I went to North Aston Manor in Oxforshire, we had the 14.2 Pony of the Year, "Supersonic." Once one of the highest valued ponies in Great Britain he sold for an unbelievable amount - and the new owners starved him. After a nationwide search he was found in a back garden - purchased by the Cone Vale Chemical & Dye works who owned The Poplars, then went back to win everything in sight.

I don't care if it's a $200 nag, or Horse of the Year.. you don't starve them. And the horse industry, and those within it, shouldn't stand by and watch silently.

[LB]

I've been reading this thread from the beginning, hoping, I guess for enlightenment as I find much of it perplexing. I live near Midway but I know nothing about Galtee Farm, or its owner, or who its supposed heavyweight connections are that would be able to indemnify it even in the face of bad behavior. I do find the TB world to be rather insular and protective of its own--but not, in my experience, in the case of equine abuse, something that all horsemen find reprehensible.

What perplexes me the most, I guess, is the role of the mares' absentee owner in this scenario. How did that person find this farm and choose it as a suitable place to entrust her mares to? Did she ever visit the farm, either before or after the mares arrived? Why was the abuse allowed to continue for months before anyone noticed something was wrong?

Bottom line, each of us is ultimately responsible for the horses we own. It's up to us to ensure that they receive good care--and clearly, for whatever reason, this owner dropped the ball. I've read that she was far away, but I don't see how that constitutes an excuse. At the moment I have 18 horses spread out across the country from South Carolina to Kentucky to California. I know exactly where each one is, exactly who is caring for it, and exactly what it looks like. It's not that hard to keep track if something is important to you.

I'm not trying to excuse the farm for their role in what took place, but I would like to hear the other side of the story. It seems to me that there are a few holes in the version we've been given.

[citabria]

The owner of these horses have blamed themselves more than once for not being vigilant.

To the best of my knowledge this is the first venture into the professional racing industry alone - and that may have only started a few months ago.

I was liquidating TB breeding stock from another TB farm at the time and I believe they bought the first two TB's broodmares through myself - which is how I became acquainted with them on a professional level.

They have a lot of head knowledge, a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of desire. And the finances to have a first class facility. The finances to have one of the best facilities in North America. But they are, as individuals, new to the TB industry.

That can make one very vulnerable. very naive and very trusting.

Not an excuse, but a reason for the belief that everything is alright and one can entrust an individual with your breeding stock. Certainly the management under the family TB business, directed by the father, was outstanding, and I am aware that the owner of the horses we are discussing was a partner in some of these horses.

Likewise the owner's horses are spread across the USA. Galtee only had a percentage - I think 30 to 50 horses - not them all. Some are at large facilities in other states. All are under fantastic management - in the peak of health. And there is no problems with the relationship between owner and managers.

I cannot defend the owner. I have never even attempted to defend the owner.

I only hope that this has been a lesson learned and taken to heart. I know that they are distraught with grief over the pain and suffering caused to the horses.

My priority and sole focus is on horses who were not fed, and the business as usual reaction as hungry horses are transported away under "rescue" circumstances.

[citabria]

I have a farm in Midway and can confirm that horses were taken from a farm across from Midway College because they were starving and standing in dirt lots. Close acquaintances of mine did some of the transporting and saw the horses firsthand. Galtee is in that location and the details of the story match though I did not ask the farm name.

As an aside, if no attempt was made to remove the hip numbers, it would be quite reasonable to see them on in that condition if the horse was bought this year.

ratherrapid, I don't know how far you are from Branson. My youngest daughter, who is in her 30's, lives right outside of Branson.

Guilty as charged?

What are the locals saying?

[ratherrapid]

branson is in a bumpy part of mo quite far from kc, but, we know it well. second home to andy williams, dolly parton and the baldknobbers.

as far as the galtee situation, since youre owners are hardly horse novices, even though they're new to racing, i might want to get completely to the bottom of thit story before jumping off any balconies...but, its a bit of a relief given that one gruesome photo you posted, that these people have money, and surely putting galtee out of business at this point is merely a matter of law and lawyers, provided you indeed have the evidence you say you do. i'd think the size of your client's operation and 30 horses standing in a muddy field without care might also get the attention of the local prosecutors. what happened can hardly be a good thing for midway or the horse industry in KY.

[citabria]

I can honestly say that MY intention is not to try and put anyone out of business. Nor is it to give Midway, Kentucky or the racing industry a black eye. I truly know that there are some wonderful people there.

And neither is the owner of these horses my client. Two horses were purchased through me some months ago. Both of those horses are now in California. My client was the TB Farm both mares came from.

I am not in employment. I have never been given funds from this owner for anything.

We are going into a recession, perhaps even a depression. The prices of horses is dropping faster than the Titanic. Nationwide horses are in jeopardy as people try to sell, send them to Old Mexico for slaughter, give them given away, adopt them out, give them to rescue's, let the poor buggers free to fend for themselves or try to plod along fighting rising prices.

Here we have a group of horses whose owner paid $130,000 to one facility to feed them - and they were starved.

There are enough hungry horses in this world without making them hungry needlessly.

I am trying to stop this kind of blatant abuse and neglect and try to make people stop turning a blind eye. "Whom you are" should not give you carte' blanche freedom to do this. The good old boy system just cannot keep protecting people.

My daughter telephoned me two weeks ago and said, "Mum you have to see this horse"... and I knew what was coming. Minutes later a photograph of a starving Belgium landed in my e-mail. I asked what the story was. The owner lost his job - couldn't sell the mare, couldn't give her away. I asked my daughter to offer the chap some money for the mare, and I would wire the money. That day we became a proud owner of a starving Belgium.

Now I have never owned a draft horse before in my life, but I wasn't going to watch this poor mare go hungry - and I wasn't going to take advantage of a person who was clearly having difficulties.
Nor could I raise cain about a starving horse. The entire family was hungry.

A whole different situation than watching horses starve while the manager of those horses cruises around in a bloody Mercedes and banks a bunch of money that was intended to cover adequate feed.
Cheeky bugger.

I must be very confident in the facts I have, and the proof there is. If not I would have deleted all posts and gone into a corner with my tail betwixt my legs. If I read rightly this chap has threatened to sue me for libel. I seem not to be going away.
That should silently speak volumes. And "gag" orders on British women are a waste of time.


You know what I would like? I would like it not to happen again. I would like to know that if someone see's a starving horse on this property they pick up the phone and call the Kentucky state vet. I would like some consequences because consequences make people stop doing what is reprehensible. We have laws. We should have moral fortitude and conscience but for those who don't have either, we have laws - and you can't starve horses this way.

That is all I would like.

And I will jump off a whole lot of bridges to make that happen. I won't stop.

I am looking for a lower priced wagon or surrey. Should you hear of one I would appreciate a note. My daughter seems to have an Amish bred and trained Belgium and having persuaded her that, no, it will not make a competitive dressage horse no matter how much training she invests in it, I need to get the horse in harness before she tries.
Something waterproof. Her home is adjacent to Bull Sholes Lake and I know that the horse can swim but I'm not too sure about a buggy.

[xfactor fan]

Where does the surry/wagon need to be located? There is a huge Draft Horse/horse drawn vehicle auction this month in Sisters Oregon. Put on by the Small Farm Journal.

Farmer's Journal Horsedrawn Equipment Auction — Friday-Sunday, April 18-20, 2008
The Small Farmer’s Journal DRAFT HORSE & HORSEDRAWN EQUIPMENT AUCTION and SWAP MEET held at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds combines a huge auction, a vibrant jam-packed swap meet, and educational demonstrations. This is the biggest event of its type anywhere. Contact: Kathy or A.J., 541.549.2064 or 1.800.876.2893, e-mail [email protected].

[ratherrapid]

citabria--since we'd hope that most of this board would be of the same mind that you've expressed, i'd still worry that unless you provide us with specifics what you fear from Galtee WILL happen again. think we'd all like that prevented, if possible, for that one mare looks to be in gruesome condition.

thus, are we to believe this mare was deliberately or intentionally starved at Galtee? Possibly the first step in prevention is verification. There is nothing in these posts other than bare assertion that more than one mare was in this condition. Thus, is this owner claiming that her whole herd was in this shape, or did she only send you the worst photo? While it's hardly an excuse for Galtee, the condition of that mare might be explained that she was simply the bottom feeder in a field, unable to get to the hay.

So, if anyone else is still interested in this story, i'd like to know--was it the whole herd, or just 2 horses. I'd also think that prior to commencing any crusade against a breeding farm, where this lack of care would be utterly implausible, that to fail to get their side of the story is irresponsible. If they are guilty, expect them to distort, but there might be information out there that this is mostly a misperception. perhaps they admit one mare slipping through the cracks of their care. it's all unknown at present.

if you care to share the info, myself certainly, will continue to be interested in this.

[foothillsequine]

I too, have been following this query. While I understand everyone's reticence about placing blame, I do not understand the rationale behind it. The thoroughbred industry supplies us with many things including cash (and debts )! With that said, I must now get on my pulpit and declare that any horse who winds up in the deplorable condition pictured deserves far better than that. Through no fault of their own, they are placed in circumstances into which they have no control. If we, as providers/caretakers for them cannot treat them any better, we do not deserve to have them. Whilst I cannot entirely place blame on any one organization, I do not believe we should turn a blind eye to this. I applaud citabria for bringing this to the forefront, and it is too bad that more people do not speak up in defense of these beautiful horses. Picture the wonderful foals on the foal watch link and then picture them winding up like the girls shown. I, for one, think it is reprehensible, and we err in not providing the appropriate care. Horses are not cheap, they have minds and personality quirks that we all adore (most of the time), therefore, the onus is on us to ensure they are well cared for. Yes, business folks think they are a commodity, as do I, however, one must also understand that in order to obtain a return on your investment, you must also nurture that investment to obtain fruition. That applies to owning or boarding...
I will get off my pulpit now, I do not intend to offend anyone, but I, for one, am very tired and sickened of reading about abandoned and starving horses.
I will also take the $130,000.00, the horses AND provide them with exemplary care!