Another Black Eye for the TB Industry

[Linda_d]

Here's an article on a prominent NY TB breeder who seems to be a real scum ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/sports/othersports/04horses.html?_r=1&8dpc

If this farm boards mares, and I had one there, I think I'd get her out of there yesterday!

[ageecee]

Dont blame him until you know all the facts. Ernie is blaming the van driver and the van driver is blaming Ernie. So who are you going to believe? if Ernie is at fault then no doubt blast away at him but for now we dont know all the facts.

[ageecee]

Article is now at drf.com.



The van driver has come out and said he was going to take the horses to Florida but then sold them at a slaughter house for $680 because he said the horses were underweight. Sounds to me like the driver needed some money.

So there you go Paragello did not sell these horses at slaughter.

[Linda_d]

They came off his farm, however, in obviously poor condition, and that's what is far more troubling than that the van driver took them to the slaughter pen. What kind of operation is he running if some of these horses aren't being fed or cared for? What kind of supervision is being done?

What's also troubling is that Paragello couldn't remember the last name -- or just about anything else -- about the person in Florida that he claimed he gave the horses to.

[springboro]

Linda D, you just LOVE to stir the rescue pot, don't you. In your mind you've already convicted this guy. Why don't you let us all for our own opinions, and keep this for the HORSES in NEED threads.

Like it or not, old race horses are going to end up in various ways. Why don't you keep this in a place where people who like discussing that topic can find it.

[Linda_d]

Linda D, you just LOVE to stir the rescue pot, don't you. In your mind you've already convicted this guy. Why don't you let us all for our own opinions, and keep this for the HORSES in NEED threads.

Like it or not, old race horses are going to end up in various ways. Why don't you keep this in a place where people who like discussing that topic can find it.

I hardly "just LOVE to stir the rescue pot". I've never done that except in the case of the woman who was convicted of animal abuse when she was supposed to be running a TB breeding farm. I was raised on a farm in upstate New York, and I'm well aware of what happens to farm animals that are no longer useful. There's no excuse, however, to starve those animals before disposing of them.

As I stated in my previous post, that these horses ended up in a kill pen is totally separate from the issue that they were picked up from Paragello's farm in deplorable condition, and that's my issue with the guy, particularly when he claims to not remember any identifying details about the person in Florida he supposedly gave these horses to. If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. The only "bad guys" in the TB industry aren't always pinhookers or trainers or owners looking to make money. Sometimes they're breeders, too, especially when they mistreat their horses.

If you don't wish to read the topic, you can always skip it.

[Shannon]

I'm curious as to why nothing has been said about a visit to the farm to check on the remaining animals there. If these 24 were in such horrible shape, due to lack of feed and care, what do the rest look like?

Having worked for several large TB operations overseas, I can see how this happens. A boss trusts someone in charge, who deleagtes to other people to carry out the orders. The second in command trusts the people he has delegated to and usually doesn`t feel the need, or have the time, to follow up after. In a perfect world, it works. In reality, when an operation gets so big, and so spread out (stallions, mares, racing stock, located all over the country), something is bound to fail.

The sick reality, as was already mentioned, is this may just be the beginning. If he`s ill, and horse poor with 300+ horses to move, my guess would be this isn`t an isolated event. Its a sad reality of todays econimics, but the kill pens are not going to empty for a long time to come.


Does anyone know where the farm is or heard if SPCA has gone there.

[trackgal]

I'm with Linda..IT"S A DUCK!

[zinn21]

I haven't heard anything that verifies that the horses were picked up from Paregello's in poor condition. I would hold judgement until that fact is known for certain.

[springboro]

I'm with Linda..IT"S A DUCK!

oh goodie..... the usual cast of slaughter characters start to make their woeful appearances.

I'm out.... don't look for me to participate in this thread.

[trackgal]

You know what? It is a great thing when stories like this come out, because maybe, just maybe some of these breeder's will think twice about how many mares they breed, and the kill pens won't be so full.

I had to laugh when I read that article "Oh, we don't check on the mares everyday,,and we can't get round bales here in N.Y. anymore" SO, BUY SQUARE BALES. if you can't afford to feed them..DON"T HAVE THEM..DUH!

[Linda_d]

I haven't heard anything that verifies that the horses were picked up from Paregello's in poor condition. I would hold judgement until that fact is known for certain.

There are different accounts apparently. The one in the NY Times seems to indicate that the horses came from Paragello's farm, but the one by the AP in the Albany Times Union wasn't clear about that. It seemed to hint that the horses were elsewhere for four months ... but they definitely never made it to Florida or where ever the mysterious unnamed recipient of these horses was supposed to be. On the other hand, why would the van driver call Paragello and not the mares' new owner? Wouldn't the new owner be the one paying the transport bill? There are a lot of questions that need answering.

Again, if I had a mare or mares at this farm for boarding or breeding, I would personally go there and make sure she/they was/were receiving proper care, and I'd be prepared to remove my horse(s) immediately if everything wasn't satisfactory. Something's just not right with this.

[Linda_d]

You know what? It is a great thing when stories like this come out, because maybe, just maybe some of these breeder's will think twice about how many mares they breed, and the kill pens won't be so full.

I had to laugh when I read that article "Oh, we don't check on the mares everyday,,and we can't get round bales here in N.Y. anymore" SO, BUY SQUARE BALES. if you can't afford to feed them..DON"T HAVE THEM..DUH!

Ummm ... that's simply not true. Perhaps they should look further west. I'm sure they can find round bales in the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys. That's all dairy country, and most dairy farms in NY converted to round bales years ago.

[Tairaterces]

?????? Underweight = Deplorable condition ???????????????????

[Linda_d]

?????? Underweight = Deplorable condition ???????????????????

I believe that the mares were called that in the articles. They were apparently in too poor condition to be sold to the packers. That's a bit beyond "underweight" by several hundred pounds apparently.