Tennessee: Starving Horses Only a Misdemeanor

"He bought the horses at an auction, but they were way too much for him to take care of," said Humane Society representative Jordan Crump of Charles Howland, who along with his son Clint, let 84 horses starve on his Cannon County farm in Tennessee. The Cannon County Sheriff's Department and Humane Society volunteers rescued the the horses, along with goats, dogs, and chickens. According to http://humanesociety.org/, "When rescuers arrived on the property, they found many Tennessee Walking Horses and Spotted Saddle Horses, as well as quarter horses. Tennessee Walking Horses and Spotted Saddle Horses are two breeds that commonly suffer from soring, an abusive practice that involves the intentional infliction of pain to a horse's legs or hooves in order to force an artificial, exaggerated gait. Many of the horses were extremely emaciated and suffering from a variety of medical ailments including overgrown, infected hooves and parasite infestation. Rescuers also found several dead horses on the scene." See slide show at http://www.wsmv.com/slideshow/news/21711849/detail.html.

The animals were transported to the State Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, where many stalls were available. The good news is that as of December 1, the horses are doing much better. Thanksgiving Day drew a lot of sympathizers who brought hay for the horses and food for the valiant workers.

Out of this near-disaster emerged a frustrating problem with Tennessee law. The Howlands, charged with animal cruelty, will never go to jail. But, you protest, there are 84 counts of animal cruelty against both men. It doesn't matter. Cruelty to horses is only a MISDEMEANOR. Maybe they will be fined $2500. You understand that if horses are considered livestock and livestock can be used as a business expense, the farmer can have a large tax break. Incredibly, the Farm Bureau said that this law is working. But of course in the minds of all rational people, it isn't working, when two men can try to starve 84 horses to death so they don't have to feed them. Note that Rep. Janis Sontany is working to get horse cruelty declared a felony. See http://www.wsmv.com/news/21740874/detail.html.

For a video whose images speak volumes about what these animals have suffered, go to http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/912080346.

Drugging Race Horses

The great fun of writing a second book about a woman I know well (actually, I created Connie Holt), is giving her new challenges. Never a dull life for her. The new things are rife: new danger; a couple of new puzzles to solve, one about villains, one about a man she knew previously; a new task involving art, and a new change in her personal life. And all in a new novel, as of now called Painted Stallion. It has been accepted by Bedside Books for publication. (I'm just starting the editing phase and have no date yet when the novel will be out.)

This time, Connie's main preoccupation is about the drugging of steeplechase horses--an ongoing problem in all of horse racing. Connie has her hands full when she and her boss, Cary McCutcheon, stumble on a plot to drug Cary's magnificent Thoroughbred entry in the International Gold Cup. The horse's name is Darkling Lord. Trouble is, the two have little information to help them catch the perpetrators. The investigation is grueling and frustrating. But there is more. On the private side, Connie's friend Earlene Collins, breeder of Arabians, has found what looks like an original Henry Stull equine painting in the attic of her early 1800's house. Busy with her new mares, Earlene asks Connie to find an art expert to validate the painting. Connie's trip to Colorado to meet the expert has results no one could have been predicted; as a result, her personal life, in tatters at the beginning of the book, changes radically.

The Mustangs of Las Colinas

I'm fond of sculpted horses, and have looked for them all my life as I travel, whether here in the United States or in Europe. Visiting Texas a few years back, I saw what is advertised as the world's largest equestrian sculpture. In the Las Colinas section of Irving, there is an elegant, modern complex of copper-roofed, granite office buildings. They border, on three sides, a plaza of pink granite. Across the plaza runs a stream of water.

As you approach the plaza, you are startled and then delighted to see a group of nine bronze mustangs--a young stallion, five mares, two colts, and an older stallion who is clearly in control of his band. The mustangs are stunning, one and a half times life size. They are all in motion, and are approaching the stream, in the stream, or on their way out of the stream. The water is powered by an ingenious pumping system that produces realistic splashing around the hooves of the horses "running through" the water. The horses were modeled by the eminent sculptor Robert Glen. Glen's keen visual acuity enabled him to see--and model accordingly--how the mustangs must have looked in motion. Most important, I believe, Glen caught the mustangs' essence: they are joyous, exuberant, powerful, and free.

If you can, go to Irving and see the mustangs. You'll never forget them.

Find more pictures at my web site (http://www.mmfisher.com/).

And read more about how this magnificent project was completed at http://www.mustangsoflascolinas.com/History.html.