The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

On a hot and humid day in early September, 2014, I accompanied Inspector Percy Grant of the Bahamas Humane Society to see the horses at BASH, which he had seen a few days before and found them badly cared for. As Chairman of the BHS Horse Committee and having considerable horse experience, I was asked to assess the situation.

We found five horses stabled in wet, damp stalls. They had daily access to roam the property and the bush in search of food, which was inadequate. Three were severely underweight, the other two slightly better as they appeared to be of a different, tougher breed better able to cope.

The property was littered with old, rusty, broken bits of equipment. The roof of the stable was leaking and the mangers were disgusting pieces of wood. The building itself was dilapidated and live wires could be seen exposed in many places. An accident waiting to happen.

The man in charge of the horses listened to our concerns and advice, seeming eager to improve the care he was giving them. Aware that the food was not enough, he said he could only give them what Terry Miller provided. I asked what that was and was shown a typed paper, laying out the feeding schedule ... it included a large quantity of wonder bread, a cheap but totally unsuitable filler. We discussed a better diet, the importance of feeding horses regularly, several times a day ... as grazing animals, I explained that they needed to have something in their stomachs to prevent ulcers and other digestive problems.

Several cases of thrush were noticed in their feet due to the wet, urine-soaked stable floors. Treatment for this was also discussed and remedies provided.

A week later, we were shocked to find that none of my suggestions had been implemented, only the removal of wonder bread from their diet but without the recommended increase in hay. This time Mr Miller was there. I went over the same ground, discussing a better diet, trying to make them see the reason for increasing the hay, explaining the urgent need for the roof to be fixed to keep the stalls dry and prevent further hoof rot from severely damaging their feet. Mr Miller listened attentively.

After I left, I wrote Mr Miller an explicit email, telling him that his horses were starving and what he had to feed them in order to bring them back to a decent weight if he wanted to be able to use them ever again for rides. His response was to say how offensive he had found my remarks, and no, his horses were certainly not starving. I sent him a video link showing the correct weight for a healthy horse, and each of his horses were far skinnier that the “thin” horse in the video.

I discovered two turtles being kept in a shallow tub full of dirty water and no shelter from the hot sun, as well as some rabbits in a filthy hutch, with the water bottle in full sunlight, and the water inside boiling hot. Nobody at BASH seemed to know exactly who was responsible for looking after these other animals. I shared the carrots I had brought for the horses with the rabbits, and they ate them enthusiastically. Luckily, after a few more visits and constant complaining, they released the turtles in a nearby pond.

The rabbits were moved into the shade and divided into two hutches but they see no daylight and are still kept in unclean and dismal conditions despite my repeated requests that they have a bigger, better run built for them.

Over the next few months, we had farriers in to deal with the problems with the horses’ feet, especially poor Martini. Again, the urgent need for clean, dry stables was emphasised along with more hay and better quality feed. It was suggested to Mr Miller that if he could not afford the horses he should let them go to people who could, but he replied that they were his family and he loved them like his children. We continued to persevere, but against ever increasing odds as there was there was now no qualified person looking after them.

There was often nobody around when we arrived. Sometimes the horses were in their stalls and, at other times, wandering around amongst the broken machines. No effort seemed to be made to clean the place or finish the repairs to the leaking stable roof.

I brought the situation to the attention of Government officials. In January, 2015, Dr Springer, accompanied by other officials, went to BASH and spoke with Mr Miller, after which they recommended giving him more time to sort things out. So more time he got, while the horses continued to be neglected.

Again, I brought the matter to the attention of the government authorities and showed them recent photographs. They were shocked and said it was terrible. Another visit was scheduled. But once again, no action was taken by them.

The issue was further complicated by the fact that the horses were subject to a legal ownership dispute. Earlier this year, there was significant deterioration in some of the horses and we were able to get two veterinarians to write a report, on the basis of which we were able to lodge a formal complaint to the police and get them removed from Mr Miller and BASH on April 18.

It was a sad and sorry saga but at least the surviving horses are now resting comfortably.

PATRICIA LEIGH-WOOD

Chairman, Bahamas Humane Society Horse Committee

April 25, 2016