When a report is filed with Stolen Horse International (SHI), aka NetPosse.com, volunteers will step in and work with you throughout the difficult process of searching for the horse. And while there are many horses listed on the site as still missing, we do not ever quit until the horse is found. On the flip side, many do not think about what truly happens when a horse is located. There is a widespread assumption that you take a trailer and pick up the horse, and life goes on.

However, a lot can change in a year or five years from the time a horse is stolen. People move, get divorced, lose income or have other life factors that might influence the outcome of a missing horse case.

When NetPosse receives a call that a horse has been located and the owner has a legal right to retrieve that horse, the first thing we usually tell that person is, "Go get your horse." PERIOD. Anything else can be worked out after the horse is back in your possession. Of course, each case is handled individually, and this advice might not always apply.

The article contains stories from victims who listed their horses with NetPosse. Cheyenne's story is a criminal case; Halo's is a civil dispute; and Sundance's began as civil but then was upgraded to stolen. From every story something can be learned, and we relay these stories in the hope that they will help give other victims hope and possibly a few answers.

Debi and Harold Metcalfe walk Idaho down the same road thieves led her down 10 years ago. Because of their dedication to helping victims, you do not have to travel this journey alone.