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Stolen Horse International, Inc.
PO Box 1341
Shelby, NC 28151
(704) 484-2165
stolenhorse@netposse.com
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No one would dare invade our privacy ...but we were wrong.
We have been on netposse for a few years and have helped with placing posters of missing horses at our feed store, vet office and sale barns. We lived in a fantasy world thinking this would not happen to us. Our horse pasture is on a back road away from traffic with locked gates. No one would dare invade our privacy ...but we were wrong.
This morning we went to our mare pasture and the girls were waiting, much like every morning. My husband trails the creep feed in a long line while I inspect each mare's condition while counting ... 23, 24, 25 ... where was 26? I counted again and again. My husband also counted - one was missing. We did a quick mental inventory and determined that Goldaana was not present. Goldaana is a beautiful, friendly, eight year old chestnut mare with flaxen mane/tail and high stockings. She is elegant and an eye-catcher.
Immediately, we walked the 40 acres, searching for signs of Goldaana, calling her name and whistling. She was nowhere. We went to the home of the property owner who was out of town for the weekend. We help care for his horses when he is away. We found the tire tracks - through his front gate, passing within 40 feet of his garage, through a paddock gate and to the back gate for our mare
pasture, tire tracks for trucks and trailers. I drove home to notify authorities while my husband began knocking on neighbors' doors. What did anyone see or hear?
The nearest neighbor had heard dogs barking and horses running at midnight. She got up to find the cause of the commotion and turned on her yard light. This action scared the thieves into leaving, but not before their dogs had chased Goldaana over a fence.
I came home and called the local store to alert neighbors all around. The small store is the information center for our town, population 62. I called the sheriff to send a deputy. Then I got on the internet. Goldaana's markings are easily called up on the Arabian Horse Registry's Datasource, giving me a clean copy for a poster. I regularly take photos of all of our horses for identification purposes. I had a good posing shot of her at a recent horse show and one of her grazing in our pasture. The photos would identify her standing or grazing. Quickly I made a poster. Then I reported her missing to netposse, texasriders, crabbetallianceoftexas and palominohorses - yahoo listgroups where folks would need to know that she was missing.
While I was working, the phone began to ring. Neighbors had seen the trucks and trailers. Now the search was on. Soon, a neighbor with a large ranch near our pasture called - Goldaana was amongst his Brahma cows, grazing calmly. Thank the Lord!
My husband crossed two fences (five-strand wire) to get to her. She came when he whistled. They walked through the gates home. As I was standing in the pasture watching them come, my cell phone rang. It was Debi with netposse. I was so glad to be able to give her good news!
The sheriff's deputy arrived and we filed a report. It seems that horses have been stolen recently in three areas surrounding us. There are three horse sales coming up in our area in the next 7 days. Plus, First Monday is this coming weekend- a traders day mecca in Canton with acres and acres of livestock for sale or trade. These are avenues for horse thieves to sell their loot. Thankfully, the neighboring lady scared the thieves away with her night watch.
Our friend, the property owner, came home and there are locks on every gate now - not just the roadside gate. The neighbors are alerted to help us watch for any suspicious activity. We are now very aware that it could happen to us - the nightmare of horse thievery is possible.
Goldaana's picture is attached. She is freezemarked - making her identification possible which is so important. We are so grateful that she is safe.
Thank you so much for caring!
Happy trails
Carrie Anne
Carrie A. Lewis
Honey Creek Farms Est. 1987
Prairieville, Texas
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