Regalian, a chestnut Thoroughbred mare from Milton, Fla. is missing from a foster facility, and her former owner Stacy Ferris wants to know where her horse has gone. After all Stacy had trusted Pattie Schweikert in Feb. 2012 to care for Regalian under an alleged satellite foster facility for a Georgia based horse rescue with the understanding that Regalian would be re-homed with a protective adoption contract. Schweikert agreed and had solicited and received both financial donations and supplies during the time she cared for the horse. Sadly, that allegedly seemed to be where her interest in Regalian ended.
Stacy had no reason to believe Regalian wasn't being offered for adoption as agreed with a required protective contract; that is until a witness came forward and stated the horse, along with a few other horses had disappeared and had been sold after having been advertised on Craig's List. Regalian was gone and had supposedly been sold again at an Alabama auction. There are no records of Regalian having been sold; she most likely passed through the auction ring as a grade horse with no one checking her Jockey Club lip tattoo.
By November, Stacy was devastated as she valiantly tried to follow every lead, but the dead ends and her frustration level finally hit a plateau. She then filed a report with Netposse about her missing horse.
Thoroughbred racing is the oldest and one of the most beautiful sports in America, yet statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture show through Nov. 2012, 157,000 horses of all breeds having been transported to Canada and Mexico where they were inhumanely slaughtered for their meat and used for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Approximately 17 percent of American horses slaughtered are Thoroughbreds.
Horses are purchased by kill buyers (middlemen who buy horses from auctions, private individuals, online advertisements, and sell to horse slaughter plants), but kill buyers don't always tell you what their intentions are; many will promise an owner their horse will be given to a deserving child, retired in a pastoral paradise with other horses, or used as a light riding pleasure horse. Instead, the horse is crammed onto a truck and killed in a slaughter house.
"Even the most experienced owner can be scammed as I was. I made many mistakes and the major one was trusting this individual," stated Stacy. I want to help another person and prevent this from happening to them. Here are my suggestions:
- Ask questions about their background with horses -feed, hay, farrier.
- Ask for references and check each one.
- Do a site check of the facilities. What will they do if the horse isn't working out for them at that barn?
- Have them sign a contract.
- Always go by your 'gut' feeling. If it doesn't feel right, then it probably isn't the place for your horse.
- Be vigilant on following up and checking. If something seems off in communications, don't ignore the signs. Find someone to visit the facility, and check on your horse.
- If someone claims to be fostering for a reputable rescue, call that rescue and get it in writing from them before your horse leaves. Don't assume that the phone call that tells you 'yes' they do - that they will keep their word later on.
Regalian has been a part of the community through social networking, and everyone is doing their part to find her and get answers to soothe my aching heart."
In a bittersweet reminder of Regalian is her last foal who has been named Regalian's Revenge. Now just turning two-years-old, she is pursuing a career as a race horse. Stacy hopes with all of her heart that Regalian's Revenge makes a name for herself in honor of her mother who will never be forgotten.
Regalian is a 13 year-old, 15 hands Thoroughbred. Her Jockey Club tattoo # is C17345 Please look at her photographs and keep her in mind. Let's help this horse find her way home to Stacy.
A $2,500 reward has been offered for information about Regalian. Please contact Stacy at myheartsezyes.msn.com or call (352)-425-1038.
For more information about horse slaughter and how you can help protect our American domestic and wild horses, read more from the Equine Welfare Alliance by clicking here.
If you would like to continue receiving the latest news on pet issues and how we can help those who cannot speak, please click the "Subscribe" icon.
Follow the National Pet Rescue Examiner on Facebook by clicking here. Please visit and "like" my page. You are welcome to submit story ideas by contacting me at cdhanna9703@aol.com.
Comments