SSPCA- siezed Horses, can anyone help

Hi , I'm new to all this forum stuff but finally managed to click on this !
Really upset SSPCA arrived last night , smirking very amused at siezing two beautiful Thoroughbreds who had just returned from a common ride . The stables are very well kept , lovely big green paddocks . They initially said they were underweight, then they changed their reason for taking them claiming they had a heart murmur.
The horses own Vet was called and she felt they may have just had a murmur due to big ride out .
A couple of weeks ago the SSPCA had come out on a routine check, and checked all horses and gave them all a clean bill of health !
My daughter and all the other people young and old who were at the stables were extremely distressed, many witnesses as these animals were well loved and well attended to in beautiful surroundings . Its an outrage , seems no different from someone knocking on your door and snatching your child ...
We dont know what to do , they seemed to know they were above the law and could take healthy happy loved animals , and answer to no-one for it . Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Please see Photo below, I took it yesterday on the common ride about 2hrs before he was siezed and judge for yourself if you think hes neglected


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Nicola, welcome to the forum...and sorry to hear the depressing story. From the way you write, I take it these are not your own horses?
What I fail to understand is HOW they could take these horse if the horses' own vet was there and said she thought the heart murmur was simply the result of exercise? Or had the horses already been seized and 'removed to a place of safety' (as the RSPCA so amusingly describes their animal thefts)? Are the horses privately owned or part of a riding school set-up? Just wondered why they came and did a check a few weeks back...think they do that with pet shops/boarding kennels/catteries etc, businesses which involve animals.
It's common knowledge that many TB horse don't winter well...another couple of weeks on Spring grass and they fill out enormously.
Take a look at the Self-Help Group who have a lot of useful information for people who have fallen foul of these thugs...lawyers (if needed) vets who will stand up to the RSPCA/SSPCA. Why were they laughing and smirking for God's sake? What are they planning to do? A lot of expensive useless blood tests which they will then try to pin on the owners? Fatten them up and take some before and after pictures? Do you know where they were taken to? Even if you don't, the horses' own vet can go and see them...has to be allowed to... and examine them and assuming she gives them a clean bill of health, they will have to bring them back. There is a problem though that some vets will not stand up to the RSPCA as the RSPCA will then report them to the veterinary authorities. Did they have a police officer to 'seize' the animals and sign them over to the bandits? Did anyone see a warrant? legal requirements as far as I know.
Support from their own vet is the one most important thing in this case. I don't see that they can hold on to horses whose own vet judges them to be fit. Unfortunately, your picture didn't appear, but I totally believe what you say. The sad thing is, of course that while they are smirking and grinning, there will be animals living in dreadful conditions, abused and starved while they take away well-loved animals. Happens all the time.
Take a look at the SHG sticky on this forum, and get hold of them if you think it might be necessary. Never give out names of people (owners or inspectors) or horses etc.

Hello Nicola, welcome to our forum.
Sorry to hear about your predicament. I`ll send you a pm with my email address so that if you can send your photos to me and i`ll post them for you.
The details for the SHG are stickied at the top of the main page, please contact them and keep us informed of your progress.

Thankyou Trilbey

Ive got the ball rolling and I'm hopeful it'll be resolved soon . Thankyou for being there ,doing what you do in these very stressful times of a persons life. Can't believe how much I've learned in this last 24 hrs, and the people who've helped me understand what happened. Didn't know these charities where so utterly corrupt, operating outside the law and truly dreadful human beings . Time for some much needed sleep .
Thankyou again
Nicola

Nicola.
IF you are lucky enough to fund a quck resolution to your plight please, please, please do not let your guard down. You can bet your bum on it that they will be back so do not let them onto your property no matter what.

Actually, Nicola, Admin is dead right...we have a poster on this site who had a few horses taken, bad enough, then they came back a couple of months later and took more. I think in total they came three times. Put up a 'No Trespassing' sign so they know that YOU are expecting them. Once they have got their teeth into someone they are like a dog with a bone, getting every bit out of it.
I hope you are now getting over the shock of seeing them in action and can turn your attention and efforts to a) getting back the two they took, and b) making sure they take no more.

Anymore news Nicola?

Hi Nicola

How are things going? Would be lovely to hear from you or get an update.

The only good thing for this case is that the Scottish RSPCA always refer their cases to the CPS before prosecution. The CPS are much tougher on evidence etc so you have a better chance than us south of the border!

Has anyone heard any more from Nicola about the two TB geldings taken by the Mafia? I hope she is getting things moving and also to remind her that every day they are with the SSPCA they are costing megabucks. The first day I went to court, before I had been inside a courtroom, the Duty Solicitor (so-called) advised me that MY case ( one horse) 'had already cost £3000'. They will do every medical test possible to find something, anything, to win their case. Yet a friend of mine adopted a kitten from them and it was full of worms.

Hi, I'm one of the owners, we have had an independent vet give him a clean bill of health this was on the 9th May! He's still not been released!! This is theft! But police will not get involved! When we ask what's happening they say they havent had their vet report back thiers was done on 7th!! its now the 19th! We have a meeting with these thugs tomorrow but I doubt we will get anywhere with them. They are trying to pin something on us and it won't happen! It has now been 2 weeks! How can they get away with this! The evidence we have they will be very stupid to try go further with this!

Hello Sarah and welcome to the Forum, albeit in rather a sad set-up.

If an independent vet has given at least your horse a clean bill of health, then I cannot see what justification they have for keeping him; or for taking them both in the first place, come to think of it. It is common theft, yes, certainly, but the SS uniform stops them from being charged with theft. Do you know who called them out in the first place (just out of interest)? What about the other TB gelding? Has an idependent vet seen him? I did say to Nicola recently that they will be justifying their actions by doing every expensive test under the sun. After mine was stolen she was so stressed at being in a stable that she was crashing into the walls...oh, her eyesight has to be checked ...her eyesight was perfect, she never ever ran into the electric fencing like the others...she would stop on a sixpence... they also did a million bloodtests and all they came up with the fact that some blood cells were slightly, but ever so slightly less than they should be. Not that it would affect her. And she had to have expensive shoes despite not being ridden. And she actualy had decent feet for a TB. Their farrier charged exactly DOUBLE what any of the other farriers in the area charged. £70 for a pair...mine charged £70 for a full set. They also said her heart rate was 'elevated' but forgot to mention that five of them...Mafia, Police and World Horse Welfare...had been chasing her round the field to catch her. And just a word of warning, if WHW get involved, don't trust them as far as you can throw them either.

Well, Sarah, I know what I would do. I would write down everything that has happened to date...Go over it with the other owner, pool your wits together and get everything written down...take a notebook, or better still, a tape recorder so you don't miss anything (also they will know you mean business ). When the horses are brought back, which they surely must be if your vet has cleared yours anyway, I would contact all the papers, start with the bigger ones, not just little locals, try Private Eye too...they pride themselves on their investigative journalism. RSPCA absolutely hate people knowing what a corrupt bunch they are, bad publicity is what they dread. So make sure it's what they get.
May I also suggest you send a private message to Millie on this Forum...she has spent a lot of time reading the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and finding out what the RSPCA can and cannot do LEGALLY. We know that in practice they do what the hell they want. . She will give you good information as to the best way to deal with the matter legally.
I know this is not an 'interview under caution' tomoro, but don't answer any sly questions that they may slip in. Just say NO COMMENT if anything sounds suss. And do make notes, or tape the conversation, then get it all together and get an article together. Without divulging too much, you could put out some early 'feelers' now by emailing various papers with a very brief synopsis of your case...no names, either yours, the horses', the inspectors. Just a short outline of what has happened and whether they would be interested in a complete article. Then once the horses are back, go for it. By that time you might even have had a paper say yes, we'd like the full story. If it stops a few people leaving them their houses in their wills it will be worth it.

Well, good luck, I know Nicola was absolutely shell-shocked at what they did to you. What really infuriates me is the fact that while they are piss-arsing around like a bunch of fairies, stealing well-loved and cared-for pets, there are animals suffering which are in desperate need of help, and are not getting it because these shysters are wasting public donations by stealing the wrong ones.
I hope you get your horse back tomorrow. Do please keep us informed.

Has anyone heard anything more about the two horses grabbed by the SSPCA? It's been about a month since they were stolen and one had already been given a clean bill of health by an independent vet.

Hi there

We now have a campaign set up for one of the horses other owner does not wish to go public at this stage. The SSPC want to try charge both owners but solicitors reckon it will be thrown out very quickly they have little to no evidence. Here is the link [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I dont believe lack of evidence will cause this to be thrown out sorry - even with contradictory evidence by an reknowned vet was passed over by Judge in favour of a just qualified vet who admitted her diagnosis was poor.

Others here will also say same - you may have a good case but unless you have an established animal welfare lawyer the rest seem to think it a joke and an easy win which it certainly will not be

Sorry but thats experience not only of myself but others on this site and other forums. Dont think this ride will be an easy one

If the owner is only 15, can she be prosecuted? I am not sure how this one will be dealt with.

It's a really strange case...they came and looked at Humphrey (the horse in question) a few weeks prior to the final visit, then suddenly came back and stole him and a second gelding. You have to wonder who called them out to this lovely and obviously well cared-for animal?

Again i`d like to ask what effect the SHG is having on this or any other case.
Do they know the owner is 15?

Sarahsten2013 wrote:Hi there

We now have a campaign set up for one of the horses other owner does not wish to go public at this stage. The SSPC want to try charge both owners but solicitors reckon it will be thrown out very quickly they have little to no evidence. Here is the link [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It's totally shameful, have Liked his page and posted but cannot begin to understand why he was taken. But now I understand he is with the mother at her riding school, I suppose she is being well-paid to provide full livery, dunno what it costs your way, but here in SE England you are looking at £600 a month. It's going to be less where you live, but it won't be cheap. So mother will be cashing in, and no doubt they are hand in glove with a vet who is only too ready to do countless (unnecessary) tests on him. Surely any legal advisor you have will wipe the floor with them. Have you got the first idea which 'concerned member of the public' called them out? My yard was full of back-stabbers and s**t-stirrers who seem as if they cannot bear anyone to be happy and can't leave you alone.
If I worked for the SSPCA and was called out to a horse that looked like Humphrey I would be really angry that my time was being wasted when there are animals which DO need help. He really is a lovely looking animal and anyone who knows anything about horses would surely be proud to own an animal in such (clearly) healthy condition. I can imagine how you feel ... we all can.
I was unimpressed when I watched the video and saw that his legs were left uncovered (as far as I could see) when he was being loaded into the trailer. If mother knows the first thing about horses...owning a riding school, she should, it is that you protect their legs before loading. I remember when my mare arrived, she was only being brought about three miles in the lorry, and was an ex-racer, well used to being loaded, but her legs were bandaged. My friend's mare messed around and slipped off the ramp and ended up having a deep cut requiring vet treatment which could have been avoided had her legs been protected. These are supposedly animal welfare people but seem not to know the basics.
Do please keep us informed what is happening and try to be positive...you have a lot of support which is really encouraging .

If you ask me .. these horses are being pre selected.
Allegedly of course..

The one thing in Sarahsten's favour is that SSPCA, unlike their dreadful cronies south of the border, do not do their own prosecutions, they have their own version of CPS, the Procurator Fiscal, who need a strong case before they act. Of course, there is  nothing to stop SSPCA fabricating a strong case...when I think of the lies on their statements in my case.

The statements that I have received have lies in them too!

I'm hoping to get the GPS to take over my case.

Well, Candcane, yes, that does not surprise me one bit; but you have to watch for subtle differences too. If you SAY something just slightly differently, it acquires a whole new meaning and 'slant'. For example...when the female Gestapo officer interrogated me, one of her questions was, 'Did you call a vet?'. To this I replied, quite civilly, 'Why would I have done that?'.  Her version of my reply was 'No...why should I?'.This actually (deliberately) makes it sound as tho' I was being aggressive, defensive and argumentative, and that the idea of calling a vet was quite foreign to me; despite the fact that my mare was insured and had on one occasion been admitted to the Liphook Equine Hospital for treatment to a badly damaged n/s hock, I cannot recall the cost but it was megabucks, you cannot claim on insurance for the cost of the livery as there argument is that if they were home you would be paying for stable and grazing etc...but the fact is that you continue to pay those even if the mare is away for six weeks! It's like your mortgage/rent/council tax don't stop because you are on holiday. So, despite insurance, I paid out a lot of money. And I kept on paying for her insurance until she was murdered by World Horse Welfare.

I'm afraid that all the judges/lawyers are in the pockets of rspca so they will naturally rule in thier favour..mant still believe tht rspca actually care about animal's lol..rspca will only use those who will favour them so it will be hard to get any justice...they are a law unto themselves and MUST be controlled.

Sorry haven't been checking the forum...the owner is a man the girl in the video is his sharer, the owner wasn't present at the ride and didn't arrive till after the horse was seen by the inspector and vet, when he asked if his vet could attend for 2nd opinion or to even treat the horse if he was as severe as they were saying which has now been confirmed wasn't the case at a later date but it was refused on the night. They have been caught out lying on numerous occasions so we don't know what sort of fabricated report they are submitting to the procurator fiscal. They have a 6month timeframe to submit report so they are in no rush but as soon as they do we can get our defence lawyer to jump in and show our side before they decide to prosecute 

We now have petition and would be grateful for people to sign it, it explains in detail what happened 

Please join this campaign: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Saw the petiton yesterday and so have signed it already...think it had then about 500 signatures. If they are anything like their cronies south of the border, yes, they have lying/distorting the facts off to a fine art. There are many of us who know that but they seem to have the magistrates stitched up. My friend's cousin was a magistrate, and when she heard what was happening to me her only comment was, 'Be very careful'. When we asked her to elaborate on the comment she would only repeat that we should be careful.
  Have you found out yet what exactly you are being accused of? At least the SSPCA do not prosecute themselves and that has got to be an advantage, there is quite a lot of feeling here that the CPS should deal with RSPCA but RSPCA mainain it has to be them as they are the 'experts' in animal welfare...   (snigger).
  Has anyone from the yard got to see Humphrey since he was stolen?
Please keep us informed as and when you can? Good luck.