Hi Cyndi,
I feel for you after reading your post regarding how the sellers in Evans, Georgia poorly treat not only their animals but their customers as well. I am happy to hear that you took them and have given them a loving home. Kudos to you. I wonder if the "free" filly that they wanted to give you was possibly Alfina!!!
Alfina was a last minute addition to the three pregnant mares I got from the sellers. I was contacted by the sellers via email and was asked if I was interested in taking a "very thin" filly and the seller also stated, "I wish she could go to a farm that can give her more attention." That's why I took her. I thought she was just skinny and since she passed the "health" exam with their vet for transport, I could offer the filly a loving home with food to fatten her up.
What came out of that trailer was what everyone saw in the pics, a poor baby in desperate need of care. Both the sellers and their vet blamed a very "UNSAFE" trailering experience as the cause for Alfina's condition upon arrival. Yes, they passed the buck to the poor shipper and his trailer stating that it "harboured dangerous diseases", and that is why she arrived on death's door. They stated when she left their farm she was, "just fine"! Yet, the sellers were present during the loading of the four minis heading to my farm. If they were so concerned and willing to blame the shipper for his "UNSAFE" trailer, why then did they load the four mares onto the trailer? They stated that they loaded well and were heading up to my farm. No concerns from them regarding this very "UNSAFE" description of the trailer.
Alfina's mouth was a mess too. My vet was examining Alfina's teeth and was appalled at her condition. She had lacerations on her cheeks and tongue and when my vet showed us how badly her mouth was cut up, my kind neighbor (who spends time everyday visiting with Alfina, giving her treats and loving her) reached into her mouth to feel the points on the side of Alfina's teeth and cut her finger open. We were all stunned on the overall condition of this mare, but upon viewing her mouth we fully understood why Alfina suffered so much. My vet ranked her on the scale at 1-1.5...emaciated and starving to death. In addition to not being able to eat, Alfina was suffering from a raging infection of her face. This poor thing was near death upon arrival. We worked so hard to bring her back from near death, and continue to monitor her daily.
I was treated horribly by the sellers, calling me "frivolous" and accusing me of reporting them to several state, local and national authorities. But, the truth is my vet reported them for neglect and cruelty, and their vet for examining Alfina and signing a health certificate. Their vet did not list any of these issues on the state health form, yet when the NYS Attorney General's Office contacted them, their vet wrote these concerning descriptions of Alfina's condition on her written report to the NYS Attorney General's Office: "Quite thin", slight snotty nose with odor,slight heart murmur, upper respiratory infection, possible parasitism, dwarf characteristics, started on oral antibiotics. The sellers never stated in their description nor did their vet list these findings to us, so they duped us and sent us this very emaciated, ill baby. And, they DID NOT include her oral antibiotics for the trip up to our farm! It would have been nice to know these things prior to her leaving, especially since their vet stated not once but twice on her assessment of Alfina that she had dwarf characteristics. We are a breeding farm. We were purchasing three pregnant mares and a young filly for our breeding program. We would certainly not have considered a filly who had "dwarf characteristics" for breeding.
My three pregnant mares upon their arrival looked "excellent" compared to Alfina. But, upon my vet's examination of the three pregnant mares, under their shaggy winter coats, were three thin mares, too thin for their third trimester. Again, nothing was mentioned on their vets report upon her inspection of the three mares being thin. She signed off that they were healthy and ready for transport. My vet looked at their teeth and was disgusted with the condition of their teeth and cut up mouths. Our vet assessment was that the mares had poor oral care, poor body condition and poor, dull coat condition. They were loaded with dander. Our vet had us increase their feed intake gradually to accommodate the mares' growing fetuses.
The first mare delivered a stillborn filly after suffering to expel the dead fetus for hours. The second filly was born with neurological problems of the back end (upon her day one foal exam, she was in excellent condition, but within a week we noticed that she had problems with her weak back end) which was possibly indicative of the Rhino Virus. I immediately contacted the sellers to ask if they gave the mares the important 5,7,9 month Rhino vaccines to prevent problems with the foals, and this is what the seller stated in an email to me: "I don't vaccinate for Rhino. Have my reasons for this." Unbelievable, and this was never disclosed to us prior to purchasing the pregnant mares!
We had one foal left to be born, so my vet made sure the third mare got the much needed vaccines and nutrition, and we ended up with a beautiful and healthy foal because we did right by the third mare and the end result was a gorgeous fully formed, healthy baby.
We had paid in full for the two mares who had difficulties with their foals, and we made a payment on the third mare. We owed on Alfina and the balance on the third mare, but after finding out from the sellers that they would not guarantee a live foal (even though we purchased and paid for the pregnant mares), and with the mounting vet bills that far exceeded the price, we wanted the sellers to send the paperwork on Alfina and the third mare in lieu of the expensive vet bills we were saddled with. The sellers promptly sent a nasty and sarcastic letter to us stating for us to "pay for the horses, or send them back". They have threatened to sue us for payment and for "stealing" them. Our vet bills for Alfina alone are triple what their price was for the mares.
The most important point to make very clear here is that after the pressure put upon them from the NYS Attorney General's Office, the ASPCA, The National Board of Veterinary Medicine and the Georgia State Agriculture Offices, the sellers listed their remaining Falabellas on Lil Beginnings Sales Board at rock bottom prices, took their website down, removed contact information and are no longer anywhere to be found. One wonders if they will resurface with a new business name and focus on their Appaloosa mini breeding program that they stated they wanted to focus on.
Hopefully this will not be the case, but they do have several appaloosa minis on their farm and at least three foals born this year.
Cyndi, so glad you posted on the forum and shared with other breeders your devastating experience. At least your babies are now loved and well cared for. Thanks for sharing.
