Lil' Horse Lover
Well-Known Member
*bump*
Yesterday, a neighbor called me. He said another neighbor saw a dark blue Ford pickup truck with a horse trailer in my driveway the day my horse was stolen. He said the truck was a late 90's model. I plan to speak with this witness to see if I can get more details, especially about the trailer. I am keeping my fingers crossed that someone will have additional details. I also found a recent picture of French Broads Sunburst, AKA "Buttermilk", in her winter woolies. I will post that picture this evening.My friend's 10-year-old buckskin pinto mare was stolen some time Friday night when she was out of town. All you folks in the Rosedale, Indiana (or surrounding) area please be on the lookout for this mare. The sheriff's department has been notified and flyers are being passed around. Please contact Jan at MCA Miniature Horses at [email protected] or call (812) 236-9405--cell. Here is her picture.
Thanks in advance!
UPDATE 12/21/07 from Jan: I have had some updates on Buttermilk. It seems that a witness saw them loading her into a two horse trailer between 2:00 PM and 2:45 PM last Thursday, 12/13/07. I left for work a bit late that day, at 1:50 PM. That means the people had been watching me and knew my schedule. Also, three men were seen climbing over a fence by the barn, leaving my property, the night before. They probably tried to steal her that night but the gates surrounding the barn are locked, so they had to wait until daylight. Instead of parking their trailer in front of my barn, they pulled up just past my house. That means they walked up my driveway and through my backyard, gaining access to my barn though my back yard, a distance of about 600' from the road to the barn. These people have likely been on my property before, because the passageway they used, though an unlocked opening, looks like a solid fence from the road. These horse thieves were quite brazen, turning on their truck's flashing lights and double parking along a well- traveled road in broad daylight. I don't have a good description of the truck, just that it was an older (1980's) model farm truck pulling an old two horse trailer. I am hoping that other persons will remember seeing them parked in front of my house and will be able to give a better description of the vehicle.
I also think it was someone who lives closeby, not someone who stole her to sell at an auction. They only took her, though they could have taken more. The theives passed up horses they could have easily led to their trailer by the horses' manes, choosing a mare that is not easy to catch. She always came to me because I am her "food source", but others had to corner her to catch her. I know that it took at least two persons to catch her, and probably took 15- 30 minutes to get her to the trailer. They probably had to shoo away her weanling colt, too. Also, the only way they could have entered the pasture/barn is through a 12' opening between two paddocks, which means they walked up my driveway, behind my house, through the path between the paddocks and into the barn. From the road, the fence looks solid; someone must have been on the property to see the opening between the paddocks. The distance from the place they parked their trailer to my barn is about 600', so they took their time. I have a few suspects, but nothing definite. I am hoping that they will get sloppy and put Buttermilk out in a pasture; her markings are pretty distinctive. Even if they keep her hidden and put her 2008 foal in the pasture, I'll recognize it. My stallion's been DNA'd, so the foal will be easy to identify. We think the person who took her drives by the house daily, or near daily, and lives 15 +/- minutes from us. By the way, all my gates are now double locked, so it will be harder to steal other horses.I agree with peggy. It is either someone who knows you or has been to your house to maybe buy something. People have had puppies stolen the same way. They come to look at them and then come back later and steal them. They must be close by because they watched to see when you were gone. It sounds as though they have been to your house more than once because they parked the car right out front. They could be a friend of one of your neighbors. They knew for sure that no one was home. It sounds like they weren't too worried about getting caught!
I sure hope you find her soon!
Shelia B.
I feel like Maxine's grand-baby...my heart hearts. I cannot believe how brazen the thieves were. Have you called the news media? They may be intersted in putting her picture and the story on TV. We'll be praying for a safe recovery.
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