The following report is a first hand account of events that occurred in the last half of April, 2006:
I have been working with a friend of mine to locate beginner horses for the Girl Scouts, and inquired about several dozen I'd seen on various Internet sites. One of the responses I got was from an equine rescue organization in Ruth, MS, called Choctaw Ridge Farms. They said that they couldn't donate to us, but that they would adopt to us at a reduced cost. They also said that they had several horses that would be appropriate for what we needed. I phoned and spoke to Jean Norton who then put me through to her "partner in rescue", Beverly (no last name given).
I emailed and spoke to Beverly several times, listening to her talk about how much her "life-saving" work means to her and how important it is. She reports that they acquire their rescues directly from the stock yards and then nurse them back to health. I thought that was just wonderful - what a good thing! She also offered to provide a home for all of our "retirees" - it all sounded so good - like an answer to our prayers. Still, I had no idea who I was dealing with.
On Thursday, April 27th, my friend and I traveled to Ruth, MS, to check out about 4 horses that were potential adoptees for us - and to check the place out as a potential retirement facility for our older horses. When we got there, we noticed right off that some things just weren't right. I had to open a gate to the property to let my friend drive in with her vehicle and there were horses of all ages and sizes walking loose in the "driveway". We saw a llama, donkeys, goats, pigs, cows/bulls, horses, and dogs. Beverly reported that they had 42 horses currently on their farm, and that they had a total of 15 acres - way too many animals! From best estimates, she had a half a dozen cows (including 2 full sized Brahmans) of various ages, about 4 to 6 donkeys, maybe 4 goats, 3 pigs, and over 20 dogs (including Freya, the Chinese Crested).
A great deal of the acreage was wooded, although they said that they were in the process of clearing it. While the pasture in the front of the property was nice and green, there were only a couple of horses (which both looked in good health and of good weight) actually in it. The rest of the horses, most of which were underweight, were milling about in the driveway area and in and out of different semi-fenced areas. The fences were made of mixed materials, and all seemed in need of repair. The ground surface was poor with evidence of lots of feces scattered around by the action of horses walking through and around all of it.
We noticed a lot of underweight horses, a couple of mares with foals, and several mares due to give birth soon. We were both a little overwhelmed from the sheer number of animals on site, but we proceeded to evaluate 4 of the horses. Each horse was brought into the barn one at a time, where we groomed and saddled them. I noticed right away that the quality of their coats indicated poor nutrition. Their hooves were also in very poor condition. They said that they have a hard time getting a farrier to come out to their site.
One of the horses we evaluated was pictured on their website. The picture (Ms Kitty) shows a horse of good weight. I observed that this mare has lost weight, most notable around her rump area. Another horse, not pictured on their website, was supposedly adopted out to a young girl who gave him back when her riding abilities advanced. Beverly said they'd just gotten him back a short time ago. Because he wasn't coming out of a stock sale situation, I had at least figured he would have been of good weight. He wasn't. His winter coat was coming off in handfuls, revealing dry, flaky skin and a poor "summer coat" beneath.
I was thinking the whole time, "How am I going to explain the condition of these horses when they are supposed to have been 'rescued'?" There were just too many red flags at this point and too much didn't make sense. I was just figuring that these were nice folks that got in way over their heads. I heard Beverly mention that they were going to have to postdate a check to pay for hay and that she was counting on her disability check to cover what she was planning on buying at the next stock sale on April 29th. My friend and I were both thinking that she should forget the sale and put the money toward some quality feed and foot trimming for all of the ones we saw.
Well, we left knowing that we would certainly not be sending our beloved retirees to this place - they'll be better off retired in our green pastures. It was less than 10 minutes after we'd left that I began looking more closely at the Coggins certificates on 2 of the horses we were still interested in. I saw the name Beverly Greenwood and had a near panic attack. The bells and whistles all went off and all of the things we saw began to make perfect sense. That night, I went online to confirm what I had read before. It made me remember something else she told me that I have a hard time believing. She showed us "her" horse that she'd had since she was a teenager(?), or something to that effect. She told me that horse was 44 years old - and the horse looked old, but not THAT old. Looking back, if she had to relocate so many times and dump all of her animals, where was this guy the whole time?
She's continuing to do what she's always done, only now with the addition of major livestock. I emailed Beverly on the 28th to let her know that we would not be proceeding with any adoptions. I got this response from her:
| "May I ask what you saw while at my farm that leads you to believe the internet trash you are referring to? And am I to believe what you said while here as well as on email or dismiss it?" |
I had never mentioned anything to her about the Internet. That email was followed by another from the "Secretary" of the rescue, Nicole Meche:
| "Claire,
One day I hope to meet people who make decisions based upon their own judgement. One day I would like to meet people who practice what they preach. I have never known people who try to be leaders for young people who allow themselves to be hindered by other people's judgement as you have. Especially since you have no idea if what has been accused of is true. This rescue, Choctaw Ridge Farms Rescue, is just that, a RESCUE. It is not soley run by one lady. This organization is run by a group of people. I take your rejection as a personal insult. I personally have worked extremely hard to get all these horses where they are right now. To have you say you will not offer these animals a home because of something based soley upon heresay, really makes me question the ideas that you are teaching these children. For two ladies to come to our rescue and claim to love animals as you did, and then punish the animals by turning your back on them is dishonerable. Do as you will. I, as the Secretary of Choctaw Ridge Farms Rescue, requests the return of any and all paperwork taken by these two ladies. Contrary to belief we are a legitimate and functioning rescue and need these papers to adopt these horses out to worthy homes. To homes that think of the animals and what is in their best interest." Nicole Meche
[note: Nicole Meche is one of Beverly Greenwood's daughters] |
This was my experience at Choctaw Ridge Farms. My only regret with all of this is that we had to forget about adopting 2 really sweet horses that got “left behind” there. There are other horses in need, and other legitimate rescues to work with. Photos of the four horses we looked at are to follow.
Respectfully,
Claire R. Coco
I told you that I'd forward some pictures when I got them.
The first one is of "Prince", a horse that had been previously adopted
out from Choctaw Ridge Farms. He was returned to them when the girl's
skills outgrew him. Beverly is in that picture. You can see
that Prince's coat is poor - dull and coming out by handfuls to reveal
a poor summer coat as well. His legs displayed symptoms of
rain rot, or what some people call mud fever, I think. His hooves were
in very poor condition.
