LIHU‘E — A veterinarian who had earlier treated some of the 16 horses seized from Lara Butler-Brady by Kaua‘i Humane Society officers Sunday said Tuesday all of the horses should survive. “Yes, I think they will survive,” said Dr. Scott
LIHU‘E — A veterinarian who had earlier treated some of the 16 horses seized from Lara Butler-Brady by Kaua‘i Humane Society officers Sunday said Tuesday all of the horses should survive.
“Yes, I think they will survive,” said Dr. Scott Sims, who spent most of Tuesday examining the horses.
“They certainly are very skinny.”
Sims, who has owned horses since he was 7 including currently at his Moloa‘a home, was called by KHS to examine the horses taken from Butler-Brady’s leased land along Ma‘alo Road in Kapaia following numerous reports of emaciated and dehydrated horses on the ranch.
He said a third of the horses were “extremely thin,” another third were “too thin” and the final third were “adequate. None were fat.
“There were several that were adequate in the herd. The thing you have to look at is the totality” of the herd, he said in a telephone interview Tuesday night.
For example, if there is a herd of 10 to 15 horses and one or two of them are skinny, then there’s something wrong with those particular horses, he said.
When most of an entire herd is showing signs of neglect, “there’s something wrong with the management of the place. That’s where we are in this case,” said Sims, adding that he had to be very careful what he says so as not to jeopardize the animal-cruelty case against Butler-Brady.
Butler-Brady, who again couldn’t be reached for comment through her Keapana Horsemanship business line, was cited Sunday for 16 counts of cruelty to animals.
She’s “not really paying attention” to her horses, said Sims, adding that minimally the horses needed to be given anti-worming medication, other vaccinations and attention given to their teeth.
De-worming should be done every two to three months, depending on the circumstances where and how the horses are kept, because they typically draw lots of parasites, said Sims.
Horses’ teeth should be checked annually, but lots of owners typically have their horses’ teeth checked around every two or three years.
“Their condition is awful. I have known these horses for a while,” and the condition they were in Tuesday was “absolutely inadequate,” said Sims.
Meanwhile, concerned Kauaians have come forward with offers to care for and pasture the confiscated animals, something that can’t be done because they might be evidence if a criminal case moves forward.
The KHS continues to accept donations for care of the animals, which will likely be sheltered and pastured by KHS until the outcome of the criminal case.
See www.kauaihumane.org, mail donations to Kaua‘i Humane Society, P.O. Box 3330, Lihu‘e, HI 96766, with a note indicating “Care for the Horses,” or call 632-0610.
