Following complaints of mistreated animals, Vermont game warden David Taddei served a search warrant at Friesians of Majesty in Townshend and seized 13 horses on July 19.
“During the execution of the warrant, I witnessed many horses living in very poor conditions, such as paddocks with deep mud, dirty drinking water, and some with no shelter,” Taddei wrote in an affidavit filed a week after the seizure. “Many of the horses were very thin. Several of the horses had a condition called ‘rain rot.’ Several of the horses had hooves that had clearly not been trimmed in a long time.”
One horse had a fever and infection and needed to be taken straight to an animal hospital, according to Taddei, whose affidavit concluded there was probable cause to believe the farm’s owner, Robert Labrie, 71, committed the offense of cruelty to animals.
Taddei said more than 100 horses were on the property, “and I asked the vet that we only seize those animals that were in such poor physical condition that their long-term welfare would be in jeopardy if they remained on the property in their current conditions.”
The seizure prompted Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver to ask a judge on July 25 for civil forfeiture of the seized horses, which prompted a status conference on Tuesday in Windham Superior Court. As of Wednesday, Shriver had not filed criminal charges in the case.
The court will hold a civil forfeiture hearing within 21 days of Tuesday’s hearing, unless Labrie decides to settle with the state out of court, Judge Katherine Hayes said. Meantime, state officials say, the investigation is continuing.
Friesians of Majesty is the largest full-service Friesian breeding and training facility in the United States, according to the business’s website, which also offers a wedding venue and cottage rentals on the 650-acre site.
The farm last advertised horses for sale June 6 on its Instagram and Facebook pages, and has posted several photographs of a few select dark-coated stallions over the past several months.
The farm also posted on Facebook an advertisement for its “Friesian Frolic Summer Camp,” a weeklong experience camp for girls ages 12 to 18 at a price of $1,450 per child, “sure to delight any young lady.” The website offers five other three-day women’s camps through the summer and fall.
In 2017, the Friesians of Majesty had a barn fire, in which an employee at the farm died. The barn was reported to be uninsured and estimated to be worth $1 million.
During Tuesday’s brief court hearing, Labrie said he was doing business in Delaware at the time of the horse seizure July 19. He said he found out about the seizure late in the day, after his wife contacted him through someone else’s phone.
“I didn’t know this was going on. I was never notified of anything that was coming up or anything,” he told the judge.
Labrie said he has yet to hire an attorney for the case because he could not find a firm with a substantial staff willing to take on such a large case.
He said he is willing to surrender some of his horses, but not any of the Friesians breed. Ten of the 13 horses seized were Friesians.
Labrie did not respond to multiple requests for comment following the hearing. Taddei, the game warden, also declined to comment further on the case.
If the court orders a forfeiture, the state will seek repayment for the costs incurred by the temporary caregivers, including veterinary expenses, according to Shriver’s filing.
At the July 19 seizure, Dorset Equine Rescue assisted in removing the 13 horses from the property for immediate medical care and temporary custody, said Jen Straub, executive director of the rescue organization.
Dorset Equine Rescue was notified of an upcoming animal welfare investigation two weeks before the seizure, but the search of the property was postponed because of massive flooding, she said. Following that initial notification, the organization formed a team of 12 people to join game wardens, a veterinarian and a state official at the horse farm.
At the farm, the group entered each of the property’s paddocks and performed body checks on 120 horses, Straub said. The horses with the most medically concerning conditions were sent along to the veterinarian, who determined which would need further care.
Of the removed horses, two were rated a “1” on the Henneke Scoring System, deeming them “extremely emaciated,” Straub said.
The Henneke Scoring System, ranging from 1 through 9, is used to evaluate a horse’s body condition based on the fat and muscle it carries in various places on its body.
The other removed horses received scores of two or three on that scale, Straub said. One of the removed colts was sent directly to an equine hospital in Saratoga, New York.
The investigators also seized veterinary records from Labrie, which indicated overdue medical work, some dating back to 2017, according to Taddei’s affidavit.
The horses are now being treated for various health issues, including skin and intestinal problems and stunted growth, said Tiffany Vittum, farm manager at Dorset Equine Rescue. The youngest of the removed horses were yearlings.
The rescue organization, which was already hosting 25 horses, is crowdsourcing to fund the new arrivals, Straub said. Caring for the rescued horses will cost the nonprofit at least $30,000 in the first year, none of which will come from state funding, she said.
Just three of the rescued horses are staying at the equine rescue base; the others are being monitored by the staff and employees, but are being kept at nearby foster homes and private farms, Vittum said.
Straub said she was not aware of any plans for the other horses still at the farm.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of Dorset Equine Rescue.
