BRATTLEBORO — Judge John Treadwell opened Friday’s Windham County Superior Court hearing by defining the issue: “Whether 13 horses were subject to cruelty, neglect or abandonment.”
More than three hours later, Treadwell still did not have an answer, leaving a herd from Townshend’s Friesians of Majesty farm in continued temporary custody two months after its seizure by the state.
On July 19, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department executed a search warrant at the property — which bills itself as “the largest full-service Friesian breeding and training facility in the United States” — after receiving a complaint of animal mistreatment.
Once there, authorities took 13 of the farm’s 100 horses, “as they were the ones in the poorest physical condition and whose long-term welfare was in jeopardy,” Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Kelly Shriver wrote in a court petition for animal forfeiture.
At a hearing Friday in Brattleboro, Shriver asked that the farm relinquish the horses now under the care of foster families and the nonprofit Dorset Equine Rescue, and that the groups be reimbursed for their costs.
“The continued custodial care of these animals presents financial burden on the individuals and nonprofit agencies who are providing care to the animals now,” Shriver wrote in her petition. “Financial liability can best be minimized through speedy forfeiture.”
But Friesians of Majesty owner Robert Labrie, taking the stand in his own defense, countered that the horses were underweight not because of neglect but instead a combination of tooth abscesses, a Lawsonia bacterial infection and nearly a month of wet weather.
“We had three out of four weeks of solid rain, including the big flood,” Labrie said of this past July. “We couldn’t give grain on those days.”
Labrie, who has owned and operated the farm for nearly a quarter-century, wanted to elaborate but was silenced on several occasions.
“Your honor, may I say something?” Labrie said at one point.
“No,” the judge responded.
At the hearing, state game warden David Taddei repeated what he wrote in a court affidavit, which recounts “many horses living in very poor conditions, such as paddocks with deep mud, dirty drinking water, and some with no shelter.”
“Many of the horses were very thin,” Taddei continued. “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.”
Shriver submitted photos of the horses just after seizure and two months later, each having gained what she said was between 80 and 110 pounds.
In response, Labrie said that, when authorities seized the horses, they endangered all his animals by temporarily stopping farm employees from changing the water.
Labrie’s lawyer, Chandler Bellanca, questioned several veterinarians about the proper care of horses.
“Is adequate shelter a subjective term under Vermont statutes?” Bellanca asked. “Do people have different understandings of adequate food? Do people have different understandings of adequate medical care?”
Earlier this week, Labrie filed a motion to suppress the state’s search warrant and return his property. The court nonetheless held Friday’s scheduled forfeiture hearing, which ended without resolution.
“I will issue a written decision at the earliest opportunity,” Treadwell said in conclusion.
