A Sad State of Affairs

A horrible story surfaced in the New York Times about possible neglect of former racehorses belonging to Ernie Paragallo, a prominent New York based breeder and owner.

According to Joe Drape, who wrote the story, four of Paragallo's mares were rescued from a kill pen last month, en route to being slaughtered. "The four mares were 'hundreds of pounds' underweight, infested with lice and parasites and in 'horrible condition,' according to Dr. James Holt, who examined them."

Paragallo says he gave the horses away to a Florida-based breeder, with the understanding that he could breed the mares back to one of his stallions. He did not disclose the name of this breeder, although he did say that he intended to ship "another batch" of horses to this man.

Richie Bairdi, the transporter, who was hired to haul the horses from Paragallo's farm to Florida is the one who took the horses to the kill pen. He says he had no choice. He said he could not haul them because of their poor condition. "They were a bag of bones, literally walking hides," he told the times. "I didn't even think they'd make it to Florida."

Lisa Leogrande, who operates a boarding and training facility nearby, is the one who spotted the horses in the kill pen. She traced them back to Paragallo and rescued three of them. Christy Sheidy, who operates Another Chance 4 Horses, rescued 4 others but it was too late to save the rest.

The horses that Sheidy rescued include Theonlyword, who won more than $50,000 and Coconut Martini, who won nearly $35,000. Also rescued was the 17 year old mare, Finely Decorated, who was purchased for $80,000 as a two year old. All of these horses raced for Paragallo in the colors of his family's stable, Paraneck Stable.

In his defense, Paragallo says he keeps his barren mares thin and that he also did not know of the mares' ultimate destination. "They were my horses and what happened to them is a tragedy and a travesty, and I take full responsibility, but I didn't sen them to the killers."

I'd like to believe that a responsible owner and breeder would take responsibility for his horses for the duration of their lives, and the jury is still out on Paragallo. It does show, however, how easily horses can slip through the cracks.