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[Editor’s Note: Cruelty against animals
comes in all forms. Ginger Morvant, LA/SPCA Volunteer Program
Coordinator, worked closely with the horses that were rescued
following the February 25, 2007 horse cruelty case investigated
by the LA/SPCA. A horse lover and horse owner, Ginger shares her
account of the experience and her love of her horses.]
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Rescue Rider
by Ginger Morvant
I have always said I was born “addicted to horses.” I truly do
not remember a time in my life that I was not in love with these
beautiful and wonderfully noble animals. I met my first best
friend riding my stick horse down the sidewalk. She too was just
as much of a horse nut as I was.
My Mother tried so hard to get me to play with dolls instead of
the Breyer horse models I owned. My Barbie dolls were bow legged
from me forcing them on the back of my model horses.
 I was privileged to own two horses growing up as a young
teenager and going into college. My very first horse died when I
was 14 years old. I can still remember the phone call to my
parents from the owner of the barn telling them they had found
her dead in her stall. I cried for days. That was my first big
loss. I went twenty years without owning a horse, but always
managed to ride here and there, my love for them never wavered.
When I was forty I was finally once again a proud horse owner.
That was almost thirteen years ago. I have a gorgeous appaloosa
gelding now that I love dearly. Even on a bad weather day there
is nothing better than going to the barn and just burying my
face in his neck and breathing deeply. I believe that if I could
bottle the wonderful aroma of a horse I would. I would carry it
with me and unscrew the lid and breathe deeply when I needed a
pick me up. My horse is the best therapy in the world on any day
of the year.
I have always been involved with the Louisiana SPCA in some
form. About a year and half ago I became an employee here. I am
the Volunteer Program Coordinator and could not love my job
more. This is such a great place and oh what a wonderful group
of people to work with. Everyone here knows that along with dogs
and cats that I have a very special love for horses and exotic
birds. It has become the norm to be asked to help out with these
special animals if the need arises.
In February when we got the call about the horses, naturally I
was very concerned. Kathryn Destreza, our Chief Humane Law
Enforcement Officer asked me to
go out to the site and give her
my opinion of the situation. I was thrilled to help.
What I saw was just so sad. The property alone was deplorable. I
got tangled with thin wire around my ankles on numerous
occasions while walking the property. I could untangle myself,
the horses could not. Everywhere you looked there were piles of
burned trash, barbed wire just laying around, stalls that had
over a foot of decaying manure and urine in them, the list goes
on and on. Everywhere there was something hazardous to these
magnificent animals.
Most of the horses were very thin and their hooves were long and
cracked. Some had very tight halters on them. A horse should
never be left on pasture or in a stall with its halter on. The
halter could get caught on something and the horse could break
its neck form trying to get free.
 Because of the time of year there was no grass available for the
horses to graze on. The first day I arrived the owners of the
property had brought in two round bales of hay. The hay was
awful all the way to the center. It was full of mold and mildew.
The horses were so hungry that they were eating it. We came in
with some beautiful bales of Bermuda hay and spread it around.
These wonderful animals immediately left the moldy bales and
began eating the hay we brought them. You could see their eyes
light up while eating this delicacy they had been deprived of.
I was taken to the feed that they supposedly had been feeding
the horses. It was a feed designed for calves, not horses.
Cattle are ruminates, they have two stomachs so they digest
their feed different than horses. The horses were allegedly
being fed once a day a scoop of feed per horse. This is about 10
times less than what they should have been fed per day. Also the
feed was dispersed in buckets and there was not a bucket for
each horse. When horses on pasture are fed this way the alpha
horse is going to push the others away and eat their feed. The
alpha horse is going to have a better body condition than the
others.
 The only “fat” horses on the property were the three studs used
for breeding. There was one very thin young Arabian stallion
that was kept in a muck filled round pen outside with no shelter
from the elements at all. He paced the entire time. I was later
told that he was used as their “rodeo” horse.
There were two dead horses on the property that had been
deposited in an area of unused pasture with high weeds. These
two animals had been dead for some time and were in quite a
state of decay. It was easy to find them because of the buzzards
flying overhead.
Ownership of a horse is a tremendous privilege and
responsibility. They are by nature a herd animal and you become
part of the herd. You become the alpha horse and they depend on
you for daily care and love. These horses loved the affection
they received from us, they wanted you to scratch their necks
and just love on them.
 Despite the fact that they did not receive the daily grooming to
bring out the shine in their coats, the monthly care needed to
keep their hooves in good condition, or the love they so well
deserved and desired, they were still friendly and loving toward
all of us who came to offer care at their darkest hour.
It was an honor and a privilege to be asked to help out with
this horribly cruel situation. If any good comes out of this
situation hopefully it will be that we all learn a valuable
lesson about responsible horse ownership. A horse is a very
expensive animal to own and needs more than just daily feed, hay
and water. They need constant care, love and attention.
I have a quote in my office that says so much about this noble
animal ----
“Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and
laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It
seizes a person whole and, once it has done so, he will have to
accept that his life will be radically changed.” - Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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