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Snarky commentary on the breeding of a poor quality woman, her silly and abusive teaching techniques and pretty much anything else that annoys me about her! Your UNCENSORED place to vent about this woman being in the horse world!

Fugly Wench of the Day

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This is a philosophical blog about.....oh, screw it!!! This blog is dedicated to calling Cathy, the FHotD writer, out on her bull sh*t!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Geeze Louise!

So FHotD topic was yet again slaughter!*head desk*. Right now I don't care which side of the fence you are on, whether you are pro slaughter or against slaughter. I've heard both sides. Cathy posted a video of old photos taken in 2005 of abuse from double deckers on the way to slaughter and current links to write and pester your states representatives.
I did venture into the comment section and one comment poster that I usually find insulting absolutely cracked me up. Thank you Go Lightly for the humorous AND educational comment.

Hay, Fugs, bought meself a new stallyun.he's reel purty.Can I pleeez be called something less than painfully stupid now?
Those terrible pictures have been around for some time. Like a long time.nothing like flaming those fires, or fanning the flames, or whutever.Making kind people feel as sad as possible, and feeling as helpless as possible, seems to be the normal. Outrage is good. It passes, as people realize they don't have the power to change powerful people into kind people.Too bad the memories will always fade, but the sad times will remain the same.The slaughter issues will not be changed by hand-wringing here.Send this to the Canadian Government, instead of upsetting kind people with no power to actually change it. I did, back when it was in the news.Found this on the ABR forum first, actually. Ages ago.The good old boys rule, or don't you get that yet?
to see my new horse. Might help stop the tears falling from some of your poor kind faces. You can't cry all day.Nothing gets done.Those pictures have been public knowledge for ages.Talk about instant re-runs of the terrible pain and suffering that still goes on in Canada. and the USA. And Mexico. Closing borders?sure ya can, fugs, sure ya can. Like you stopped the slaughter in the USA. That sure helped stop horses suffering.Try closing down the AQHA first, if you want to get useful. Stop breeding horses designed for the slaughter line. The nuchal ligament is shortening in some lucky QH's, makes them real easy to run through the cattle-designed slaughter lines. Oh, right but then you can't SHOW your VLC!!silly me.sorry, painfully stupid me.Oh, to all you new readers? welcome!I'm crazy, anyway.carry on...
Even I couldn't help but laugh and snort at THAT! Come to find out Go Lightly sent money into Cathy for Champs rescue and recovery. But was basically ignored when she requested information on how the money was spent and if documentation was made. Instead she got a scan of the vet bill, which some how I refuse to believe that a lot of peoples money just went towards the vet bill. I'm sure Cathy got in a lot of donations for Champ. And what gets me is if Champ wasn't Cathy's rescue horse like she claimed, then why not have people send donations straight into the rescuer of Champ? Instead, money went through two hands and as money grubbing as Cathy is, I doubt she told the "rescuer" the exact amount of donations received. If 200 people(which I'm sure even MORE sent in money) sent in $5 a person that would come out to $1,000. I'm going to make an estimate that there was nearly twice that amount donated. I doubt she paid for board and Cathy has only offered up a vet bill as representative of the donations spent. I'm surprised the rest of FHotD readers that donated aren't outraged. Sure they kind of asked for it because they donated to a person that did not have a 501(c) status. But still, the economy is tight and I would like to know if Cathy went on a little shopping spree with money donated. Don't be surprised if she pulls this again.
A lot of her readers feel they know Cathy, feel that Cathy is speaking for all the abused and neglected horses, and feel that Cathy is a far superior person to the likes of any scammer like lets say- Dean or Sam! So people are going to be willing to pay money towards another one of Cathy's rescues thinking they are doing good.
All I can say is, as hypocritical as Cathy is for preaching day after day about the only way to stop horse over population is castration- but turn around and she has her own stallion, what makes you think that she won't pull a scam. After all she's already stated the more people that come to her blog are supporting her VLC show fund. I could care less for those that want to give the argument,"Well, Cathy is only going to breed him if he does well in the show ring." Just because he does(saying IF) well in a show ring does NOT make his GET any more safe than a unshown backyard stallion. There is no status when it comes to horse over population- there is no blue collar or white collar. Cathy's reader's have already seen her post stories of High Dollar geldings, stallions, and mares that some how ended up on a trip to slaughter.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Somehow I doubt Fugly would post the records of everything spent on Champs rescue. I won't ever donate money to that woman and I won't even bother to click her site. The minute I saw that she was charging rescues for advertising on her site I knew that she was changing for the worse. I thought Champ should have been PTS, but I think Cathy wanted to keep going to either get more money for his care or she had him PTS long time ago and just made fake he's getting better posts about him and then, whoops he's been PTS after the vet saw him and all your donations went to help pay the vet care.

Anonymous said...

I, Too, thought it was pretty low down and dirty for her to charge money for rescues to promote on her site. If I'm wrong, I will apologize, but they're right there on the side bar. And how much does that rescue have to pay who's ugly distracting banner is at the bottom of each post she makes? Fugs has gone commercial and to me, that takes away anything good she ever had to say. That an the "revenge fail" thing she pulled. Wonder if she was crossing her eyes, sticking out her tongue and wagging her butt when she typed that immature blather. Heck, is she even allowed to ask for donations if she isn't a 501(c)3 herself? Is she supposed to be registered with her state to even ask for donations?

Dena said...

OMG...Totally Laughing out Loud...
As I would hate to be considered, "Painfully Stupid", yet again.
And as, I could definitely use another outlet where I don't have to suck it up, as far as, Cathy Atkinson is concerned.
May I please be allowed to stay and play?
Well, at least, until, BH catches me.lol
People do not seem to always care about facts.
Especially when, those FACTS, have the ability to make them look PAINFULLY UNAWARE!!!
I have to run over to GoLightly's site and see for myself.

MNaef said...

While it is true that those videos are inflammatory and out of date...don't forget the recent trailer accident in Calgary, AB. Those horses were being transported in godawful condition too, and straight to the slaughterhouse. It does still happen, even here in sunny happy Canada.

OTOH, horses are livestock in Canada, whether it offends the delicate sensibilities of some or not.

I do have the first-hand experience with slaughter in Canada. I can tell you that reports of cruelty are greatly exaggerated. Greatly made up, to be honest. There aren't many meat animals easier to kill at close range than a horse. It is quick, it is as humane as the ever-present inspector enforces it to be. There is very little room for interpretation in the slaughter laws.

Transport though, that could use some work. Double deckers shouldn't be used for full-size horses, that much I agree with.

blank said...

Sarcasta said: I do have the first-hand experience with slaughter in Canada. I can tell you that reports of cruelty are greatly exaggerated. Greatly made up, to be honest. There aren't many meat animals easier to kill at close range than a horse. It is quick, it is as humane as the ever-present inspector enforces it to be.

Sarcasta: That is truly good to hear / know.

Anonymous said...

I have a family member who works for the USDA. This person worked the horse kill when it was still in operation in the U.S. and says the workers did everything in their power to ensure a quick and painless death. In fact, this person believes the real injustice is that horses are being neglected by owners who can't/won't euth them or are being turned out in the wild to fend for themselves.

This person also believes it's a tragedy that many horses are being shipped inhumanely to Mexico for a violent slaughterhouse death. (Sorry I have to be so vague about the person's gender, etc., but the person isn't allowed to speak about the slaughterhouse experience on the record, and I don't want to get the person in trouble.)

I'm not sure where I stand on the issue. I love horses a lot, so the emotional part of me has a hard time thinking it's OK. I also recognize that slaughter isn't a simple black and white issue. If a horse is beyond redemption for one reason or another (soundness issues, behavior issues, etc.), then perhaps humane slaughter is the better option. The thing is, without closely monitored slaughter in our own country, it's hard to know what's happening in other countries.

The one thing that bothers me about Fugly's post today is that it seems like a bit of a smokescreen. If those photos have been around for a while, why post them now? I feel like I can't trust any of her motives anymore.

Darcy Jayne said...

Wenchster - saw that post, and thought "great, she'll have folks haring off to do something ineffective or that will have unintended consequences"...which strikes me as the usual over at FHOTD.

One thing, though...if I may...if I were you, I'd very cautious about throwing around accusations of theft (okay, so in this case it wouldn't legally meet the definition of theft) in an open forum. Yeah, maybe half the money donated for Champ never made it to the folks who were actually caring for him, then again, maybe it did. And maybe some of it did pay for his board - although didn't someone here say Champ was a month overdue on that?

The higher tone and lack of hysteria here is what makes this blog so appealing. Besides - doesn't Cathy provide more than enough rope without having to speculate about things she probably did but that can't be proven?

MNaef said...


This person worked the horse kill when it was still in operation in the U.S. and says the workers did everything in their power to ensure a quick and painless death


Just because these kind of comments always get buried...BOLD!

It is never in the slaughterhouse's best interest to prolong a kill. Financially, from a safety perspective, from an efficiency perspective. A wounded animal is dangerous and expensive.

It is also worth mentioning that the transport of the animals TO slaughter, in Canada, is the purview of the OWNERS. The slaughterhouse has no say in how an animal arrives. If possible, they will provide help to unload...but sometimes the owner refuses or knows best, or whatever...and the slaughterhouse ends up cleaning up afterward. If an idiot owner put a cow in a slippery trailer and it breaks a leg, the slaughterhouse has to do an "emergency kill" which involves getting the inspector out into the yard, killing the animal there, hauling it in. Messy, inefficient and hard on the slaughterhouse workers who have no desire to see animals in pain.

That's one slight error in the message here. The government can't crack down on every yahoo who hauls an animal to slaughter. The Calgary guy was caught breaking at least 4 transport laws, but was only caught because he crashed.

The court of public opinion just might have more effect on this particular issue.

Yasmine [WRIT2011] said...

Just because he does(saying IF) well in a show ring does NOT make his GET any more safe than a unshown backyard stallion. There is no status when it comes to horse over population- there is no blue collar or white collar. Cathy's reader's have already seen her post stories of High Dollar geldings, stallions, and mares that some how ended up on a trip to slaughter.

I've been thinking about this a lot in the last few days.

So, so many horses are rescued with proven show records. They've had pedigree lineage with huge earnings.

We've seen them featured.

Champ is just the most recent example. Despite his breeding and earnings, where did he end up? En route to slaughter.

I can't see what kind of chance the offspring of VLC are going to have in this world.

Anonymous said...

Darcy Jayne >>>love your name by the way, this coming from a woman named Bobbi!
I think Wench meant the post to be more of a question on where is all the money and why hasn't Cathy posted how much money was donated and how it was spent? I'm a long time lurker of both this blog and Fuglyhorse and I think I saw somewhere else on fuglyhorse that there were several people that asked to see documentation as fugly had promised when donations were made she would be more than willing to post documents on how money was spent and what was received. She also said that any unused money would be returned or could be donated to another rescue. I don't have a clue how she would distribute money back but part of me kind of felt that she just said that to put people more at ease to send her money. I also think that I heard that Champs boarding was done pro bono and only costs incurred were feed, vet, and farrier. I too find it fishy that money could not be sent directly to the person who was supposedly rescuing Champ. I've seen the person that said she rescued Champ post on here, I think her name was Wildrose or something and in this day and age if she has internet access and I assume a checking account since most americans have one, it only takes minutes and then like a 4 day wait if not shorter to create a paypal account. It just made no sense back then, and it still doesn't make sense now that money HAD to be sent to Cathy. That is one reason I didn't send any money in beside the obvious that Champ need to be PTS ASAP.

I've become even more wary of Fuglyhorse lately simply because she has a lot of cult leader characteristics. From the outside looking in if you go back to when she first started the blog you go to her site and see some useful information, so you start reading. You start thinking this person is leading a new revolution of outing abusers and start falling in line with her thoughts because you some what agree with her. Then her thoughts become more and more extreem and pushy. You question something maybe even once, not agreeing with her and just like what you hear in a cult, the leader never administers punishment, instead the cult leader has his right hand or his most enthusiastic followers administer punishment, in fuglyhorses case it would be the outlash and verbal abuse from her followers. The next step is slowly easing into making a profit by advertising the google click ads. She keeps on with her radical thoughts and becomes more and more pushy. Then like a cult leader asks for money, in fuglyhorse case it would be starting to advertise something she use to do for free. The step after that is asking for money straight from her following. And just like a cult leader, when confronted by several followers they divert attention in order to show other's that HEY, SEE THIS! REMEMBER WHY YOU LIKED ME AND FOLLOWED ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?

That's just my take on it. But I do think to much!
Bobbi

PS I am going to make a google account right now so I can follow this blog.

The Wenchster said...

I also wanted to say that BrownEyed Cowgirl gave a great comment over on FHotD. Way to go girl. She of course got jumped for having common sense. I was pretty surprised by Golightly's change in tone on the comments. Reading her comments today had me laughing.

Anonymous said...

Darnit. I wish you hadn't gone there with the slaughter issue, because I think you might have been successful getting a few more people sympathetic to your cause if you hadn't gone there. The vast majority of the readers of Cathy's blog are against slaughter.

Speaking as someone who has met Cathy in person, I wanted to make a few comments. For the most part, I agree with Cathy. The slaughter issue, the need to stop irresponsible breeding, the need to bring awareness to abuse and neglect of horses so that more people recognize that it is NOT OKAY and take action when they see it. Her blog has done a lot to raise awareness of these issues, to make people think twice about breeding and to think more about being responsible horse owners, gelding their colts, putting training on their horses to make them marketable and keeping their horses through retirement to ensure a dignified end. And she created the Horse Reunions site, a great idea. These are good things. I also will chuckle a bit when she goes after Parelli or NH-fanatics. Making fun of celebrities I think is ok as Parelli is unlikely to read her blog or care about her opinion, and making fun of NH in general I also find occasionally entertaining as it is opinion and you can take it or leave it, its the targeting of innocent individuals that I take issue with. In fact I have several issues with Cathy and her blog, which brings me to post here.

1) She perpetuates internet bullying, and while in some cases where actual abuse or neglect has occurred it was warranted, in so many cases it was not. She goes after real people, and she names names, and she encourages people to take action (contact them, don't support them, don't buy a horse from them). She goes after people based on extremely limited information, sometimes nothing more than a photo with no context, and she publicly shames and humiliates them. Now, this may be warranted for a scammer like $cam or Dean, but some of the people she has targeted *ARE* responsible horse people, but she makes assumptions based on little info and takes it way, way too far. Some people are good-hearted and care about their animals but ignorant, and making fun of them and harrassing them is NEVER going to be the way to get through to those people. And I know a lot of decent people that can't spell worth anything. And while some of those people may come back and post on the comments guns-blazing and just make themselves look worse, some are hurt, scarred, humiliated. What if she chose to attack someone and they were so upset by the attack they committed suicide? These things happen, you hear about it on the news - internet bullying is real and its malicious and it can be deadly. No, she can't be responsible for what her readers say, but she can set a good example, and she can rein people in when they go too far. The old adage of "if you wouldn't say it to the person's face, you shouldn't say it at all" is so true here. The real Cathy is not so tough, or respected among horse people that know her, or that confrontational. And while she might not be anonymous, the venom that spews forth from her readership under the protection of anonymity, again based on her example, sometimes goes way, way, way too far. A picture of a woman holding a fugly colt may degenerate into attacks on her weight, speculations of her white-trash husband and 15 kids living off welfare, her limited IQ, her poor fashion sense, her sex life or lack thereof, and any number of completely unrelated, unfounded, and incredibly cruel things, that if that person were to see themselves featured there (and they likely do because someone, if not Cathy, will make sure they do), that I could easily see someone going off the deep end, while the "sheeples" laugh and say she deserved it.

2) People are taking her to be some kind of horse expert, and using the blog as a form of education. She is leading by example and the example she is setting is that of the worst kind of horse owner - the kind that thinks they know it all and is condescending and rude to those that they perceive know less. I don't know about you but there was one of these at every boarding barn I boarded at and I avoided them like the plague.

3) Furthermore, she is NOT that knowledgeable, folks! There are so many things she says that makes me roll my eyes, she really knows nothing about breeding, riding, or training. She's fairly knowledgeable about general horse care, but that's about it. What has she done that has earned her "expert" status? Has she competed, in any discipline, at anything other than local shows? Is she a professional trainer (and no, I don't consider giving children's riding lessons 20 years ago as counting as being a trainer). Has she trained a horse herself, to a high level, in any discipline? Is she a breeder? No! She is even honest about this - she calls herself a "re-rider", meaning she rode a bunch when she was younger and it sounds like she worked in barns doing whatever menial jobs she could find, and then not much after that. I've seen her ride and it's not pretty and she's not comfortable on anything that's not dead calm. Yet she feels qualified to give advice on TRAINING and BREEDING? She thinks "collection" is when the horse goes on the bit or has a short stride that's easy to sit. Her ideal conformation is based on a stocky, downhill QH type with muscles in all the wrong places - for someone who claims to be interested in "sporthorse" types, she knows nothing about evaluating sporthorse conformation. And don't get me started on her evaluation of foals - you can't call a foal in the middle of a growth spurt "horribly downhill" or so young that his legs haven't straightened out from the womb "crooked legged". Foals should be evaluated at around 3 weeks or 3 months for the best glimpse into what their adult conformation will be, other than that, short of gross deformities or obvious defects they are a work in progress and evaluating foals during their growth stages should be left to experts that do that for a living (such as inspectors at warmblood inspections). Some foals grow fairly evenly and consistently but there are plenty of others that just look HIDEOUS until they are 3 or more because the front end doesn't match the back end, but when they are finished growing will knock your socks off.

4) As many of you already pegged, she is a complete and total hypocrite and fails to practice what she preaches. She goes on and on about "Krazy Kolor Breeders", and yet does she fail to see that she has a mediocre QH stallion that no one would give a second look at if he were say, BAY?? Let's talk about where the VLC (and her palomino colt as well) came from, shall we? One of her good friends, the Krazy Kolor Breeder that produced the VLC, kept her mares and foals in falling-down barbed wire fencing, never got their feet done or wormed any of them, and mass produced her "yellow" horses like bunny rabbits even though she couldn't afford to feed them. And her stallions did nothing but lives in miserable little pens. And there was Cathy living on the property, taking care of these horses, enabling the situation to continue on and on for years and refusing to call Animal Control or take action, helping her to market and sell them so she could produce more. (Note, I believe this is the same "million-dollar" facility where Champ was, folks! Although they have been in foreclosure on so many farms they could have found yet another place to land after Cathy helped her get rid of a bunch of horses last year, incidentally how she came to own the VLC, I believe he was given to her in trade for her help). And don't get me started on the TWO "accidental" foals, due to fencing failures, oh yeah that was not her fault at all and she knew NOTHING about it. Right.

And what percentage of the horses going to slaughter are QHs, backyard bred or otherwise? 75%? More? So why on EARTH do we need MORE of them? Cathy states she won't breed him (again) until he has proven himself in the show ring. Has anyone asked WHAT show ring??? Because I believe her idea of "campaigning" her stallion involves taking him to a few local schooling shows. If he is such a high quality stallion, why hasn't she at least shown him on the local QH circuit in halter classes? Quite honestly, I think if people are going to keep breeding QHs, they should be limited to truly the "best of the best", and I believe those would be the ones competing at Worlds, not your local open fun show. Even if Cathy had managed to get her hands on a true gold mine of a stellar QH stallion, Cathy has neither the experience nor the finances nor the time to truly campaign him, market him successfully, manage breedings and collections, and all that goes with having a truly marketable, high-quality stallion. She doesn't even own a farm, she boards, and she has changed jobs/moved so many times in the last several years it would make your head spin, because she makes friends on the internet, convinces them to let her come live with them and sponge off them for a while, and when she starts to drive them nuts she has to move on to another unsuspecting friend. So although becoming a respectable breeding operation is completely out of the range of possibilities, she will however probably manage, by basis of her blog, to attract other not-knowledgable amateurs with similarly mediocre but papered mares (because we know how she feels about cross-breds, they are bad, no matter how pristine their conformation and movement, but a mediocre registered horse is ok) to produce, well, you guessed it, mediocre, colored QHs, in their backyard. Hypocrisy, much?

Darcy Jayne said...

Bobbi - thanks...I rather like my name, too. :-)

Totally agree with you on the point of the post, and personally think that the odds are very good that quite a bit of Champ's money went elsewhere. Never any question of a lack of respect for Wenchster or suspicion that she's blowing things up just to titillate her audience. But to suggest that half (or any) of the money was filtered off without proof comes close to falling off the high road.

Totally agree with your assessment of Fugly - I first found the blog a while back and learned a lot. Then an organization I'm involved with was slandered - we're talking outright lies - by some of Fugly's fans (at least one of whom is a personal friend of hers). The last straw for me was being deliberately baited by one of her readers who started off sympathetic then turned nasty, with a follow-up of a direct (and untrue) insult by one of Fugly's friends.

There are some good and thoughtful people over there - but I think Fugly gets off on the nastiness that goes on in the comments. I would be curious how long the average reader lasts on her blog as compared to others.

Zephyrine Flycatcher said...

Anonymous, I couldn't have said it any better myself. You are spot on!

lazytrainer said...

Anonymous: I love you. Bear my children.

What makes this even better is that you have a first hand account of Cathy. You've met her personally and you can still say these things about her.

Most people who are cruel and bitchy on the internet barely have it in them to frown when someone flicks them off in real life. They just don't have the "guts" their attitude portrays on the internet.

I'm so happy that you've known her and can honestly say these things about her, because they're exactly what everyone else is assuming.

Anonymous said...

Now that I've crossed over from FHOTD to this one, I am so glad to see others here who've made the switch. I admit I learned a lot about the horse slaughter industry, but other than that, it seems that all I've seen Cathy do is beat up on others.
She has a holier-than-thou attitude, yet I wonder what credentials and experience she has that merits owning a stallion. I was angered when I learned that he'd sired two foals as a very young-was he a two year old?- colt. He wasn't even proven when he serviced those two mares, and still isn't. I also find it strange that she doesn't have a mentor or a trainer for her stallion. He's almost- or is- four years old, and hasn't done anything. And have you noticed that she's selling her other colt, an appendix qh? Heck, she didn't even show us his photos, because she thought he was kinda fugly. Now she says he's an eventing prospect. Give me a break.
She shows a malicious side when she writes her FHOTD blog, but have you noticed how she refers to herself on her VLC blog? She often mentions how she's a 'scaredy cat' or 'chickenshit' and seems fearful of his height. She even goes as far as asking others for advice on riding! But do you notice that she won't wear a helmet? And how come when she assists in a rescue of a horse it's referred to as 'cute', but when she features another one out of her reach she insists on calling it a POS?
I'm done with that blog. I posted a few times, and I felt my words fell on deaf ears. Maybe that's because I refused to spew profanity like she and her followers. It was funny to see how they'd protect her when any one dared to differ. Kind of like Scar in the Lion King who had all those goofy hyenas as his sycophants!

Zephyrine Flycatcher said...

My goodness, has anyone waded through the misinformation in the comments?

She's becoming a vegan blog as far as I am concerned. Christ...

Animals aren't slaughtered humanely? Haha...ahahahaha....haha. *cough*

I think the thought of the whole process is what makes them feel oogly on the inside and make them think it's so horrid and inhumane. Let's not forget we abuse them before we kill them, because, you know, the animal isn't worth anything at all *sarcastic eyeroll*

I don't think horse slaughter is this evil evil thing. It wasn't a highly regulated industry like the poultry/swine/cattle industries were, and it was exploited heavily via auctions. (I mean, was it really a secret where the foal with no papers was going to go?) Now, if it was a more regulated and much more horse friendly process, I'm all for it.

They gripe about the government handling things and it all being horrible and wrong? Umm, this country would have been full of mad cow if not for the government. A cow twitched funny and they reacted in order to make sure that the proper steps were taken in order to stop the spread. Guess what, it worked. Heck, I think all cases in the U.S. were from imported cattle, but it never made it into the food system.

I also saw someone say something along the lines of making super e. coli. Yes, tell that to the spinach and tomato industry who is being bombarded with the stuff like hail before a tornado. These items often aren't cooked thoroughly, and thus an e. coli scare. Meat won't have it if cooked properly, and frankly...if you can't cook meat, it's just a precaution to buy pre-prepared meat that is fool-proof.

I digress, on to population control! It PETA and the HSUS were more defunct and didn't get their hands into everything, I bet there could be many excellent programs out there to educate the public on gelding/spaying. Heck, if you got vets to send out the occasional message bulletin with pieces of information on it to horse and non-horse people, they would start to listen. If you could suggest to the vet that perhaps they could sponsor two geldings a month for people who truly need it, that would go far. Heck, even one would be a milestone. Maybe even doing one for the public, and one for a rescue group in good standing.

Heck, what if you made yourself a tax except group where donations go towards gelding horses only for those in need versus having rescues who need the money for hay, food, etc. their horses doing it?

The point is, being forced by the government to have an opinion because they were pressured is no way to go about things, especially with the old information that many people have already recognized!

(Sorry I ramble so out of order!)

Nicole Falk said...

Good post today. I was hoping you'd comment. I've always been against Cathy's anti-slaughter perspective - all that banning slaughter in the US got was a lot more prolonged suffering for horses being shipped to Canada and Mexico. Obviously double decker trailers need to be banned, but it pisses me off when PETA cult members start bashing slaughter and can only find pictures of already illegal practices to back the arguement. The law in Canada requires two licensed veterinarians to be on the kill floor of all times in approved plants. It's nowhere near as barbaric as it's made out to be by posting pictures of illegal Mexico plants and already illegal double decker trailers. Those practices will continue to happen long after any laws are made, as they already have.

seaview said...

Can someone help me out here?
I write a reply but when I try to post, I have to reregister (using the same information!).
What am I doing wrong?
As to Cathy, I lost respect for her blog when she posted those pictures of that poor woman with the striped breeches. No, it was not a pretty sight nor was the seller a great rider. BUT, the whole point of that was simply to ridicule the woman about her clothes, her weight and her riding.
Nothing informative there...just a chance to make some poor person feel ashamed (the horse did not appear to be abused or neglected in any way). And it truly makes my heart hurt when she refers to some sweet, innocent old horse as a POS...

Anonymous said...

Hi there, I've lurked a little here and there at all these websites. I don't like to get involved with drama or anything so I just have a quick question. All of those photos that FHoTD posted yesterday and Go Lightly said have been around for ages, the rescue that I've adopted from just posted them on their website as well yesterday. I know the rescue doesn't have time to follow blogs or anything and we're in the heartland (near the infamous Sugarcreek and Leroy Baker), so nowhere near WA or having to do anything with FHoTD, so is it possible that maybe some of those pictures are newer or just recently released?

Darcy Jayne said...

Anon - about the pictures. Things that get sent around via the Internet have a tendency to be resurrected periodically, usually when somebody stumbles across old materials and thinks the stuff is new, and then sends it to all their friends.

The sudden appearance of the same set of pics across multiple sites is not uncommon, and is not even remotely tied to geography.

It certainly could be that some of the pics are new, but it doesn't surprise me to read that most (all?) of them are years old.

Dontyouridenofuglyhorse said...

For the record, I received 250.00 for Champ's board for 30 days. That included stall cleaning and daily feed with turn out. They provided their own bedding and feed.

trainingemmy said...

So, if Don'tyouride received $250 for board, and Cathy said she spent only a few hundred dollars on vet bills (I think at one point she listed exact costs in a huffy post, although I couldn't find it when I went back to look), then that's $500 at the most. If you figure in hay and grain for 30 days, that would probably be around $150-200, depending on hay costs, etc. Then, there was the cost of euthing and disposal of the body, which probably ran around $400.

That gives us a very general sense of how much money was used. If Cathy collected in the $1500 range (though I agree with Wenchster that it was probably more), that leaves about $400 unaccounted for at this time. Since everything in these figures is rough guesstimates with the exception of board, it appears that there's nothing too out of line in that situation. (Of course, this does not take in to consideration the very valid question of why Champ was kept alive and not euthed immediately, but that's a different issue altogether.)

However, if, as Wenchster suggests and I personally believe, Cathy collected more money, then I believe there's some question about how it was spent. The numbers would be entirely different in that case. That scenario raises some sinister questions, in my opinion, ones that must be addressed if readers of FHoTD are to be satisfied that their money was used wisely.

I do wish Cathy would break down and provide a line-by-line accounting of how much money she received and spent on Champ. It seems to me that she has spent so much time leveling invective at other rescuers for the misuse of money that it's a no-brainer for her to inform her readers exactly what she did and how she did it.

Repeat after me, Cathy: It's all about the money.

trainingemmy said...

Oh, and how does Cathy's most recent post on an angry seller's response to a would-be buyer illuminate anything? It's just one more angry rant about "stupid" people. I don't know about other people here, but I know I've asked questions that might have gotten me shamed on Cathy's site, especially when I first started horse-hunting.

Despite having read several excellent articles on the topic and carefully reading Cherry Hill's "Horsekeeping on Small Acreage," I didn't know the lingo. I didn't know how to read ads. I was a looky-loo more than once because I wasn't quite sure how to look or what to look for. (I wanted something dead-broke, but several people, my trainer included, kept telling me I was underestimating my riding ability and that I would get bored with dead broke. Turns out, I kind of wish I had listened to my instincts, but I'm learning a lot from my hot, reactive Arab mare.)

Luckily, I met a lot of super nice people who seemed to understand that a first-time horse buyer has a surplus of excitement and a surfeit of knowledge. Most were pretty patient with me, and the ones who thought I was a dummy didn't reply to me. I guess I was lucky!

blank said...

I personally don't think she was deceptive with money that came in for Champ (I do not follow her blog anymore so honestly do not have all of the info). I just can't stand the arrogance - whether it be about questions re: those particular donations or which rescue is worth it vs. which ones you are supposed to ridicule just because she says so. Or, along the same lines - what is begging for money for a hopeless case vs. asking for funds for something she deems worthy.

Also, re: horse slaughter - I was in the past vehemently against it. But I can honestly say that by reading her blog and all that goes on there, I have started to see that maybe that view is also radical and slaughter might really be a necessary evil that just needs more regulation, including with the transportation.

I too was struck by horse rescues "buying" ad space. Very odd.

GoLightly said...

hello, Wench.
I had to see this for myself. I heard about it, and wow, there it is, MY comment.
Wow, I am so FAMOUS, now:):):):)
I know, NOT.
Hope TJM will still talk to me.

Can't stay long, I'll get snorkled at, but to clarify, I only got a form letter.
No scans of nothing, at all. I would have appreciated a scan of an invoice i.e. eg. farrier, vet, whatever. ANything. Dated, signed, phone numbers etc. or a picture of him dead. I would have been fine with that. Just hard data proof is all I asked for.
I run a business. I know how stuff works.

Nada, zip, zero, nowt.
This was a "test" of the rules she's stated. She broke 'em.

It was a great experience, she's like a great book, that I've closed.
Moving on...

Glad I could make ya laugh. Can't read the comments. I am already SO unpoopular.

Most of you here already have um, well, ne'er mind. Made your dislike clear.

Butch is still waiting for offers on his spermicide. He's a reel grate harse.

Keep smiling, people, it doesn't hurt anybody.

To Horses.
yes.

Anonymous said...

Yet another long time fugly lurker here, who has also been terribly disillusioned by Cathy's behaviour. I'm a total horse n00b; up until a year ago I actually didn't like horses, or have any experience or interest in them beyond a brief stint on a VERY fat, VERY relaxed dapple-grey pony that belonged to the girls who lived on the farm next door when I was 8.

When I first found the Fugly blog it actually got me interested in horses - from more of a biological/physics standpoint than an owning them one, I'll admit - but still. However, I'm not sure someone stumbling across the blog today would have quite the same experience. When was the last time she actually posted a pic of a horse and critiqued it? Even though I noticed her critiques often differed from resources I found elsewhere, at least it got me thinking and looking up more information on the subject.

More than that, living in the UK as I do, it was interesting to get a different perspective on horses to that of the few horsey friends I have here.

Unfortunately, over the time I've been following Fugly, a lot of the actually quality content has been phased out in favour of personal attacks, bitching, self promotion and endless harping on about slaughter. As someone with (very brief) experience in the medical research industry, who worked with lab animals, I can say with certainty that issues of animal rights and welfare are infinitely more complex than most activists would claim. Cathy's attitude to slaughter is not helpful, as she will brook no quarter there. All horse slaughter would have to stop, in ALL countries, for her 'solutions' to work!

Increasingly I find Cathy's views extremist, irritatingly misinformed, bullying and inflexible. Now I only go back there to laugh myself silly at the drama, and the knee jerk viciousness of many of her commentators. One point to those people - you did not invent the words troll, and it does not mean what you think it means. A troll is someone who deliberately disrails an online discussion for their own amusement/ego/whatever; not just someone who doesn't agree with you! I'd say that on the fugly board but I don't think anyone would listen.

Anyway, there's plenty more I could say, but I won't because it's mostly been said already. All I will say is that I was pleasantly surprised by the reasonable tone of this blog, as I was totally expecting more drama for me to giggle about - instead the Wenchster seems to be infinitely calmer and more reasonable than Cathy herself. Definitely not as adverstised by the fuglyites! Keep it up.

The Wenchster said...

GoLightly I'm so sorry that your requests were ignored. Honestly I hope other people read your story about your kindness towards donating money and are more careful the next time they chose to send money in for a rescue that is not 501(c).
Hopefully other people inquire about how their money was spent in Champs case and Cathy makes it right by posting all the information publicly.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and sorry to double post, but the big danger sign for me was when Cathy first put the ads on her site there were quite a few very polite comments suggesting that she move the ads to a less intrusive place, such as a banner ad or the side bar. Her response? Downright rude, frankly. Any blog owner who can't take constructive criticism over something so minor - or even rationally explain why they aren't going to change something - is one to be wary of, quite franly.

Anonymous said...

OK, this is the kind of thing that Fugly encourages with her ugly ranting:

This was posted proudly by Ginger, who explained with was her ad for a bit she's trying to sell (emphasis mine):

Myler eggbutt ring snaffle with hooks and flexible low port. Copper insets on bars. If you can't deduce from the picture that the bit is upside-down, then you don't need to buy it. You need to go buy an air-fern instead- after getting sterilized.

Sale's final, paypal only (no e-checks) payment requested within one day of auction end, shipping to lower contiguous 48 US states only, $7.00 s/h.


Ginger then goes on to make fun of someone who posted a comment on her ad suggesting that her ad was offensive and not at all nice.

There is so much talk about forced sterilization and licenses for humans to breed after they take IQ tests in the comments section. I think some of it is sarcastic, but it's mostly disturbing, hostile, intolerant and just generally ugly.

Anonymous said...

I know another person who has had some fun filled "experiences" with Fugs as well... Trainer X. They just never seem to end well do they????? I'm tired of people getting screwed by FUGLY!!! And yet no one seems to get it!!!

CharlesCityCat said...

Wenchster:

As far as Fugly providing the appropriate documentation on Champ's donation, I wouldn't count on it.

The Wenchster said...

CharlesCityCat I'm not holding my breath either. I feel bad for those that did send money to her for Champ though thinking that she would carry through with her words. GoLightly did right by asking to see documentation though. I would have done the same. I hope future readers of fugly might be inclined to read what happened to GoLightly and think twice before sending money to her again. There are so many great rescue organizations to choose from that will show documents on how money is spent. I would rather good hearted people send money to those reputable ones.

CharlesCityCat said...

I agree with you there. I was a long time follower of FHOTD, but I never sent her anything.

I have several local rescues that my donations go to. I have seen them and personally know the people who run them. Much more comfortable with that.

bucky said...

Wow..Charles City Cat
I will greet you with a kind hello, unlike what you did to me when I tried to post over on FHoTD.

I still have a scar.

Roxmysox said...

Looks as though a few nerves have been touched just lately.
I really would be sad to think that donations sent in good faith had been sidetracked ( as I've stated previously) all genuine charities have to start somewhere after all.
Posting a financial breakdown would be the action of an honest person trying to do the right thing.
I'm not going to hold my breath though.
CCC. I'm stunned. Welcome.

Dontyouridenofuglyhorse said...

*Le Sigh* I am once again being maligned simply because I am a former friend of FHOTD. Well anonymous poster if the situation my horses lived in was as horrible as you think it, and you are trying to sound like you know something personal about me or was there.... If my horses were so badly mistreated why didn't YOU call Animal Control? Oh would that be because what you have to say about me is not true? My horses feet got a little long when I moved simply because it took time to find a new farrier in a new town and to get an appointment. They all got trimmed on a regular basis from then on. Their worming and trimming schedules are always posted in my barn and always have been if you happened to look around. Oh wait you don't really know me at all do you? They have never been hungry one day in their lives. Of course I make foals. People who have stallions and broodmares DO, that is why they have them. Yes I have had my share of financial stresses we all do from time to time and mine were related to a business failure, and being upside down in a piece of property, JUST LIKE 65% of Americans are today with an ARM mortgage. It is impossible to sell or refinance a piece of property when you own more than the current market value. Millions of Americans are in that exact same boat today. That is part of the reason our economy is in the shape it is in now.
And one thing you can say without out doubt those horses were NEVER EVER unfed or uncared for. Yep one place I had, had some barbed wire along a very busy road. I certainly was not going to take it out and replace it with hot tape that would not always be hot so horses could roam the busy highway which was her suggestion. For the record Cathy and I disagree that barbed wire is a knife waiting to cut a horse. It is not my first choice in fencing and I would never install it, but it is an effective perimeter fence as long as there is no horse on the other side. Cross fencing? No WAY.
I do not even know how to address the "And her stallions did nothing but lives in miserable little pens." Most of the time my stallions are turned out in an arena or paddock during the day, at minimum for a few hours, like every other person who owns a stallion. There was a short time when I had one in a small pen while I was building some fences. But that "miserable little pen" was no smaller or more miserable than what horses in California live their whole lives in. I do have my old KLR Reflection horse that cannot be turned out in a large are in a smaller confined place upon the veterinarians recommendations due to his old chronic leg injury.
One last thing Anonymous poster or my new name for my part is "Clueless" poster, No one suspected VLC was going to be a Daddy until my mare foaled. Not even me.
I know you want to sound like you have inside information Clueless Poster, but without some kind of photographic evidence of my alleged abuse of my horses I have to call bullshit on your regurgitated garbage.

CharlesCityCat said...

Roxmysox:

I am a business person after all. If you are in a business transaction (even donations) you must be able to substantiate. You should see the crap I have to do. Fugly should easily have been able to provide the appropiate documentation for anyone who requested it. I was a Fugly loyal reader, but to me, she just blew Golightly off. In my book, not a good thing.


Now Bucky, I seriously doubt that you still have a scar from anything anyone said to you on a blog.

I am sorry, I do not remember what scenario you are referring to. If you would remind me, I would be happy to reasses (?). I did drink some of the kool-aid, of which I am not proud. I have been going through a re-evalutation of FHOTD for a bit (slow I admit). So I admit I could well have been wrong. I do have the ability to admit my mistakes

The Wenchster said...

We all make mistakes and hopefully everyone learns from them. It takes a bigger person than most to be able to admit to fault and mistakes if they see fit, which I commend you for CharlesCityCat. A lot of people got sucked into the FHotD vortex. When someone posts something bad or horrid day after day after day, you can expect to get that mob mentality so when that 'one' time that something is posted that isn't completely crazy or horrible you're still in the "that's god awful" and lets bash it mode.

BTW- what flavor Kool Aid does Cathy serve?

CharlesCityCat said...

Wenchster:

I think she has many flavors, the one I drank was swamp water. Tastes good right off the bat because you are thirsty, but the after taste, well not so good.

Fugly is a conundrum (sorry, just love that word), sometimes what she does is good. Love stuff on any one who abuses, Cleve Wells for one, I'm right there with her. She has just gotten so over the top with everything. Someone on here made a point that I think is really valid, that her priorities have changed, especially since the ads started. I have been reading since about Sept of 2007, commenting since Nov 2007. I don't remember it being so bad. She has steadily been showing herself to be opinionated to the point of inflexibilty, judgemental, consescending and arrogant. I have been seeing this for awhile, sometimes I am a bit slow. Her attacks on people with addiction problems and then her ugliness on TMP was just the breaking point for me.

I posted that info on her latest topic because I wanted everyone to see what she can truly be like. Everyone is free to judge and make whatever decision they want. I made mine.

I have always realized that she is not the end all of horses or rescues, I just never put in the time to search further.

I also enjoyed conversing with the many people who came on that site. I made some good internet friends who I enjoyed.

Anyhoo, sorry to go on and on, sheesh, ya'll probably think I am a kook already, so I won't make it worse.

Unknown said...

I had never seen those photos before, and talk about making me ill. Then I read the bill before writting my rep of course.
But it certainly had me full of fire for a while. Not sure what to think of those bills. Anyhow, While I think double deckers are inhumane I am not against horseslaughter myself. I seriously doubt backyard breeders can ever be stopped. I have seriously tried to educate some folks out here. One fellow just stuck an underweight mare he got given in with his now 3 year old stallion. Sigh, even though he is well aware there are too many horses. Mare is grade to boot and lame. Yeah...
I too was wondering about those banners. Is she honestly charging the rescue to have them there? I would love to know. If so she is sick at this point.

CharlesCityCat said...

Not to be obnoxious, although I probably am. I meant to say the "revenge fail" addition to her topic of the day was one of the most pathetic things I have seen. Such a very high school thing to do.

She just needed to stand up, admit what she did and then say what she needed to say. Skulking around on other sites is just, well, trampy.

I'm done now. Thanks for listening and I didn't even drop the F-bomb.

blank said...

Charles City Cat: I saw you in the past over on fugly (never commented there) and I just wanted to say that it is great to see you pop up here. At one point most of us were taken in by Fugly. Good issues were brought up at times - but the bashing, taunting, arrogance ultimately ruined it all - including the opportunity to educate and inform. I do think she sincerely believes she is truly superior and that her opinions are not debatable. She is vicious and cruel in the name of horses.

As someone already said here, this blog is a place to vent but I think it will evolve into much more and reach out in a way Fugly could never have. Sure she started her blog to entertain a circle of friends, but wouldn't anyone (especially one with superior intelligence)see the golden opportunity to do so much more than that?

Dontyouridenofugly: Sorry you are getting pulled into middle of things because of your past association. Please know that many if not most of us would never pass judgment on you based on what we hear here or any blog. In trying to out Fugly's hypocrisy, things are being thrown around and it's got to be hard to take.

Dontyouridenofuglyhorse said...

Oldgraymare said: "Dontyouridenofugly: Sorry you are getting pulled into middle of things because of your past association. Please know that many if not most of us would never pass judgment on you based on what we hear here or any blog. In trying to out Fugly's hypocrisy, things are being thrown around and it's got to be hard to take."

Yes it is hard to take. Things on the internet last forever in Cyberspace. My only crime is I befriended someone a couple of years before she decided to make herself an internet celebrity and I sold her some horses. She has made a lot of enemies. So I get painted with her mud. I am pretty darn sick of it.

Roxmysox said...

CCC.
When I said I was stunned it was not at your comment that you didn't really expect to see a financial breakdown - just at your presence here.
I'm another of the long time lurkers ( who ventured to post a couple of times and got a neck full of spit in response).

blank said...

Dontyouridenofugly said: So I get painted with her mud. I am pretty darn sick of it.

I don't blame you! Talk about unfair! I guess all you can really do is continue to defend yourself when things like this come up, but how exhausting. Not that there is truth to any of it - but Fugly has plenty of hypocrisy to go around from the purchase of her colt on out.

Know you have supporters out here.

Anonymous said...

Just read this blog. I donated money to Champ, and did receive an
itemized statement with a list of the donors initals and the amounts they donated. It also included what the adopter paid towards Champ. Also, included was an itemized list of expenses. This was received after Champ was euthanised.

secondwindacres said...

The Wenchster said...
GoLightly I'm so sorry that your requests were ignored. Honestly I hope other people read your story about your kindness towards donating money and are more careful the next time they chose to send money in for a rescue that is not 501(c).
Hopefully other people inquire about how their money was spent in Champs case and Cathy makes it right by posting all the information publicly.
================
Me too GL.

Financial accountability and responsibility has been something Cathy has preached about rescues and donating forever. And yet there is no accounting of Champ's donated money forthcoming. I guess she is above her own advice somehow. There are many astute posters at FHOTD but many more blind followers who would never think to question Cathy about their donations. Whatever. But maybe they just paid for a month's board for VLC. :) :)

secondwindacres said...

Anonymous said...
Just read this blog. I donated money to Champ, and did receive an
itemized statement with a list of the donors initals and the amounts they donated
======
Sorry, I'm confused. Why did only a select few get an itemized statement? Did it come from Cathy or from Champ's rescuer? Why didn't GoLightly get a copy, since she donated?

secondwindacres said...

CharlesCityCat said...
Not to be obnoxious, although I probably am. I meant to say the "revenge fail" addition to her topic of the day was one of the most pathetic things I have seen. Such a very high school thing to do.
=====
I thought so too. I was a long time poster on FHOTD and even defended her position many times, but over time I grew increasing irritated at her superior attitude and thoughtless-less-than-funny comments about people's weight, colors/ages of saddles, etc., So needless. Especially since she could be doing so much good.

I posted on another blog that I found it interesting that she would post a thread regarding selling nightmares right after a double-decker thread that basically stated if you want to care for your horse and make sure he doesn't end up on truck you should euth rather than sell.

It's her hypocrisy that irks the hell out of me. And everything here said about the VLC...I couldn't agree more.

Sorry if I've offended everyone by posting here since I post there, but I have no agenda and am not privy to the different dynamics of these blogs and how they relate to each other. I'm just me. :)

GoLightly said...

The "Itemized" statement was just a list of the donors by initial, approx. 12 of 'em, typed into a regular e-mail Letter.
Heck, I could have typed it.
It proved nothing. zero. The total came to $1623.00
Fugs offered scans, and then did NOT send them.
I repeat not. If she ever does, I will happily post that fact.
So far, no hard data facts.
Just sayin'.

The Wenchster said...

Secondwind you are welcome here as well as anyone else. You have not offended anyone here that I know of and like I told CCC, everyone is welcome that brings education and friendly debate with minimal cursing.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone actually read what her suggestion was for the solution of double deckers? To stop horses being sent across the border. Um. WHAT? Does she have any idea how the MARKET works, or supply and demand?
Imagine if no horses were sent over the border for slaughter because it was 'illegal'... and then imagine how much money those killbuyers would make when they took them across the border anyway!

Trying to stop them across the border's just going to make the price of horse meat go up. Anyone see the amount of illegal immigrants in this country? 'no!' doesn't work for them either!

Had to be one of the stupidest ideas I've ever read, and I don't say that lightly!