Posted on 07/09/2012 10:42:31 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
A horse slashed in April was cut again over the weekend.
Lucinda suffered non-life-threatening injuries sometime between 8 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release from Fairfax County police.
She was in a paddock at 2625 Centreville Road, property next to Frying Pan Farm Park.
The first attack happened between April 25 and April 26, when three horses at a private barn adjacent to the park were injured.
The horses are part of Spirit Equestrian, a non-profit therapeutic riding program operating at the popular park off Centreville Road. The program serves children with disabilities and special needs, along with veterans who ride as part of the Wounded Warrior program.
The horses, all trusting and trained to be gentle with people, had deep gashes on their rumps, hocks and hips.
The next attack happened one month later, on May 26, at Kidwell Barn in Frying Pan Farm Park.
In late June, Fairfax County police arrested a 17-year-old boy in connection with attacks on three horses, a calf, two goats and a chicken at and adjacent to a popular park in Herndon.
The teen was charged with four felony counts of maiming animals, three misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of unlawful entry, a news release said.
Police said the teen was still in the Juvenile Detention Center at the time of this weekend's attack. They did not release his name because he is a juvenile.
All the animals are expected to make a full recovery.
Horses do need grass and freedom; keeping them locked up in a stall all the time is a good way to make them nuts. But in my view the freedom should come during the day, when people are around to supervise. Turning them out alone at night is just asking for trouble, especially when Fairfax is now entertaining loose dogs, coyotes, cougars, and human predators.
Even if you have cameras, they do no good unless someone is watching them all night long. Fine breeding farms install marecams and do watch them all night long during foaling season, but the average owner can’t do that. Motion detectors are set off by wildlife and by the horses themselves.
Baby monitors are a good solution for people who, like me, are experienced mommies and wake in an instant if there is the slightest untoward sound.
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