Former West Virginia trainer Harry Dodson of Martinsburg, WVa., is the subject of a criminal complaint of 14 counts of animal cruelty filed in local court in March. The complaint details a weeks-long investigation by animal control authorities into repeated complaints about the condition of horses – some of them former racehorses – in Dodson's care.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Jefferson County Magistrate Court, law enforcement began fielding calls about horses connected to Dodson in January of this year. In the criminal complaint, Lt. Robert Sell noted that Dodson was the owner of more than a dozen horses who were kept on a property on Leetown Road. An initial check found the horses with hay and water, and law enforcement didn't note any problems, but animal control officers continued to receive calls about the horses and and made additional visits to the property.
Three horses did show signs of malnutrition in late January, according to the report, and are identified as Another Buckaroo, an 18-year-old gelding who was owned and trained on the track by Dodson; Only Gota Minute, an 18-year-old mare, and Kyla's Treasure, an 18-year-old mare who ran on the track for Dodson.
Dodson told officers he suspected his siblings may have been responsible for the complaints about the horses as part of an ongoing family dispute.
Sell wrote that he ordered Dodson to seek veterinary care for those three horses within seven days. Ten days after that order, the document shows, Dodson told animal control officer he could not afford veterinary care for the horses. Animal control continued to post notices at the Leetown Road property, demanding Dodson comply with their order through mid-February.
On Feb. 23, a private veterinarian visited the farm and discovered that Another Buckaroo had been euthanized prior to her visit. The vet gave Kyla's Treasure a body condition score of one out of nine. Only Gota Minute received a score of two out of nine. The veterinarian provided Dodson with a number of recommendations, including medicated shampoos for lice infestations and feeding/management strategies to improve their weight.
The complaint states that when officers returned on Feb. 27, they had received two more calls. This time, they found a downed horse who was unable to rise. The next day, they discovered Dodson with Only Gota Minute, who was down but alive. Dodson told officers he had euthanized the horse with a drug that took 30 minutes to fully work, the report states. He would later admit, it continued, that he had shot the horse and been unsuccessful in killing her before the arrival of animal control officers. A necropsy later revealed the horse weighed 827 pounds and died of unspecified trauma and hypoproteinemia (lack of dietary protein).
On March 2, law enforcement obtained a search warrant and permission from the court to remove animals from the property. They took 13 horses, 12 of which scored at or below a 3.5 out of 9 on the Henneke Body Condition Score scale.
“The field conditions were bare and minimal, lacking both grass/pasture and quality hay,” the complaint read. “The water sources varied from adequate to inadequate based on where the horses were located. The fencing was inadequate and dangerous to the animals in terms of protecting them or possible escape. All of the horses will need extensive care and treatment to return to a healthy body score and future.”
A neighbor later told police that Dodson had told them in text messages that he'd had four horses die on the property between Christmas and New Year's, prior to the start of law enforcement investigations. Dodson had indicated in one of his texts that one died from Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis.
One mare and foal were transferred to Hattingh Equine Rescue in Purcellville, Va., where they reportedly are making good progress. Thirteen seized horses were sent to Days End Farm in Woodbine, Md., where they are continuing their recovery.
Days End is a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited facility that specializes in rehabilitating neglected horses and frequently works with law enforcement in Eastern states on welfare issues.
Support our journalism
If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.DeEtte Hillman, equine programs director for Days End, said the 13 horses the organization took on are about three weeks into their recovery, and while they are showing signs of improvement, they have a long road ahead.
“These horses were suffering from a severe lice infestation, so their bodies just hurt and itched,” said Hillman. “These guys, on top of being starved, were ill and fighting infections. They still are. We're still dealing with it and we're three weeks in.”
Days End has three mares with foals, two stallions, two geldings, and three mares. So far, the organization has found Jockey Club registration information for six of them, although they all appear to be Thoroughbreds. Hillman said lack of dental care and vaccines have contributed to the horses' condition.
“We can say now the majority of them are improving. Others are still struggling through ongoing illness issues,” she said.
Hillman said she expects it will take a minimum of six months for the group to regain health, and it may be 12 months before they may be ready for adoption. On average, Days Ends finds that horses getting rehabilitative care can cost $2,200 or more per month due to the intensive veterinary work required to safely refeed, deworm, and address other chronic medical issues.
Dodson's training career was sporadic and most of his starts took place in 2014 with a lifetime record of one win in 43 starts. In 2015, he was ejected from Charles Town after the track said he had engaged in “conduct detrimental to the best interest of racing.” Dodson later said track management made a series of allegations against him, including that he attempted to exercise a sore horse, that he entered a 9-year-old horse that had not raced before and was euthanized in its third start, and accused him of “generally entering poor performing horses in races at PNGI,” according to a report in the Thoroughbred Daily News.
Dodson appealed the ejection to the West Virginia Racing Commission, which determined that Dodson had not violated any rules of racing and that the track had violated statutory requirements for ejection. The commission reversed the track's ejection. Still, Dodson brought suit against Charles Town in federal court, claiming that the ejection forced him to “engage in a fire-sale/giveaway of horses he had on PNGI's premises.”
He sought $100,000 in damages plus $10,000 in lost wages, along with punitive damages. The racetrack made a motion to dismiss, which was granted by a judge when it went unopposed by Dodson. Dodson's attorney later explained in a court filing that he misunderstood the requirements for filing a response.
According to Jefferson County court records, Dodson was issued a notice to appear for a pre-trial hearing on May 16 for the misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He has not yet entered a plea. He is no longer licensed by the West Virginia Racing Commission in any capacity.
The post Former West Virginia Trainer Subject Of Animal Cruelty Complaint; 13 Starving Horses Removed From Property appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
