I have a question for all of you folks heading to Scottsdale this year...

Okay, I know pretty much all of you are from ABN, so you may very well already know of this situation. For those who are not, and don't know the story, I'll summarize briefly.

Last May, I sent my stallion Celzeus to TX on contract for a 16 month breeding lease. Well, today I received an email from the lessee and, long story short, she's bailing on me and the contract. The contract stipulated that she was to pay for his transportation both to and from TX. She agreed to this by signing the contract, which she supposedly read in it's entirety. In her email today, she stated that she isn't planning to pay for his transport or vetting fees to return home to CA.

In posting my frustrations on ABN, one of the members there was able to offer perhaps the most viable option at this point for getting Zeus home affordably. So here's the idea and hence, the question. Are any of you folks in TX or East of TX traveling to Scottsdale with room in your trailer? Additionally, are any of you folks coming back to CA with room in your trailer? The idea is that someone heading to Scottsdale would pick Zeus up, bring him to the show and then someone coming to CA from the show would bring Zeus closer to home. If this is not a possibility then I will have to make other arrangements, and of course I'd get him properly vetted to cross state lines prior to him being picked up.

Anyway, there it is, I will be anxious to see what the response is to this topic.

That is a wonderful plan with only one hitch Renee. He is not allowed to be on the show grounds without being entered in the show and there is not a stall for him. If Natalie, who is coming from TX, is able to do it, then you need to find a facility in AZ for him to live in during the show.

Hmm... Okay, then that's step 2. I'm grasping at straws at the moment, my lessee just bailed on me this morning so I'm still kind of reeling from it. Libby was the brilliant one who suggested him hitching a ride with folks who will be going to Scottsdale. I thought it was a great idea, either way.

It is a great idea and certainly in keeping with the AA goals. I just wanted to bring all the "aspects" up. You will need to secure a stall for him in the Scottsdale area, and that may be tough while the show is going on ($$$$$). Keep us posted and reach out to Natalie since she is coming in from TX.

Natalie???? What's her user-name?

We would bring him home, however, I have 2 stallions and a filly in a 4 horse trailer. Not sure I want a stallion standing next to my girl! Plus, no stud wall...

Natalie's user name...NN Elite Arabians? Or is that just her barn/farm name? Check the other Scottsdale threads.

Hmm... Bummer Stacy! If I thought it'd make a difference to you I'd tell you about how well behaved he is, etc, but I know how it is with your own horses and I can't say I blame you for your very valid concerns.

Now, the other concern that has been brought up on ABN is that there was a gal who went to see Zeus back in November and she told me that there was a horse in the main barn (as in not isolated) that had a fairly bad case of strangles. I hadn't thought about the fact that some of the equipment Zeus has with him may have been exposed to strangles, creating a potential for major spread if it's not handled correctly. I'm concerned that I may now need to consider finding a place to quarantine him, either that or I need to get a vet out there to assess the real potential for spreading it.

Anyway, maybe hitching a ride through Scottsdale isn't going to work. I'm going to keep trying, and if anyone here has any ideas I'm really open to almost anything at this point. I mean, I totally don't trust the lessee now that she's told me she's going to bail, I'm not sure she'll take proper care of him now that she doesn't really have an obligation to fullfill her end of the contract. I really just want to get him out of there, but I'm not sure what to do about the strangles thing!

I'll probably talk to a vet tomorrow and see what they think about going out there to check stuff out. I'll also probably see if I can't find Natalie and ask her what her thoughts are on bringing him to Scottsdale. There have been a couple other names suggested to me today so I might try those folks too.

Thanks again for the help!

Here I am!

I dont think I will have enough room in my trailer. I have a 2 horse slant with just Psymin but I have to put all of my hay in the front stall of the trailer since I don't have a pick-up truck. Where is the horse at in Texas? I am just north of Houston.

Yes, be very careful with strangles. It's been flying around the Texas area. I just vaccinated Psymin on Sunday.

LOL Natalie I just sent you a PM while you were posting here! Great minds think alike! Anyhow, Zeus is in Campbell, which as I understand is about 4 hours north of Houston and about an hour NE of DFW, but I could be wrong I used Google maps! LOL

Check out that person who posted here about hauling services. Maybe they can help.

That's a tough situation. If the leese signed the contact and is bailing out all of the sudden you might want to take legal action. But as far as keeping him at the Scottsdale grounds, people bring horses to shows all the time that aren't entered. Not sure that anyone will be able to add a "tack stall" now for him, but you should be able to find a boarding place in the area where you could pay for him to be there for a week or two.

Thanks for the clarification Kaitlyn, I really appreciate it! If someone could somehow get an extra stall or for some reason finds themselves with an open stall, please please please let me know!

We had ours vaccinated, just because we were going to the show. We don't do Strangles here, unless there is a major outbreak going on locally. Haven't had to yet.

First thing, talk to a vet. Try to get one out there. You will need to know before you can really arrange shipping at all. You probably wouldn't even be able to hire a shipper if there is a risk of spreading it.

And, again, if I had one less horse or a 5 horse, I would bring him home with us. We will be keeping an empty between our filly and stallions. Might be stacking some hay in there too...

There has to be someone else coming back that can bring him?

I would not move your horse anywhere with a potential exposure to strangles! Usually the vet will put the farm under quarantine for a specified period of time. This can be very contagious and is really bad. Years ago some girls whose horses had exposure to strangles 7 months prior came into the barn and the entire barn got it--it did not matter that the horses were vaccinated, it simply delayed the onset of strangles! And it took 3 months for the horses that got it to recover. If your horse has been exposed it is not a question of IF he will get it, but WHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yikes! Glad mine were done already!

Thanks for the info Krissy, Zeus is still current on his Strangles vaccine, as he got his shots before leaving my place last May. The strangles case was supposedly back in November, so I'll be curious to see what the vet has to say. Ugh, this is turning into a nightmare!

Okay, just a quick update on the situation really quick, for those who may be wondering.

Things almost got really sticky with the lessee, almost had to get the law enforcement involved but thankfully I managed to get Zeus out of there and into a safe quarantine facility in TX. I received pictures of him and I am NOT happy with his condition. Vet says he's over-all fairly healthy, but will need a few months of recouperation to get back to 100%. They did a PCR test (test for strangles) and he is clear, but they're keeping him seperate far away from other horses still just in case.

He will be leaving the quarantine facility to go to another gal's house in TX, she may lease him but at least she will be keeping him for me until he is either leased by someone else or I can arrange for his transport home. Meanwhile, he'll be getting groceries and gaining his weight back, and getting some fresh air! Also, his feet are going to take some time to fix up again, as she's had him standing in a stall for a considerable amount of time and they're pretty bad. I was livid, as a matter of fact, when I heard everything from her vet.

Apparently, she had Zeus at a breeding facility and had him collected and then had some mares insemenated with him. That's all well and good, except as far as I know he isn't properly documented with the AHA for AI. At least, I never signed anything. LOL Ugh... And to think she had the audacity to ask me to send her something releasing her from the terms of the contract! HA!

Well, anyway, it will be interesting to see how this whole thing turns out, but the SPCA has already been called on her now that Zeus is out of there, and the BIG relief is that he IS out of there and I can stop worrying about his health and well-being.

Thanks to those of you who offered to help or suggestions, I really appreciate it a lot!