Yes, Ernie, you were wrong.

The king of understatements.

Ernie Paragallo seems to be taking responsibility for the 24 horses he carelessly lost track of, and the rest of them that he almost starved to death. If, in fact, the 24 mares truly were intended to go to the breeding farm and not the kill pen, which isn't proven. You never know with people like him.

Let me ask you something, Ernie. How do you explain these photos? This kind of condition takes months to happen.

Paragallo claims he feeds his horses 14 tons of hay and 5,000 pounds of feed a week and that they were not in that poor shape when they left his farm. He admitted some of the horses at his farm were "skinny" as a result of dominant horses scaring off others. "Some were skinny but others looked like elephants," Paragallo said.

Excuses, excuses. I don't want to hear it. The timid horses at my barn get bullied away from the hay, so we separate them. There is absolutely no valid excuse for a horse not getting enough to eat. And where are the ones that "look like elephants"? I sure don't see any. All I see are emaciated, sick, parasite-infested horses living in filth. If he feeds his horses like he says he does (and we all know he doesn't), those horses would never be deathly thin. The malnutrition isn't the only issue. These horses are absolutely filthy and infested with parasites. Classic examples of long-term and blatant neglect. There is no justification for not making damn well sure that your horses are being fed.

Deworming is such a basic, easy part of caring for a horse. How any kind of "high-class" owner/breeder could overlook it is beyond me. Along with the lice and rain rot. So easy to avoid.

And this really made me angry. Richard Baiardi, the guy who picked up the 24 mares from Paragallo's farm, says that all the horses were in bad condition and wouldn't have made the 1,290 mile trip. He says one died not even 90 miles into the trip.

First of all, if you see these horses that are hundreds of pounds underweight and you're supposed to be taking them to be bred, wouldn't that be a HUGE red flag? Why the hell would you take those horses when they're in that kind of condition?

Baiardi, who sold the horses to the kill pen for $680 because he said he had no other choice, believes it's not Paragallo's fault, but the fault of his help at his farm. "I can't blame Ernie," Baiardi said. "He's at the track, but at the same time he's got to keep eyes on his farm."

Richard, pull your head out of your fucking ass and open your eyes. It's all Paragallo's fault. And yours, for not putting the kabosh on transporting those horses and not calling the authorities when you saw their condition (AND selling them to the kill pen). That dead mare might still be alive today if you hadn't ignored the situation. If you contacted the humane society like you claim, why did they end up in the kill pen?

Ernie was the owner and manager of a facility and it was his responsibility to oversee every aspect of it. Every single animal on that property was his responsibility and it was his obligation to make sure all of them were well cared for. He should have known that going into the business. I don't want to hear your petty excuses about him being too busy to keep an eye on his horses. If his staff was doing a crap ass job of taking care of his horses, he should have been the first to know. And he should have fired their asses. How can he possibly be that blind? He goes to his farm and sees starving horses, and nothing seems amiss? Ernie, are you completely blind, deaf, and dumb, or do you just not care? Don't tell me your horses were fine and don't tell me you didn't notice it.

I don't care how busy you are or how many horses you have. If you're the owner, you need to be on top of everything. If that's not possible, you have no business having horses. If one of my horses is hurt, I want to know immediately. If they're off on one leg, I want to be the first to know. If they pop a splint, I want to know about it. They're no excuse for being blissfully unaware of your horses' conditions. If I put someone in charge of my horses and they were slacking off, their ass would be out the door so fast their head would spin and they'd never be coming back.

No fricken excuse.

That brings us back to the fact that he had no idea where his horses were. How do you not know? Do you live in a fucking cardboard box? And how could you entrust your horses to someone who sold them to a kill pen? I would have had references and background checks on someone who was transporting my horses over a thousand miles. I wonder what would have happened if the 23 remaining mares had arrived at the breeding farm. Would the owner have sent them back without breeding them, like any responsible breeder would do? I honestly don't know.

22 counts of animal cruelty isn't enough. He needs to be charged with the full 177 counts. No punishment is harsh enough for him.

"Of course it's a wake-up call," Paragallo said. "It's a tragedy and totally my responsibility. It was a major screw-up, but I'd never send my horses to the killers."

A "major screw-up" is an epic understatement. And sure, maybe you'd never send your horses to kill buyers, but you have no problem starving and neglecting them! As far as I'm concerned, he's a worthless piece of shit that doesn't have the brains God gave a sheep. He shouldn't be allowed to own animals ever again, either. We'll see.

Crappy stallion of the day!

This guy's 23 years old, and he looks every day of it. His age can't excuse the big, klunky head, shitty pasterns, and crooked legs, though. He's toed out and knock-kneed pretty bad.

I don't like his face or neck at all.

But you can breed your very own for $500.

I don't get how anyone can look at this horse and think he's a quality, textbook Arabian. It doesn't sound like a BYB situation, either.

I don't know how to educate these people. Most of them are freakin brick walls. You can't tell them anything. And God forbid you try to tell them their horse isn't breeding material.
Good grief. That horse should have been gelded 2 decades ago.

Priceless.

This colt is 18 months old ready to start saddle work he has been lunged , worked in creeks and lakes . He stands for clipping , trimming , shots and most other activities that need done . He has a calm attitude , with a ton of spirit . Likes a challenge . Lunges beautifully over obstacles such as cavalleties and such . Just an all around great colt will make an awesome show horse , blood lines are foundation with hall of famers through out . price is firm we are in no hurry to sell him we would rather find a show home for him as he will steal the show .

Really? A show home? And for $2,000? WTH? It's a piece of crap yearling that looks like he could easily end up smuggled into Mexico in a double decker. Shitty legs, shitty topline, shitty neck, and absolutely no ass. And this was the most flattering of the pictures. A real show stopper, right? Nobody is going to pay two grand for that mess. A kill buyer might pay 40 bucks for him, though. I guess these people win the prize for the most over-the-top-ad and the shittiest horse.

And when she says "ready to start saddle work", I hope she means just putting the saddle on his back for short intervals, not actually trying to get on him. He's not even two, for Christ's sake. I don't even think an 18 month old horse should be lunged.

But that's not all! Check out their stallion. Is it any wonder why the colt turned out so fugly? I see the family resemblence. Here's what the ad says:

Geronimoslionhawk is lethal white negative and has been producing more stud colts than fillies . Out of each mare he throws big strong foals all so far have multi- colored tails and usually manes too . all have been bomb proof and intelligent , independant foals from birth .added to his ad is this years foal . who is up for sale . geronimo is foundation bred and has many hall of famers in his lines QH as well as APha . we are proud of his production so far and even his solid born foals by two are getting unique white spots on them . Pocorose this year has a white u on her neck and a white spot the size of an adult hand on her side and is still cinnamon colored . Pahkennepeh is getiing white spots as well . so check out his new foal .out of pks mom.

I think it's pretty clear that these people are under the misguided belief that unusually-shaped spots make a horse rare or valuable. They're proudly presenting their managerie of fuglies as if they're the most special horses in the world. Of course, you know multi-colored manes and tails are soo important and amazing, too. That's good enough reason to breed them, right? So what if the stallion is completely unaccomplished and the farthest thing from breeding quality you can get!

*headdesk*

This has nothing to do with the yak breeders, but I found this to be odd.

Thoroughbred with a Quarter Horse body ... That's it? That's all you have to say about her? Is she broke? Off the track? Has she accomplished anything? What kind of rider/handler is best for her? If that's the best thing you can say about her, I highly doubt you're going to be successful in trying to sell her. Victor and Jessie are mistaken for QH's on a regular basis. Hearty TB's aren't that unusual. And besides that, I honestly don't think this mare looks Quarter Horsey. She looks rather ugly from the picture.

People. Come on.

Could you imagine riding these critters?

Here are some fine examples of conformation that are horrendous to the point of making one wonder how the horses are even able to move.

Fugly KMH filly. She looks rather uncomfortable to me. It would be interesting to actually see her walk. Or trot. Or *gasp* even canter.
Train wreck.



Is your mama a llama?









Not a fugly horse, more like WTF is the rider doing???

Why, oh why would you ride backwards? I don't see the attraction. It doesn't look fun. It looks uncomfortable and more than a little dangerous.

Riding backwards is not the best way to show that your horse is bombproof and well schooled. So don't do it. You'll look like a total moron. Thank ya.




Isn't this lovely? The poor thing looks miserable. Can you really blame him with that scary, decrepit, chicken wire fencing? I used to use the same kind of fence to keep my rabbit in.

Chicken wire = not good for a mule. That's an emergency vet call waiting to happen.





You knew there would be Vanners on this post, right?
Is there anything right about this picture? Not only are the horses fugly (even if you look past the shaggy yak coats) but their hooves need to be trimmed like there's no freakin tomorrow.

You wanna see some more ass-ugly Gypsies, check out Vines Gypsy Horses. Especially the mares page. Epic fail.

I didn't find one picture there where the horse was clipped, squared up, and photographed from a decent angle. Not all of them were clean, either.

People like that shouldn't be allowed to reproduce. They're obviously too besotted to be able to tell the difference between a breeding quality horse and a shaggy, black and white water buffalo. They seem to have stopped maturing mentally at age 12 and think anything with color and a long mane and tail is perty.

Blegh.

I want this horse.

Look at that carriage. The color, the age, he's just awesome. He's put together beautifully. He's got a nice ass. ;D One of the biggest things that attract me to a horse. And a nice neck. A lot of TB's have skinny, shapeless necks. Here's the original ad.

He's so gorgeous.

If only I was in the market for another horse. I would seriously check him out. I wouldn't have time or money for a third horse, though. My hands are pretty much tied with my boys.

If you're in the NY area, this guy is worth looking at. I hope someone really nice buys him and spoils him rotten. lol

Another horse in need of a liposuction.

This is a 2-year-old Peruvian Paso stallion for sale.

WTF is up with these obese horses? This poor guy is only 2. No 2yo should look like that. Those poor, skinny little legs of his look like they're about to snap.

Why do people let their horses get like this? Do they just not notice that their horse looks like a pregnant cow? I'd also like to know what the hell they're feeding him. Little too much sweet feed? I think so.
They're asking $3,000 for him. I wouldn't pay that much for a horse that's already been predisposed to arthritis. That is not good for a growing horse, especially.

Although he looks like he'd be a pretty nice horse someday if he loses weight and his muscles fill out. I don't know how much of a stallion prospect he'd be from this photo, but you never know. Somebody buy this horse and take the grain away.

When you flop around like a limp ragdoll...

You know there's something wrong with your riding. Check this chick out.
All I have to say is, that horse is worth his weight in gold. He was tripping all over the place because that idiot can chaser was bouncing like a sack of potatoes and kicking the shit out of him, yet he still ran the pattern and didn't pull anything. Can you imagine if you got that girl up on a Thoroughbred or Arabian? Ouch.

I'm pissed.

My own mother is betraying me. She wants to breed our little Papillon/Pomeranian mix to a full Pom. After all the harping I do on irresponsible/ backyard breeders, all the dogs on Craigslist looking for homes, and especially the ones in shelters with their days numbered. She wants to contribute to the out of control population. I'm so pissed at her I could spit. My dad doesn't know quite what to think about the whole prospect.

Mom says she only wants to breed her once and she'd find homes for the puppies because she has friends that would take them. WTF. You don't even know how many puppies she would have. She could have 2, or she could have 12. What the HELL are you planning to do if she has a dozen? I know it's uncommon, but it can happen. And besides that, you'd be taking away homes that could go to animals that are already homeless. On top of that, the economy is in the toilet right now and people are giving up their animals left and right because they can't afford to take care of them. The shelters are more overcrownded than ever and now is NOT the time to be making even more dogs.

Another thing. You bought the dog from Petland. Which means she most likely came from a puppy mill. She has no pedigree, no papers, not even pure bred. She could be fucking inbred for all you know. Mutts happen all the time by accident. The last thing we need is to be making more of them on purpose. And who in their right mind would breed their pedigreed, purebred Pomeranian to your puppy mill mutt? Well, at least I found out why she kept putting off getting her spayed. At first she kept making up excuses like, "She's so small and I don't want them to give her too much anesthesia." Yeah, right.

Your co-workers want a cute, fluffy little puppy? Tell them to go down to Animal Control. Kittens and puppys abound.

Am I my mother's keeper? It really seems like it most the time. I suply the common sense she lacks. Whether or not she listens is another story. I might take her down to the shelter and have one of the staff there talk her out of it if she won't listen to me.