The Truth About Kill Pen Scammers

By Amanda Hensley

We’ve all seen the ads on Facebook.  Some poor horse with sad eyes being shown off by some cowboy at the auction lot.  They hop on, they ride the horse up and down the aisle or out in a field. You can save this horse from the gallows for only a couple hundred bucks. You hear the soft strands of a Sarah McLaughlin song coming on.  You can save this horse. This horse deserves your love and your money. It’s a ‘scam’ but who can say no? Who could allow a horse to end up like this?

Me. I allowed a horse to end up like this.  But let me explain.

Two years ago, I bought a cute little OTTB out of a bad situation. He was turned out in a rough dirt lot. He was thin and seemed scared. He was kind enough to allow his current owners to jump on him bareback in a halter and walk, trot, and canter both directions without killing them. He seemed like a decent guy so I did what any sane person would do. I bought him.

Addie, as I called him, was sweet and kind. Shortly after arriving, Addie broke his hip.  How he managed it we will still never know as he was in a turnout with just a few trees and a shed. Addie was put on stall rest for 30 days, which quickly ran into 60.  He was misdiagnosed a few times but he remained an excellent patient.  

After rehab, Addie went back to work. Like most young horses, he liked having a purpose. Then tragedy struck again. Addie popped out a bone chip. 

More money. More vet visits. More brick walls.  

Finally the verdict was that this horse was going to have a medical issues forever, or it could end tomorrow. Nobody knew the answer. I made the difficult choice to list him as a companion horse with the potential to be ridden as long as the new owner understood Addie would have good days and bad days. Hopefully more good than bad.

A lady who I knew through local circles asked about him. She came highly recommended so I thought I was getting a break for this colt. She wanted a trail horse, something to just kick around on, and she came with great references. I drew up a contract outlining that he was to be offered to me should he not work out and a detailed history of his medical issues. She agreed.  

“I thought I was turning that around for him and I didn’t.  In fact, I made it worse.”

Shortly after he left she texted me to say he wouldn’t work out because of the hip. Naturally I was upset because I had been clear he had a problem but it didn’t limit his ability to still be riding sound. While I was trying to find placement, I got a message from her saying she was going to turn him out for a year and then try again. I felt like that was perfect and we all moved on.

Then I was sent a sales ad for him for $800. Due to personal reasons I was unable to act on him at that time. My friend had stated she was going to make sure he didn’t end up in bad hands and got involved herself. She spoke to the new ‘owner’ and the lady agreed to sell him for $300. My friend left for a trip out of town and was going to get back with her when she returned. I agreed I would assist with his expenses for a month while we figured out what to do with him.

AND THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.

Addie went through an auction and was purchased by a place that calls themselves a ‘kill pen’. The reality is they buy horses FROM the kill pen and then resell them at a huge markup. He was painfully thin and clearly very scared.  

I immediately confronted the person I had given him to. She denied that he was in any danger.  And then I did what any sane person does. I called her out on Facebook.  

After many heated messages my friends began pouring money into a GoFundMe to retrieve Addie from the kill pen. We bailed Addie out and he was brought to a friend’s home for recovery and quarantine. He was bone-rail thin. He was swollen on three of his four legs. His draining hip had clearly been messed with in a way I still don’t understand. He was scared, lethargic, terrified and depressed. He drank about 100 gallons of water in under 24 hours. He refused to eat. 

There were days when I felt he wasn’t going to make it. He is slowly starting to recover and gain weight back. He’s on all the hay he can hold, back on his Triple Crown Senior and getting medicine for ulcers and probiotics. Yesterday he galloped along the fence line when his socially distanced buddy was turned out. He nickers when he sees me. I am elated at his recovery.

The bottom line is, these people scammed me and took me for a ride. I paid $1,100 for Addie to start with as a sound and decent prospect. I paid $1,250 for Addie from the kill pen. I have him back in my care, but the reality is I don’t know exactly what I’ll do with him. Right now I don’t want to let him out of my sight.  

What I can say is that to save the soul of a sweet horse like mine, maybe the extortion was worth it. He hasn’t had the best shake at life. I thought I was turning that around for him and I didn’t. In fact, I made it worse.  The least I can do is try to make things right.

So when you see those ads, and you think I don’t want to enable this, just remember there’s some poor horse who didn’t ask to be in this position.  Addie didn’t.  It was my moral imperative to save him from a tragic end.