Horse theft may conjure images of the Wild West, but it is still a serious problem today, as you can see at Netposse.

My mother loves horses. I don't mean that in a passing way, not the way all adolescent girls like horses, or the way many people say they love horses, because they enjoy horse racing and saw or read Seabiscuit. I mean she really loves horses. She currently has seven, one morgan and six miniatures.

Several years ago she bred the miniatures, but she was never able to sell any. She's very fussy about the care they receive, truly an equestrian lover. The barn was bursting at the seams (and it is a lot of work), a woman she thought was a fellow horse lover was interested, so she lent two of her minis to this woman, with the understanding that the woman would return them if she could no longer keep them. Instead, this woman (allegedly) lent them to a man who said he would train them to pull a cart. He then took them to the auction, where they were sold together to a man in Massachusetts. They were again sold to a man in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My mother has been searching for these two minis for a year, and that's the latest information she has located of their whereabouts.

Here are the two beauties:



Fine 'n' Dandy Dixie Rose - 12 year old dark grey or brownish miniature mare. 32 inches tall

Fine 'n' Dandy Ginger Snap - 12 year old Palomino miniature mare, 34 inches tall



Both mares are AMHA registered in my mother's name. Law enforcement has not been much help. (The DA mentioned in this article wasn't interested. Regardless of his claims to the Freeman, I doubt he takes animal abuse cases seriously.) She is determined to locate her horses, and save them if that's what they need. Please keep watch for Dixie and Ginger and the other stolen and missing horses at Netposse.